Ross Outdueled in Loss

Jul 23, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher

pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2nd inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

This is going to be a fairly brief recap. Not because the staff is lazy or anything, it’s simply because there isn’t much to say. All one could really say is fans got the chance to watch two pitchers at the top of their games go head-to-head in a fantastic duel.

Tyson Ross continued his stretch of great pitching tonight. He put a line of just 1 run on 3 hits and struck out 8 in 7 innings of work. On any ordinary night that is more than a sufficient performance for a starter, but tonight Ross was saddled with a loss. A walk, a stolen base, an infield single and a sac fly was the deadly combination that led to the lone run allowed by Ross and what gave him the loss tonight.

The reason Ross ended up with a loss was the man who opposed him, Phil Hughes. While he wasn’t as dominant as Ross, he was just as effective. He scattered 7 hits over 7 innings of shutout ball. The key for Hughes was avoiding walks. He understood that his stuff may not be on par with Ross’, but if he could avoid giving away free passes, he could afford to allow some contact. All in all, it was great performance for Hughes and hats off to him.

It wasn’t like the Padres didn’t have opportunities to break into the run column tonight, though. They ended up being 0-for-4 with RISP, which in a game that ended with such a close margin that will kill you every time. Their best chance in the game was in the bottom half of the 6th, just after the Twins had put the first tally on the board. Chase Headley and Yonder Alonso each singled to put 2 men on with no outs. Then a great play by third baseman Trevor Plouffe, robbed Jedd Gyorko of a hit, but still left the Padres with runners on the corners with only one out in a one-run game. Unfortunately, Will Venable struck out and Cameron Maybin grounded out to kill the best chance they had of a rally all night.

Hopefully the Padres can bounce back from this quick two-game sweep and get their 4-game series against the Chicago Cubs off to a good start. Tomorrow’s match-up will be Jake Arrieta (0-0, 2.70 ERA) against Eric Stults (2-4, 4.50 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 PDT

Keep the faith.