Who’s hot and who’s not for Padres: May 1-7
Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres went 3-3 this week after winning the series against the Reds before dropping the weekend bout with the Dodgers.
Which players performed well? Which are struggling? Let’s break it down.
Hot
Facing a vaunted Dodgers lineup that had just scored 36 runs in their previous three games, Darvish kept them at bay. Over 6 2/3 innings, he allowed just one earned run. Another run scored on an error by Tatis in the outfield, but that was not charged to Darvish’s count.
He struck out six while walking just one in the winning effort as well. Darvish continues to be the stalwart atop the starting rotation that can stifle any lineup in baseball when his team needs it most.
Even with a somewhat quiet rest of the week, what he did on Monday was enough to make the list. With the game tied at three against the Reds late, Kim launched a line-drive three-run homer to put the Padres up by three and help them win the game. It even earned him a curtain call.
A frozen rope blast from Ha-Seong Kim. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/DAlUV4PozD
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2023
He collected two hits in the series finale against the Dodgers on Sunday, putting his average for the week at .316, with a .985 OPS.
It’s cool to think back at what Sullivan did this week, with the fact that he is a 29-year-old rookie. What is unofficially known as the “Brett Sullivan Game,” Wednesday’s win against the Reds was something of a breakout for the catcher. He collected two extra-base hits, the first being a two-run double. He then launched a two-run homer, his first round-tripper of his major league career. He finished the game with four RBIs.
He also doubled in Saturday’s loss to the Dodgers, and scored a run. Overall, he hit .333 with a 1.135 OPS during the week.
Tatis is officially back. It only took him until he got to play the Dodgers at Petco Park to truly feel like he returned to the world’s stage. Friday’s victory against the Dodgers showed us Tatis at the peak of his powers once again.
Fernando TatÃs Jr’s reaction to his 2nd home run off Clayton Kershaw is amazing. pic.twitter.com/4KKdMN58No
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) May 6, 2023
First, with the Padres trailing 1-0, Tatis launched a homer off of Clayton Kershaw to deep center field to tie the game. With the game still tied in the fifth, he swatted his second dinger off of the future Hall of Famer, a two-run shot to give the Padres a 3-1 lead. He became the first player to have two multi-homer games against Kershaw.
He didn’t stop there. Tatis arguably had the best series of any individual player over the weekend series with Los Angeles. Overall, he batted .321 for the week, with a .952 OPS.
When the Padres needed a boost from the back end of their starting rotation, Wacha delivered in a big way. Even though the Padres lost the game to the Reds on Tuesday, Wacha tossed six shutout innings while striking out three and allowing just two hits.
Not
It’s weird to see his name in the “not” part. For the majority of the young season, the star shortstop had been San Diego’s most consistent player even as his fellow stars have slumped hard. Now, it’s his turn. Even with his defense still coming through, his bat was quiet for most of this week. It took until Sunday for him to get his first extra base hit of the week.
He batted .150 with a meager .461 OPS and 39 wRC+ over the week.
Cruz has been very hot-and-cold to start his Padres career. He has come through in several big moments, but has also flopped in a few big spots. This week, he went 1-for-12 (.083 average) with no extra base hits, walks, or RBIs.
It honestly hurts to put him here after being one of the most reliable relievers on the squad for much of the season so far. Even still, one bad outing shouldn’t define Honeywell. He allowed three runs, two of them earned, in the top of the 10th in the Padres’ heartbreaking loss to the Dodgers on Sunday night.
On Saturday, while he was not charged with an earned run, he allowed three baserunners on two hits and a walk. After being nearly untouchable to start the season, his last two outings have been shaky at best. However, it’s not hard to imagine this being a blip on the radar for him in the coming weeks and months.
Times are getting dire for Nola and the Padres. He has largely disappointed during his Padres career, with a.653 OPS and 88 OPS+ since he arrived via trade from the Mariners in August of 2020.
This week was not much better. He collected just one hit, a single, with zero walks and three strikeouts. He saw a rookie in Brett Sullivan out-perform him.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.