Padres Series Recap: Marlins Take 2 of 3 From Padres
The San Diego Padres have just lost two out of three games against the Miami Marlins. This turned out to be a real disappointing series for the Friars.
Not only did I predict that the Padres would win this series, but I even said they could sweep the Fish. Obviously this was not the case. The Padres definitely had a chance considering the type of pitching the Marlins had. Unfortunately the Padres pitching is what ultimately cost the Padres the series.
Despite the clear negatives there were a few positives hidden in the depths of this lackluster series. Again like in the previous Rockies series, Luis Perdomo proved to be a huge positive. The Padres offense really didn’t do that bad in this series as well. Overall this was a rough series for the Padres. But it wasn’t a series to forget. There are several things to take a look at and analyze in this series.
Game 1: Four Home Runs Wasn’t enough
Game one of this series was just an atrocious game and was easily the worst game of the series for the Padres. The Padres would manage to slug four home runs in this game. What? How was this a bad game then? Well the problem is that all four home runs were solo shots. The other big problem was the fact that the Marlins manged to get 13 runs in the game. Four home runs should be enough to win you a game at Petco Park. It doesn’t matter if they were all solo shots, four runs should be enough to win you a game. The fact that the Padres lost this game in horrid fashion is just inexcusable.
Colin Rea would be the pitcher on the mound. Rea would have a ridiculously bad game. He would only pitch two and two-thirds and allow a total of eight runs. The bullpen wouldn’t be much better as they would allow five runs. Four of those runs would be allowed by Brad Hand. Padres pitchers would allow 19 total hits in the game to the Marlins. The best pitching performance we would see would come from Christian Bethancourt. Yeah, it was a rough day for the Friars. The Marlins would have quite a few standout players in the game. The main man himself, Ichiro Suzuki would have a really solid game. He would get himself three hits and walk twice. Martin Prado would also net himself a nice game. He would go 3-3 with the lone home run the Marlins would hit.
Another standout player for the Marlins would be Adeiny Hechavarria. He would get four RBI in the game. Justin Bour would be another player who would have a really nice game. He would go 3-4 with two RBI and two walks. As you can see the Padres were pulverized. However the offense itself wasn’t too bad. As mentioned before they would get themselves four home runs. The players to get those home runs would be Matt Kemp, Adam Rosales, Melvin Upton Jr. and Wil Myers. Other than the home runs, the offense would really not be too productive. The team as a whole would only produce seven total hits. The important thing to take from this game is the fact that the Padres slugged four home runs and still didn’t win. This was a brutal game overall. The pitching was what let the team down in this game.
Game 2: Who Hit The Grand Slam?
Game two would honestly frustrate me almost as much as game one. The Padres would lose this game in humiliating fashion yet again. The Padres have had humiliating defeats all season long. Well game two added another one to the list. The final score would be 5-2. The game would be lost in the first inning of the game. Drew Pomeranz would be on the mound and would yet again look off point. Pomeranz didn’t look sharp in his start prior to this one as well. He gave up three runs to the Atlanta Braves last week.
Well Pomeranz would look even worse on Tuesday Night. Pomeranz would give up five runs in the first inning of the game. Now one was just a simple RBI single to Chris Johnson. Okay, now that’s not so bad. But the other four runs would come via a grand slam by… Jeff Mathis! Who? Jeff Mathis, you have got to be kidding me. Jeff Mathis is the backup catcher for the Marlins and he is having an abysmal season. Mathis is hitting under the Mendoza line and that was his first home run of the season. In his career Mathis only has 44 home runs in 12 years. Yeah this guy shouldn’t be the type of guy to ruin your ballgame.
