Padres bats back rookie Rea again

If there is one theme to rookie Colin Rea's first two starts it is early run support. In his first start the Padres scored early and scored often to win 11-6. In this, his 2nd start, the Padres bats got it going in the 2nd inning after two scoreless frames from the right hander from Iowa. Justin Upton led off the inning with a single. Yonder Alonso would follow with booming ground rule double to left center field. After Jedd Gyorko strikeout, Derek Norris tapped a ball to the third baseman that both allowed Upton to score and was soft enough for the fleet footed catcher to beat out for a hit. Alonso would also advance on the infield hit and Norris would later move to second base on a ball in the dirt. Will Venable would drive both runners in on a single to right field. Norris had to slide around opposing catcher A.J. Pierzynski to make it home. The scoring stopped there at 3 runs, but Rea did follow up the scoring with a walk, which meant he was able to get on base in both of his first two starts.

Unlike his first starter, the rookie Rea was able to go a little longer than 5 innings. He would last 5 2/3 innings, striking out 4 and only allowing 1 walk and 5 hits. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a deep fly by Cameron Maybin that reached the second deck in left field. Maybin's also slapped a 6th inning single off Rea and later scored again in his return to Petco Park. The dinger was his 10th home run in his renaissance season for Atlanta. The Padres dealt Maybin just before opening day in the deal that brought Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton, Jr. to San Diego. He worked hard in the offseason after the Padres traded for 3 different outfielders and saw a need to step his game up. He has gotten a great chance with the Braves and has made the most of it.

Maybin's long ball wasn't the only four-bagger of the game. The Padres added their own blast in the bottom of the 5th when Matt Kemp launched one into the Jack Deck for a solo shot. That gave him 14 home runs on the season and it extended his hit streak to 11 games. The crowd was appreciative of his cycle performance in Denver from a a couple days ago and gave him a nice ovation in his first trip to that plate. Yonder Alonso would also hit a round-tripper in the 8th inning to cap off the Padres scoring at 5 runs.

One of the other intrigues of the game besides Rea's second start and Maybin return to America's Finest City was Jedd Gyorko's first start at SS. There were no miscues to go with the move from the keystone and Gyorko got plenty of chances. All of which he handled smoothly including being able to turn a double play and a diving stop to his left where he threw out the runner at first. There was one play to his right that perhaps better anticipation or more range could have allowed him to keep from squeaking through to the outfield, but that's just a guess on my part. Based on this one game, I would expect Gyorko to get a few more starts at the position.

Just like the offense and Gyorko's solid defense, the relief pitching had Colin Rea's back. Bud Norris relieved the rookie in the 6th and stranded the baserunners he inherited by striking out a batter to get the 3rd out. He would go one more inning in the 7th to hold the fort and pitched a scoreless frame. After that it was usual Joaquin Benoit had one shaky moment but a great running catch at the wall by Justin Upton made sure nothing came of it. Craig Kimbrel battled through his inning and did allow a run, but eventually put the game away with a 5-3 final score.

<table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=1>

<thead>

<tr>

<th colspan=2>Roll Call Info</th>

</tr>

</thead>

<tbody>

<tr><td width=150>Total comments</td><td>33</tr>

<tr class="alt"><td>Total commenters</td><td>12</tr>

<tr><td>Commenter list</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/C%20Callahan">C Callahan</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DPadres69">DPadres69</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/EBParker">EBParker</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Friar%20Fever">Friar Fever</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Hormel">Hormel</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/KPWest">KPWest</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Ron%20%20Mexico">Ron  Mexico</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Thelonious%20Friar">Thelonious Friar</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Zen%20Blade">Zen Blade</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/daveysapien">daveysapien</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/johnlichtenstein">johnlichtenstein</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/nbkoy2c">nbkoy2c</a></tr>

<tr class="alt"><td>Story URLs</td><td><div><a href="http://www.gaslampball.com/2015/8/17/9169263/game-thread-08-17-padres-vs-braves">http://www.gaslampball.com/2015/8/17/9169263/game-thread-08-17-padres-vs-braves</a></div>

</tbody>

</table>

<table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=1>

<thead>

<tr>

<th width=20>#</th><th>Commenter</th><th># Comments</th>

</tr>

</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>

<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/EBParker">EBParker</a></td><td>9</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>2</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/KPWest">KPWest</a></td><td>6</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>3</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Ron%20%20Mexico">Ron  Mexico</a></td><td>4</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>4</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/C%20Callahan">C Callahan</a></td><td>3</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>5</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/daveysapien">daveysapien</a></td><td>2</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>6</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DPadres69">DPadres69</a></td><td>2</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>7</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Thelonious%20Friar">Thelonious Friar</a></td><td>2</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>8</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Hormel">Hormel</a></td><td>1</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>9</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Friar%20Fever">Friar Fever</a></td><td>1</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>10</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/nbkoy2c">nbkoy2c</a></td><td>1</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>11</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Zen%20Blade">Zen Blade</a></td><td>1</td>

</tr>

<tr class="alt">

<td>12</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/johnlichtenstein">johnlichtenstein</a></td><td>1</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>