Strong Outing By Ross & Fireworks From the Bottom of the Lineup Help Padres Win

Ross won his first game as a Padre this evening. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Hooray for two wins in a row!

I know that I should not be as excited as I currently am, but the Friars had not won consecutive games since June 20-21 until their first two games against the Ryan Braun-less Milwaukee Brewers!

Tonight, San Diego received some terrific performances from Tyson Ross and the bottom of their batting order as they defeated Milwaukee by a score of 6-2.

Ross, who had not seen action as a starter since before he went on the disabled list, did a solid job for the Friars this evening.  The right-hander was throwing in the high-nineties with his fastball, and definitely did a solid job as he kept Milwaukee’s hitters off-balance during his six innings of work.

Overall, Ross struck out six, allowed only two hits, and the only run that the Brewers scored against him came on an errant pickoff throw by him in the bottom of the third.  To his credit earned his first win as a Padre, and he definitely earned another start in San Diego’s make-shift rotation after his outing tonight.

Although Ross did an effective job, the back-end of San Diego’s batting order gave him plenty of run support to work with.  Both Will Venable and Nick Hundley hit home runs to push the Padres ahead of Milwaukee 4-1 after the Brewers tied the game on the botched pickoff, and Mark Kotsay and Hundley singled home a run apiece in the top of the seventh inning to extend San Diego’s lead to 6-1.

Incredibly, San Diego’s number six, seven, and eight hitters went a combined 9 for 13, drove in five of the six runs, and scored four of the six against Donovan Hand and Tyler Thornburg.

With a 6-1 lead in hand, Bud Black pulled Ross for his bullpen.  Thankfully, Nick Vincent, Colt Hynes, and Luke Gregerson shut the door over the game’s final three innings.  The only real hiccup came when Hynes surrendered an opposite-field solo home run to Khris Davis in the bottom of the eighth.  Other than the home run, Milwaukee only put one base runner on during the game’s final three frames.

Final Thoughts

It was nice to see Ross perform well tonight, especially because Jason Marquis and Clayton Richard are no longer able to pitch this year.  The final two months could be a perfect window for Ross to take hold of a spot in San Diego’s starting rotation, and I am intrigued to see how he responds.

The Friars have a chance to capture their first “series victory” in over one month if they can defeat Milwaukee in one of their next two games.  Sean O’Sullivan will take the mound in another spot-start, so hopefully the home-town he can keep the winning streak going for San Diego.

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