The Padre Post

I guess new ownership is better then the team being gutted.  Still, as the Padres celebrate their 40th anniversary, Padres fans have a few things to be hopeful for. Jake Peavy is still with the team and it’s not like any of the other teams in the NL West got dramatically better.  The Dodgers are probably the favorites, but that’s assuming they get Manny Ramirez AND he doean’t go over the edge during the season.

The Padres kick off their Cactus League schedule at noon on Wednesday against the Mariners.  The first televised game is March 7 although I’m hoping to see a game or two on MLB.TV prior to that.

Softball season is coming up as well as I picked up a new baseball bat.  I found a great place to pick up all of my baseball equipment at Baseball Rampage.  Great selection and helpful service.

The Padres pounced on Dan Haren early and often, striking for four in the first inning and staking out a big lead for Jake Peavy. With that lead, it should be enough. Adam Dunn had other ideas, jacking a three run bomb in the bottom of the first to pull the Diamondbacks back within one. The Dbacks put up another three spot in the second and did not look back, winning by a score of 8-6.

The Padres outhit Arizona 12-6, but still lost. Both Haren and Peavy struggled on the game. Haren lasted just six innings giving up five runs and 11 hits. Peavy went just five giving up six, five earned, on five hits and four walks.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff hit a two run homer in the first, two of the four runs in the inning off Haren. Jody Gerut also homered, one of three hits in the game.

The Diamondbacks had no one with more than one hit. Dunn’s homer was his 34th of the year. Chris Snyder also homered, one of the runs in the second.

Adam Dunn and Doug Davis teamed up to beat the San Diego Padres in the opener of a three game series by a score of 7-6. The Padres made a late run with three runs in the top of the ninth inning but the Diamondbacks were able to hold off the Padres attempts to tie it up and pulled out the victory.

Dunn hit his first homer as a Diamondback in the fourth, a two run shot off Jared Banks with two outs. The homer staked the Diamondbacks to a 6-2 lead, after an original 4-0 lead after the first inning. That was all the starter Davis needed.

Davis went six strong innings allowing seven hits and just two runs. He struck out six.

The Padres made a run in the ninth inning off closer Brandon Lyon. Lyon lasted just .1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Tony Pena came in and finished up the game and the final two outs to close it out. It was his second save of the year.

Cole Hamels was born and raised in the San Diego area. It was only fitting that he felt right at home in Petco Park against the Padres on Sunday. Hamels, with plenty of family and friends in the stands, left the Padres with zero chance at victory from the start of the game. The Phillies won 2-1 and left town with a series win by the same count.

Hamels was impressive going eight strong innings, scattering seven hits, allowing just the one run and striking out three. He also walked no batters. He also managed to get a hit at the plate, going 1-3 to put his batting average at .283.

Pat Burrell provided the neccessary firepower at the plate for the second time in the series, hitting a solo homer that proved to be the difference in the game in the top of the 6th.

Padres starter Cha Sueng Baek allowed just four hits over six innings, but could not outduel Hamels. He struck out five.

The Padres have a day off before traveling to Arizona for a set with the Diamondbacks.

Starting his first game as an MLB pitcher, Chad Reineke had his work cut out for him: beat the Phillies with a solid outing. He did that, and more. He took the win from an 8-3 victory for the Padres, while getting his first MLB hit to drive in a run and come around to score.

On the hill, he went five innings allowing five hits and three runs. He walked three but struck out five. The bullpen made sure his efforts were not lost, and allowed just one hit over the final four innings.

Kyle Kendrick, his opposition, had no such luck. He was knocked out after 3.2 innings and gave up six runs on six hits and five walks.

Jody Gerut led the attack for the Padres from the leadoff spot. He had three hits in five trips, driving in two and scoring two as well.  Brian Giles had a huge contribution as well, driving in four runs.

Shane Victorino had two hits for the Phillies.

The two teams will try to win the series with a victory tomorrow.

In a battle of two longtime pros, the soft tossing lefty scraped out just ahead of the righty with pinpoint control. The Padres Greg Maddux allowed just five hits over seven innings, but one of the hits left the park. Moyer, also going seven innings, allowed just three hits to the Padres offense. The Phillies used the efforts to beat the Padres 1-0.

The lone run of the game came off the bat of Pat Burrell, who is having the best season of his career thus far. The homer was Burrell’s 26th of the year.

The Padres abysmal offense had no chance against the Phillies staff, having just one hit in  the final two innings after Moyer left.

Brad Lidge worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 29th save while striking out two.

The Padres late inning games of late have resulted in losses, but that changed in the first game of a series against the Reds. The Padres entered the top of the ninth down by a run, but threw three on the board to go up 6-4 and Trevor Hoffman avoided a rally by the Reds in the bottom of the inning to hold on for the win.

With the game tied, Brian Giles grounded out which tied the game. Kevin Kouzmanhoff came up two batters later and lined a double into the gap that scored the eventual winning run. Kouzmanhoff had two hits in the game and drove in three.

Scott Hairston homered for the second straight game and had two hits. Edgar Gonzalez had three hits in four trips.

Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the Reds, a two run shot.

Padres starter Josh Banks allowed four runs in 5.2 innings. Clay Hensley picked up the win.

Cha Seung Baek did all he could to contribute, with a solid outing and a home run to support himself. He went for 6.1 innings on the mound and allowed just one earned run on six hits. He hit a two run homer in the fifth, his first career homer.

Nevertheless, the Cardinals took the game and swept the Padres right after the All Star Break. Scott Hairston had three hits including a homer in the game, and Edgar Gonzalez threw in two hits of his own.

The game was tied 5-5 in the ninth inning, but the bases were loaded up by the Cardinals then Aaron Miles swiftly unloaded them with one swing of the bat to send the Cardinals home walk off winners.

Troy Glaus hit a two out three run homer in the eighth, part of eight runs allowed in the final three innings of the game by the Padres.

The Padres bats jumped out early, with five runs in the first two innings. That proved to not be enough on the night, as the St. Louis Cardinals jumped back with six runs total in the fifth and sixth innings to win 6-5.

Starters Randy Wolf and Todd Wellemeyer were ineffective in their outings, both giving up all of the other teams runs.

Edgar Gonzalez had a big three run homer with two outs in the second that at the time put the Padres up 5-0. Gonzalez had two hits and two runs in the game.

Albert Pujols had  a 3-4 game with four RBI’s in the game. Rick Ankiel had the RBI that proved to be the difference when he drove in Pujols after he had hit a three run double in the sixth.

The Padres could not finish off the first half with a win against the Braves in a 12-3 loss to wrap up the series and half. The Braves pounded out 16 hits and the Padres managed just eight in the game.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff had a great game for the Padres with three hits including a homer. Randy Wolf struggled on the day giving up six hits and six runs in just five innings.

Jorge Campillo, a great first half story for the Braves, gave up just two runs off five hits in six innings. He picked up the win to improve to 4-4 for the first half.

Brian McCann, the Braves All Star catcher, had his second three hit game of the series. He hit his 18th homer of the year in the game. He had three runs and three RBI’s as well. Brent Lillibridge, a day after hitting his first big league homer, showed a burst in confidence and had three hits. He also drove in two runs.