Padres Hit The Road For 9 Starting With the Buccos: Pads vs. Pirates Series Preview

By Bob Scanlan

The Padres dropped the final game of the homestand to the Phillies, 6-5, falling short in the series, 2-1. The Phils’ 4-run fourth inning seemed to be the turning point at the time, but a 2-run home run by Ryan Schimpf capped a 3-run sixth inning Friar rally to tie the game. Defense both good and bad determined the rest of the game. A Padres error to start the 7th led to the game-deciding Phillies run, and in the bottom half of the inning, a Phils triple play (the first in Petco history) ended the last Padres threat.

After a day off, the fellas are starting 9-game road trip opening tonight in Pittsburgh. There are some things to know heading into the opener in the Keystone State, including…

THE SET UP:

• Pirates – The Bucs find themselves well out of their division race, trailing the Cubs by 13.5 games, but are still in the hunt for a wildcard birth only 2.5 games out of securing one of those two spots. They certainly have something more still to play for than pride, but have not been hitting on all cylinders recently, dropping 6 of their last 9. The problem has been primarily their offense, which has scored the fewest runs in MLB so far in the second half of the season. The pitching ranks in the middle of the pack, and their defense has the 4th fewest errors on the year. Despite being in the playoff hunt, they traded away their closer, Mark Melancon, and veteran starter Franciso Liriano, sending the message that the organization might be more interested in saving $15M than going for postseason action. The emotional impact of those moves may be carrying over onto the field.
• Padres – As noted above, the Friars are coming off a series loss, and have been flip-flopping between a win and a loss for their past ten games. Most of the wins have been thanks to their offense, while the losses are in large part attributable to a shaky starting rotation and undependable defense. When the offense can overcome the free runs and hand a lead to the bullpen, there is a good chance that the post game victory music will be playing in the clubhouse, but digging out of the holes created by the rotation and defense is sometimes just asking too much.

WHO’S HOT:

• Pirates – As noted above, there aren’t too many hot bats in the Pirate lineup right now. I guess you could say Josh Harrison with 5 hits and a HR in his last 15 ABs is not doing terribly, but other than that it is slim pickins. Starling Marte has had a decent second half, hitting .329, but even he hasn’t been tearing it up the last week. On the bump, Game 1 starter Chad Kuhl has been respectable in his first four MLB starts with the team winning each of those games, and him throwing 6 scoreless in his last outing against the Nationals. Ryan Vogelsong will pitch Game 2 and made a successful return from a 2-month stint on the DL after being hit in the face with a pitch, throwing 6 innings of 1-run ball in his return. And in the finale, Jameson Taillon will look to extend his 5 game streak of allowing 3 runs or fewer.
• Padres – Without a doubt the hottest Padre right now is Travis Jankowski. The dynamic center fielder is starting to find his way in the lead-off spot currently riding a 7-game hitting streak during which he’s batted .481 and reached base four more times via walk, while scoring 13 times. Wil Myers has pulled out of his second half slump by getting 11 hits over the past 6 games, including a HR and 3 doubles. Alex Dickerson also continues to swing the hot stick hitting .405 with 5 HRs in his last 11 games. On the mound, Game 1 starter Luis Perdomo continues to be consistent, and Edwin Jackson is coming of an 8-inning winning performance and will start the second game.

WHO’S NOT:

• Pirates – Their lineup – quite literally the entire thing! They have six of their starters hitting .230 or lower over the last 7 games. Jordy Mercer has had a strong second half but is 3 for his last 21 at the plate, while Jon Jaso is 4 for his last 42 (.095).  Matt Joyce has been getting more playing time recently, but still only has 8 hits in his last 45 at-bats (.178).
• Padres – Jose Rondon is still trying to find his way at the plate in the big leagues with only 3 hits since his callup, while Ryan Schimpf has only 6 hits in his last 42 at bats (.143). Maybe his HR in the Phils series finale can be a spark to get him going again.

X-FACTORS:

• With the trade deadline moves the Pirates made, you just have to suspect that their clubhouse is a little disheartened. Nothing their front office did seemed to project any confidence that they think the team can make the post season. The Padres may either be facing a team ripe for the picking, or one fired up with something to prove – we’ll see which it is.
• Tonight’s game starts a string of 16 games in a row for the Padres. The good news is they have the two guys who are least likely to kill the bullpen starting the first two games in Perdomo and Jackson. The bullpen should be ok after a day off and hopefully can avoid having to suck up big chunks of innings early in this long stretch of games they are facing.
• Now that Myers is heating up again, will that spark everyone else in the lineup the way he did at the start of June when the Padres turned into the most offensively productive team in the N.L.? The Friars are certainly hoping so.