Recap of Giants Series, Homestand

Apr 19, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley (7) on deck prior to his at bat during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres wrapped up the series and homestand Sunday with a 4-3 loss to the Giants. The Padres won the series and finished the homestand 6-4. They won the series against the Tigers and split the 4 game series with Colorado. Not a bad homestand at all. Offensively, the Padres were up and down. There were times of timely hitting and great execution and there were times of blunders and missed opportunities. The silver lining of Sunday’s loss may be the fact that Chase Headley had a clutch hit, a 2 run double that cut the Giants’ lead in half. That is something he has not done at all this season. Nick Hundley has been swinging the bat well, he had a line drive home run today in the 7th that, if  hit a little higher, would have broken a window in the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.

All in all, the Padres hit .239 as a team in the series. The Padres had a much better average the 2 other series this week. What helped the Padres win the series was the excellent pitching by Eric Stults and Tyson Ross. They combined for 14 innings, 11 strikeouts, 1 earned run and only one walk. The starting pitching, for the most part, was stellar the entire homestand. Also, the Padres had 2 home runs in the series by Hundley and Yasmani Grandal. The Padres had 7 HRs in the homestand. The surprising story has been Xavier Nady finding the fountain of youth for 2 big home runs this week. We will see if his production can continue and if he can raise his batting average.

Speaking of batting averages, Headley and Jedd Gyorko are still below the Mendoza line (.200). Gyorko got a much-needed day off and may benefit from the upcoming road trip that includes ballparks more hitter-friendly than Petco Park. The Padres travel to Milwaukee to face the red-hot Brewers (14-5), who are fresh off of taking 3 of 4 from the Pirates. Let’s hope we can keep Carlos Gomez in the yard so he doesn’t flip his bat. The Friars give the rock to our ace Andrew Cashner (2-1, 1.27 ERA) against the upstart Wily Peralta (2-0, 1.96 ERA) in Monday’s series opener. The Padres have to be pleased with the way the 10 games at home went, especially in beating 2 teams people think will contend. There is reason for optimism in San Diego heading into an arduous road trip.