Padres Series Recap: Padres Get Swept by Braves
The 2016 San Diego Padres season has been one of many ups and downs. The Padres have fared well at times against top teams like the Giants, Cubs and Mets, but recently have been swept by teams like the Tampa Bay Rays and now the Atlanta Braves.
This series against the Braves had to be one of the lowest points of the 2016 season so far. A team like the Braves is one that is on par with the Padres. They should not, by any means be sweeping the team. A lot of things would go wrong for the Friars in this series, especially when you look at the pitching.
The pitching in this series was absolutely abysmal for the Padres. The Padres would give up a total of 24 runs in the series. This is especially worrisome against a team like the Atlanta Braves. To put it in perspective the Padres would give up 25 runs against the Dodgers in that infamous opening series of the 2016 season. So yes, 24 runs in a series is definitely a ton of runs to be giving up against any team. The Padres are seemingly getting worse and worse as this 2016 season progresses. However this really isn’t something we should dwell on as fans. Remember for any rebuilding process to work we must suffer through some losses first.
Game One: Teheran Strikes Again
The Padres would unfortunately get off to a really rocky start in this series. They would end up falling to the Braves by a score of 7-3. Braves starting pitcher, Julio Teheran would dominate the Friars once again. Earlier in the season the Colombian pitcher would throw eight innings and allow two runs against the Padres at Petco Park. Teheran would also strike out eight batters and only allow one walk in that game. The all-star pitcher would have a very similar performance on Tuesday night at Turner Field. He would go seven innings, strike out eight and allow no walks. Unfortunately for the Padres, Edwin Jackson would not even remotely have a similar outing to Teheran. The German-born pitcher would only last two and two-thirds and give up five runs in the process. That would mark the second straight start in which Jackson has allowed five runs on seven hits. This is definitely worrying since Jackson seems to be having serious control issues.
As far as the bullpen goes they would look okay in the game. Carlos Villanueva would be the only blunder as he would allow two runs to score. Other than that the rest of the bullpen would look great pitching three solid innings. We would see some unfamiliar faces out of the pen like Christian Friedrich and Brandon Morrow. Definitely not guys were used to seeing coming out of the bullpen. As far of the offense goes, we really wouldn’t see a lot of it from the Padres. The player of the game for the Padres hands down had to be Oswaldo Arcia. He would actually provide all of the offense of the day for the Friars. Arcia would go 2-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI on the day. Travis Jankowski would also have a solid day, going 2-4 on the day. Freddy”The Flash” would also snag his 29th stolen base of the year. The offensive player of the game for the Braves had to be Dansby Swanson. The rookie would go 2-4 with three RBI on the day. Overall this would not be the best game for the Padres. The offense wasn’t the worst, overall the pitching is what really let us down in this game. Hopefully Jackson can get back on track his next time out on the mound. We all know he is capable of performing at a quality level.
Game Two: 26 K’s In Two Days
The Friars would yet again fall to the Bravos, this time by a score of 8-1. We would see another very impressive pitching performance by the Braves on Wednesday night. Former Friars prospect, Matt Wisler would show his former team just what he is capable of doing. Wisler would throw a gem as he would dish out six innings and only allow a run on four hits. There would also be something else that would really strike out to me, I mean stick out to me. Wisler would manage to strike out 10 batters in those six innings of work. This would really showcase just how serious the Friars plate discipline issues are. In total the Padres would strike out 26 times in the first two games of the series. That is a ridiculous amount of K’s to have in a span of two games. To be fair that would be bad in a three game series, let alone in just two games.
The Padres pitching yet again would struggle in this one. This time however the bullpen would struggle severely as well. Paul Clemens would have a very short outing tossing three innings and allowing two runs to score. The bullpen would then take over in the fourth inning and completely blow the game. They would allow six runs through five innings of work. The offense would really be just as terrible as the pitching as they would only score a run in the game and strike out 14 times. If you had to pick a player of the game for the Padres it would definitely be Oswaldo Arcia once again. Arcia would go 1-3 in the game with that lone hit being a home run. However, he would actually strike out twice in the game as well. As for the Braves they would obviously have a great game at the plate racking up eight runs. There really would not be a standout player as it would really be a solid team effort by the Braves. Some of the better players for the Bravos had to be Adonis Garcia and Ender Inciarte. Adonis would go 3-5 with an RBI double. While Ender would go 2-4 with two RBI and a stolen base. Overall this would be a horrific showing by the San Diego Padres. One of the worst games in quite some time for the team. No component would stand out at all from the offense to the pitching to pretty much everything. Definitely one to forget for this 2016 campaign.
Game Three: Sweep Us Out Of Town
The Padres would end this dreadful series with a 9-6 loss to the Braves. We wouldn’t see another amazing pitching performance this time around. The offense would really be the main attraction of the game. But for the purpose of the recap we will go over the pitching just a bit. For the Braves, Mike Foltynewicz would have a solid day on the mound. Folty would allow three runs through six innings and allow no walks as well. As for the Padres, you guessed it, our guy would get rocked. That “guy” would be Jarred Cosart and he would have a hard time on the mound. Cosart would go four and a third, amazingly the most a Padres starter would last in this series. He would also give up the most runs by a Padres starter at seven.
As far as the bullpen goes they would also struggle a bit giving up two runs on five hits through three and two-thirds. Now we get into the interesting stuff, the offense. We would see a lot of offense in this game, 15 runs to be exact. Wil Myers would have a rare good away performance. Our all-star would go 2-4 in the game with a two-run home run. Another standout performer would turn out to be Hector Sanchez. The veteran catcher would go 2-4 in the game with a home run of his own. The Padres offense would be solid with Alex Dickerson and Ryan Schimpf also contributing to the score. Unfortunately it would not be enough to overtake the Braves offensive showing in the game. The Braves would have an amazing day at the plate scoring nine runs. They would have a lot of solid performances throughout their lineup. Adonis Garcia and Ender Inciarte would go a combined 4-7 with two RBI. Freddie Freeman would also play a big role in the win with a three run home run. Former Friar, Matt Kemp would also do damage to his former team. Kemp would go 2-5 on the game with two RBI in the game. The Braves would have a great series scoring 24 runs throughout it. Overall this game and series would be a real “Padres” performance. The team would look horrible in every game in almost every aspect of the game. Hopefully the team doesn’t continue their trend heading into Los Angeles. Or it will be a painfully long weekend against the Dodgers. 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.