Padres Defeat the Mets 2-1 to Avoid 2013 Opening Series Sweep

Earlier today, the Padres eked out a 2-1 win over the Mets and avoided a dreaded opening series sweep to begin the 2013 regular season.

Cabrera had a solid first series of the year. Mandatory Credit: Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

A tip of the cap must go to Eric Stults and San Diego’s bullpen today as they allowed only 1 run on 5 hits on the afternoon. Although Stults (1-0) struggled to keep his pitch count low, the veteran left-hander threw 5 shutout innings and struck out 7 batters. While Stults notched the first regular season win for the Friars, credit must go to San Diego’s bullpen as Brad Brach, Joe Thatcher, Dale Thayer, and Luke Gregerson all pitched shutout ball, and Huston Street slammed the door for the save despite the fact he gave up a home run to John Buck in the bottom of the 9th.

While San Diego’s bats were not necessarily “awakened” today, there were a couple of positives to note out of today’s game. First of all, kudos to Jedd Gyorko for notching his first big league rbi with a double in the 4th inning. Both of the hits San Diego’s rookie infielder has recorded this year have been doubles, and it is nice to see the team have a player with some pop in their bat in the middle of the lineup.

I should also note that Everth Cabrera’s plate-discipline has markedly improved too. So far Cabrera is not only hitting .333, but he has as many strikeouts as walks (2) and posted a .500 on-base percentage over the team’s first three games. I would say that he had the leadoff spot in the batting order nailed down, but Chris Denorfia (.333 batting average, 2 runs, .600 on-base percentage) scored what proved to be the winning-run in today’s contest after he worked a walk to leadoff the 8th inning, and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch.

The Padres must find more ways to manufacture runs with Chase Headley and Yasmani Grandal sidelined though. As stout as their bullpen has the potential to be, the starting staff cannot be counted on to give up 2 or less runs each and every game. Nevertheless, it was certainly nice to see the Friars earn their first win of the season, and definitely comforting to know that they were not swept by the Mets too.

Stats Courtesy of: Baseball Reference