Padres Unable to Give Ross Run Support Against Yankees, Lose 3-0

Ross pitched well tonight, but he did not receive any run support. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

With injuries and uncertainty hurting San Diego’s starting rotation, the time is “now” for pitchers to make splashes and prove themselves.  Tyson Ross has certainly made the most of his recent opportunities, and the right-hander enjoyed another solid outing tonight this evening against the Yankees.

Unfortunately for Ross, he took the loss tonight because his lineup could not scrounge up any support for him during San Diego’s 3-0 loss to New York.

As I mentioned previously, Ross provided the Padres with six strong innings of work this evening after he enjoyed two consecutive stellar starts.  In fact, Ross did not allow a single hit until the top of the fifth inning.  Unfortunately, the top of the seventh was when things finally fell apart for the right-hander.

Alfonso Soriano led off the frame with a single into center field, and Curtis Granderson followed Soriano’s base-knock with a home run.  Ross’ night was finished after he walked the next two hitters, but the Padres managed to escape the inning with some solid relief/damage control work by Nick Vincent out of the bullpen.

Overall, Ross only allowed two runs on three hits during his six innings of work, and he struck out nine over that span to boot.  Sadly, the Friars were unable to make anything happen against Ivan Nova this evening, and Granderson’s dinger would be all that New York needed to win the game.

Nova did not allow a run during his seven innings of work, struck out eight hitters, and kept the Friars’ lineup at bay all night long.  After the Padres recorded three hits between the first and second innings, New York’s right-hander completely shut down San Diego’s lineup and pitched perfect frames in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.  While Alexi Amarista and Will Venable led off the bottoms of the second and seventh with doubles, the rest of their teammates were unable to bring them around to score.

Nova and New York then received a huge insurance run in the top of the ninth when Jayson Nix singled home Granderson.  The hit itself gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead, and all but shut the door on a potential comeback for the Friars.

Final Thoughts

Former Yankee Ian Kennedy will take the hill for San Diego in the rubber-match of their current three-game series.  I for one am intrigued more than anything to see how well the newly-acquired starter can perform, and even more anxious to see whether or not he can give the Padres their fourth consecutive series victory.

As far as Ross is concerned, I think that it is safe to say that he has earned himself a spot in San Diego’s starting rotation for the rest of the year.  Furthermore, the right-hander should have the inside track to capture at least one of the spots in the team’s rotation in 2014 if he continues to pitch like he has over the last month.

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