Throwdown Thursday – Week 4

Every Thursday, we at Chicken Friars will pick the two best Padres performers over the past week and analyze what they accomplished. Then we will leave it up to you, the fans, to decide who earned the week’s Throwdown Thursday honor.

A big congrats goes out to the Padres’ starting pitcher Cory Luebke for beating out his battery mate, Nick Hundley to earn last week’s Throwdown Thursday honor.  Luebke managed to win the distinct honor by earning 69 percent of the Chicken Friars’ fan vote while Hundley only managed 31 percent.

To be crowned Throwdown Thursday champion, Luebke out dueled future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay by pitching a career-best eight innings while striking out five and recording the win.

This week’s Throwdown Thursday candidates are a pair of starting pitchers. One came over in a five-player trade with the Cincinnati Reds during the off-season, and the other is a young gunner who many in the organization think very highly of: Edinson Volquez vs. Anthony Bass.

Edinson Volquez: While Volquez may still be winless in six starts he has proven to be one of the most reliable pitchers in the starting rotation. Volquez started two games last week, giving up just six hits and one earned run over a combined total of 14 innings pitched. He also walked four while striking out 11 in those two starts. Volquez was also able to contain Ryan Braun, who had a career night the day before Volquez got his start.

Anthony Bass: The righty keeps showing flashes of stardom. In his only start last week at San Francisco, Bass had retired the first 17 Giants hitters and took a perfect game into the sixth inning.  He exited the game after tossing a career-high eighth innings before allowing two runs on six hits with no walks. He also set a new career best with eight strikeouts in a 2-1 loss. Bass was able to effectively use a three-pitch mix, which included a fastball, slider and changeup.

Now Padres fans, vote in our poll for the Padres performer of the week.  Is it Volquez or Bass?