That would be all the Marlins would need for the rest of the ballgame. Tom Koehler would have an impressive game as he would go six innings and only allow two runs. Alexi Amarista would drive in both runs the Padres would produce on the night. The bullpen for the Padres would be solid in this game. Carlos Villanueva and Kevin Quakenbush would throw two scoreless frames a piece. Another interesting note from this game would be the debut of Ryan Schimph. Schimph was killing it in El Paso as he was batting over .300 with 15 home runs. He would manage to net himself a double in his debut. Overall what infuriates me about this game was that Jeff Mathis was the one who had to hit the grand slam. If it had been Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna or even someone like Justin Bour I’d be fine with it. But come on Jeff Mathis. Drew Pomeranz unfortunately had another rough game. Hopefully he can bring it next time out on the mound. He has been our best pitcher this season. Let’s hope that he can continue to perform at an All-Star level.
Game 3: Avoided The Sweep
The Friars avoided the sweep against the Fish On Wednesday Afternoon. The Friars also finally managed to win a game after four consecutive losses. The Padres would look really solid in the last game of the series. Luis Pedromo would yet again be a huge positive note for the Padres. Perdomo would have a really nice day on the mound as he would throw six innings and only allow three runs. Perdomo really has been up and down this year. Recently though he has proven himself in his last few outings.
The Padres bullpen would also look solid in this game. Brandon Maurer, Ryan Buchter and Fernando Rodney would all toss scoreless frames. The offense would also look great in this game. They would work Justin Nicolino as they would get five runs off of him in four and two-thirds of work. The offensive star of this one would definitely be Melvin Upton Jr. Upton would bag himself a solo shot in the second inning of the game. He would also get an RBI single in the fifth inning. Melvin would go 3-3 on the day with the home run and two RBI.
Another standout performer would be Derek Norris. He would drive in two runs via a single. Wil Myers would be another run producer. Wil would get an RBI double in the sixth inning. Rookie Ryan Schimpf would also get an RBI via a sac-fly. The Padres would get six total runs in the game. As mentioned before Perdomo would only allow three runs and the bullpen would be lights out. Another interesting note from this game would be, Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro would unofficially break Pete Rose‘s hit record. Of course this is unofficial by all means but it was still cool to see Ichiro out there. Overall this was a great game. There really was no negative to see. All Components worked marvelously for the Padres in this game. Overall this series was a disappointment, but this game displayed a nice array of light within the dark moments of this series.
Storylines
Luis Perdomo
Luis Perdomo always has been a questionable signing. Ever since before the season started, everyone was criticizing the move. Perdomo has really proven himself as of late. He has looked really solid. Perdomo started out as a middle reliever, then transitioned into a long reliever. Well now Perdomo forms a part of the pitching rotation. You can clearly see that this kid can be good one day, you can see potential. But there is also something else you can see. You can see that Perdomo isn’t quite developed yet. You can still see nervousness within Perdomo. Completely the opposite of Cesar Vargas. I believe now more than ever that Perdomo should stay on the team. I mean if he’s lasted this long, just keep him.
Perdomo clearly needs to develop more. The Padres should definitely send him to some sort of Winter League. There are several options in the off season. Such as the Arizona Fall League and MLB affiliated Dominican Leagues. While all of these could help, there is one league that could really help Perdomo out. The Mexican Winter League. The Mexican Winter League has to be the most competitive of all the winter leagues. It has also paved the way to making great MLB pitchers. Look at the likes of Cesar Vargas, Roberto Osuna and Julio Urias. Urias developed awfully quick and is now in the MLB. Osuna pitched only in high-A ball and is now the closer for the Blue Jays. One thing all these guys have in common is that they pitched in the Mexican Winter League. I really think that Perdomo should give it a shot. I’ll be exited to see if Perdomo does do some work in the winter.
Vote For Wil!
Okay Padres fans stop what you’re doing right now. Go and vote Wil Myers into the All Star Game. Myers has been absolutely amazing this year. Myers is now at .281 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI. Anthony Rizzo, the leading vote getter isn’t doing better than Wil at all. In fact he has very similar numbers. Rizzo is batting .260 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI. The difference in RBI is the most notable thing. But look at what Rizzo has to deal with and look at what Myers has to deal with. Myers definitely deserves to be in the All Star Game. It is shameful that Padres fans aren’t voting more. I mean the mid summer classic is in San Diego. Don’t you want to see some Friars playing in the game? Well go right now and vote for Wil Myers! Go Padres!
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.