Carlos Quentin will be back in the Padres lineup tonight after 8 game suspension

Carlos Quentin's brooding presence will once again be felt in the Padres lineup. He has served his 8 game suspension for charging Dodgers' pitcher Zack Greinke and ultimately causing a melee on the field. Initially he and the team planned to appeal the penalty but a day later accepted the punishment.

In a weird way the suspension may end up benefiting Quentin who was dealing with knee soreness before the brawl. Bud Black explains:

Quentin returns from suspension with rested knee | padres.com: News

"Time will help any injury," Black said. "In his case, the time off did help. We hope that moving forward, his knee will stay strong and he can do what he needs to do with that back leg. You could see that in a couple of games he was favoring it a little bit."

The Padres went 3-5 over the past 8 games and now find themselves in a 4 game losing streak. Their offense has been held to one run over the past 3 games. Quentin's bat can only help.