Padres Series Recap: Padres Take 2 of 3 From Rockies
The San Diego Padres have just won two out of three games against the Colorado Rockies. This was the third series of the season these two teams had faced each other. This was also the third time the Friars had ended the series 2-1 to their favor.
Despite all of the problems the Padres have they have shown a clear dominance over the Rockies. The Padres are now 6-3 against the Rockies this season. Now you may say that the Rockies are a bad team this and that. But the Rox are really not too bad. They do have one of the best offenses in the league.
The Rockies are currently fourth in home runs by all National League teams and third in total runs. The Rockies pitching might be their downfall but they sure don’t seem to need it all of the time to beat you. Overall this was a very nice series for the Padres. There were some negatives here and there. Like the fact that we still couldn’t achieve a series sweep. Also the fact that the game that would decide whether or not the Padres would get the sweep would turn disastrous. This has been recurring during the season. Overall though the positives definitely outweigh the negatives in this series. The Padres played some good baseball.
Game 1: Willie Mays Hayes
This was a great game for the Friars. Matt Kemp would start it really early in the first inning. He would hit a three-run home run off of Chris Rusin. Then in the fourth inning one of the best moments of the season would occur. The Bases would be loaded for Drew Pomeranz. Melvin Upton Jr. would be the man at third base. Now Melvin has done things all season which remind me of Willie Mays Hayes from Major League the movie. Some of the catches he has made the way he steals bases. Now this isn’t a bad comparison. If you are on a last place team you might as well make it fun. Well Upton would go on to have the epitome of the Willie Mays Hayes moment. Melvin would steal home! Melvin would run with all his might and avoid the tag from former Friar, Nick Hundley. Then he would get up like “Yeah I just did that.” This was just an amazing moment of the season. Everyone knows how rare it is to steal home and to have a Padre do that is just wonderful.
The pitching in this game would be wonderful as well. Drew Pomeranz would bounce back after his worst start of the season. He would throw seven frames and allow a mere two hits with eight strikeouts in the mix as well. Pomeranz would look masterful yet again, and continue to solidify his chance at making the mid summer classic. The bullpen would also look good in this game. Ryan Buchter would finally pitch a scoreless frame after a few rough outings. Carlos Villanueva would then wrap things up in the ninth. The Padres would win this game 4-0. The Rox would only be held to two measly hits. You could clearly see frustration in superstar, Nolan Arenado. The Padres absolutely dominated this game. They also made it a very pleasurable viewing experience. This game could be up there as one of the best of the season, it really was a great performance.
Game 2: Four runs does it again
The Padres would start off things in the first once again in this game. Wil Myers would go yard off of Chad Bettis to make it 1-0 Pads. The Rockies would quickly retaliate in the second inning as Charlie Blackmon would get himself a couple of RBI from a double, off of Andrew Cashner. The Pads however would continue the trend and respond in the bottom of the second. Derek Norris would get himself a two-run home run and make it 3-2 Friars. The Rox would stop the trend as they wouldn’t do anything in the top of the third. However, The Padres would get themselves a run via a Matt Kemp single in the bottom of the third inning.
The score would now be 4-2. The Rockies would do their last hurrah in the fourth inning as Mark Reynolds would get a solo shot off of Cashner to make things 4-3. That would turn out to be the final score. The Pitching for the Padres in this game would again be solid. Andrew Cashner would throw five and two-thirds and only allow three runs. The bullpen would then go three and third scoreless frames. Brandon Maurer would have a scoreless outing after a few shaky performances. Fernando Rodney would also keep his ERA of 0.00. Overall this would be another great game for the Padres. Not as good as the first game, but still a nice win, nonetheless.
Game 3: Sweep? No we choked
The Padres have not been able to pull off a series sweep this season. It just hasn’t happened. To add to it the Pads would play horrendous in the game that decides the sweep. This would occur in this series as the Friars would fall 10-3. Carlos Gonzalez would bag himself and amazing game. Cargo would pull off five RBI including two home runs. Nolan Arenado would also have a very nice performance. Nolan would go 3-4 with three RBI and a home run. The Padres being blown out was something that was predictable. Luis Perdomo would have a spot start after James Shields got traded to the White Sox. Perdomo would of course have a rough game. He would go four and a third and give up six runs. Brad Hand would then give up a couple of runs.
Bradon Maurer’s struggles would continue as he would give up a two-run home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Jon Gray would have another marvelous game at Petco Park. Gray would throw seven innings and only allow two runs. He would also throw 12 strikeouts and only walk one batter. Yeah, it looks like the pitching fortress is still working for Jon Gray. The Rox bullpen would then be lights out and the Pads would fall 10-3. This would really be a horrible game for the Friars. Kind of a splash of cold water to bring us back to reality. Overall this series would be great. Especially that first game of the series.
Storyline
James Shields, Traded
James Shields was traded during this series. The trade would occur on Saturday. Shields would be traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Erik Johnson and Fernando Tatis Jr. Many Padres fans would complain about the deal, all day long. In reality the trade wasn’t so bad. Trading Shields was a necessity. I can only imagine that his value was knocked down a bit after that atrocious outing in Seattle. Let’s also not forget this is the same guy who gave up a home run to Bartolo Colon. Then made fun of the situation the next day. Yeah, the fact that we got a young MLB ready starting pitcher isn’t such a bad thing. You never know what type of potential Johnson may have. Look at Drew Pomeranz and Christian Friedrich turning some heads here in San Diego. Really bringing an okay pitcher to Petco Park is like bringing an okay batter to Coors Field.
We should definitely consider ourselves lucky to have James Shields traded. This is the first step, if the Padres wish to progress into the future. Shields is a good stepping stone to start getting rid of some of our other high-salary players. So remember Padres fans if your favorite player gets traded or already was traded, see what the big picture is. The grand canvas being painted at the end of all of this is a clear path to success and victory.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.