The Padre Post

The Padres came back from a 4-1 deficit to tie it in the seventh only to be shut down the rest of the game and lose it in seventeen innings.  David Wells was hit hard early and he lasted only five frames after giving up the four runs.  Justin Hampson took the loss.  He pitched three shutout frames but then gave up an RBI double in his fourth inning (the seventeeth) to lose it).

Marcus Giles went three for four with two runs and an RBI.  Jose Cruz, Jr. went three for seven with a run and an RBI in the 5-4 loss.

So the Padres have slipped all the way back to a tie for third place with Giants.  Fortunately, one of the worst teams in baseball, the Nationals, are rolling into town for three games beginning tomorrow.  Jake Peavy gets the start tomorrow and he’ll square off against John Patterson.

The Padres evened their series up with the Dodgers with a 3-2 loss behind some great pitching by Greg Maddux.  He picked up the win and improved to 2-2 and he gave up two runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in seven solid innings.  This time Hoffman got it done and he threw a shutout ninth to pick up save number five.

The Padres did all of their scoring in the fourth inning.  Khalil Greene doubled home two runs and then Mike Cameron singled home Greene to make it a 3-2, a score that would end up standing.  Cameron finished two for three.

David Wells throws against Derek Lowe in the rubber game.  Wells has had a tough time so far this year but he picked up his first win earlier in the week with some solid run support.  Hopefully he can get it done and the Padres can take the series.

This one was tough because normally, this game is in the bag.  Up 4-2, Trevor Hoffman came in to finish it up and he gave up four runs in the ninth.  He didn’t even finish the inning and Heath Bell and to come in to get the final out.  What makes it worse is Clay Hensley had another solid start and it ended up being wasted.

Jose Bard went three for four with an RBI in the 6-5 loss.  Jose Cruz, Jr. hit homerun number four for the season and Brian Giles finished with one hits, one walks and two runs.

Greg Maddux gets the start tonight and hopefully he’ll get the Padres back on track.  Bret Tomko will provide the opposition and he’s a famliary face.

Chris Young had a tough time yesterday against the Diamondbacks in the Padres 7-4 loss.  He dropped to 2-2 on the season and he gave up six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Rookie Justin Hampson was tagged for a run in two innings of relief.

Adrian Gonzalez continued to rake the ball and he provided most of the Padres offense with a three run homer, his third of the season.  Jose Cruz, Jr. also had a nice day at the plate.  He went three for four with two runs.

Next up is three with the now tied for first place Dodgers.  The Giants have caught fire and they passed the Padres this week but we’re only a game out.  And by taking care of the Dodgers this weekend, we know we’ll be making up ground against at least one team.  It’ll be Clay Hensley tonight in the opener.

It’s like I’m having flashbacks from last year. Jake Peavy struck out sixteen batters in seven shutout innings yesterday, yet due to a lack of run support and some shoddy work out of the pen, the Padres lost it 3-2.  Scott Linebrink gave up one of the runs in the eighth and then Trevor Hoffman gave up a two run homer to Stephen Drew in the bottom of the ninth to lose it.

Kevin Kouzmanoff put the Padres on the board in the second with an RBI double off of Brandon Webb.  Terrmel Sledge hit a solo homerun and he finished with three hits in a nice day at the plate.

So it’ll be Chris Young against Livan Hernandez in the rubber game tonight.  And while the Dodgers are doing us a favor by going on a losing streak, the Giants aren’t by winning seven straight.  We just need to get it done tonight before this weekends three game series against the Dodgers.

Welcome back to the National League Randy.  The Padres put on an offensive display last night as they dismantled the Diamondbacks 10-5.  Adrian Gonzalez had another big game and he went three for three with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs and three runs.  Khalil Greene went four for five with four RBIs and Jose Cruz, Jr. hit his third homerun of the season.

David Wells picked up the win despite a mediocre start.  He gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings of work.  Trevor Hoffman actually had to come in to get the final out with the bases loaded to save it.

Tonight it’ll be a nice matchup of solid young pitchers when Jake Peavy goes toe to toe with Brandon Webb.  I wouldn’t expect this one to be 10-5 but who knows.

Greg Maddux was only mediocre in his start for the Padres and he would have had to have been excellent to win this one because of the lack of run support.  He gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Khalil Greene had a nice day at the plate.  He went two for four with a homerun a solo homerun.  Adrian Gonzalez doubled, drew a walk and drove in one run.

The Dodgers actually lost so we keep pace with them and remain two games back.  Still, 11-8 isn’t all that bad even when you take into account the Padres are 5-5 in their last ten.  Next up is a big three game series against the Diamondbacks in what is kind of a battle for second place.  If the Dodgers keep winning, then whoever wins this series will have a leg up on second place.  In the opener on Tuesday, we’ll see a battle of 40+ year olds as we get the return of Randy Johnson and throwing for the Padres will be David Wells.  Wednesday’s matchup is just as good with Jake Peavy taking on Brandon Webb.

Clay Hensley finally put together a solid start as the Padres picked up their third straight win.  He gave up two runs on ten hits and three walks in six innings.  The win improved his record to 1-3 on the season.

Adrian Gonzalez hit homerun number five in the 7-3 win.  Both he and Brian Giles drove in two runs and Marcus Giles finished with four hits and two runs.

The Padres can finish up the sweep this afternoon with a nice outing from Greg Maddux.  It’ll be Jason Hirsch on the mound for the Rockies.

The Padres got more then enough offense yesterday in the Padres in 11-1 win over the Rockies.  Adrian Gonzalez led the way with a two for six game.  He homered, drove in four and scored twice.  Marcus Giles drove in two runs and Jose Cruz, Jr. and Brian Giles each scored two runs.

Chris Young cruised to an easy win in this one.  He gave up just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.  Doug Brocail then closed it with two shutout innings.

Tonight’s game has a struggling Clay Hensley against a tough left hander in Jeff Francis.  It’d be nice to see Hensley bounce back and if he could do it in Colorado, that might set him straight.

It wasn’t Jake Peavy’s best start, but he made up with it at the plate.  He gave up five runs on ten hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 to improve to 3-0.  While that’s not particularly impressive, he did go two for two with a doube, a triple, two RBIs and a run to help out his own case.

Khalil Greene also had a solid day at the plate.  He went two for four with a solo homerun and two runs.  Catcher Rob Bowen went two for four with a homerun, three runs and three RBIs.

Next up is three against the Rockies at Coors Field.  You never know how games are going to go there but a series win would be nice.  And maybe with a slip by the Diamondbacks, the Padres can slip into second place and start knocking on the Dodgers door.