San Diego Padres Look to Bounce Back From Loss After Blowing Lead

Jun 30, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jesse Hahn (45) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

After winning five straight games, the San Diego Padres lost a game in uncharacteristic fashion Saturday, blowing a one run lead in the ninth inning. The loss now makes Sunday’s 1:10 game all the more important as they try to regain the positivity that has greeted them in July.

Jesse Hahn(4-1, 1.95) will take on the Giants Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum (7-5, 4.06) in the rubber match of the three game series.

With wins in his last four starts, Hahn is off to one of the best starts a young pitcher could hope for in his big league career. In his last start, the right hander shut out the Reds on three hits over five innings in a 1-0 Padres win. He struck out nine batters while only walking two. H has now only allowed three runs in his last 24 innings pitched. He has also notched 31 strike outs over that time.

Two starts ago, Hahn held the Giants to just two runs on four hits over six innings in an eventual 7-2 San Diego win.

Meanwhile, Lincecum has won his last four starts against the Padres and four of his last five since the start of the 2013 season. Two of those four winning starts, as Padre fans are loathe to remember, were no hitters. The right hander has made 28 starts against the Padres in his career tied for the most against any other opponent. His 15 wins against the Padres are the most versus any single team and his 2.35 era is the third lowest against any team, and the lowest(by 0.35)of any team he has made at least 10 starts against.

To further solidify his dominance against his favorite opponents from San Diego, Lincecum has tossed three complete games and averages six and two thirds innings per start. He has logged 187.1 innings against the Padres, the most against any opponent he has faced.

In his short time at the big league level so far, Jake Goebbert is showing he is very comfortable facing the rival Giants. Two of his three starts in 2014 have come against the Giants. In those two games the rookie is 2-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. His key triple last night evened the game back up in the seventh inning after the Giants had taken the lead the half inning prior.

Meanwhile, with his two hits last night, catcher Yasmani Grandal now has 18 hits against the Giants, the most against any opponent he has faced in his big league career. While hitting just over .240 against San Francisco, Grandal has driven in eight runs and hit three home runs. His HR total against the Giants is tied for the most against any team, and the eight RBI is the second most driven in against any of his opponents.

When the Giants went on to beat the Padres Saturday night in extras, they pulled even with San Diego over their last 10 head to head games, each winning five. With a 6-5 edge in the season series, the Padres are looking to win the season series for the first time in two seasons. All time the Giants lead the series 410 to 358 since 1969.

Monday, the Padres travel hit the road for a seven game swing through the NL West. The trip begins Monday in Colorado with a 5:40 start to the three game series. The Padres will head into the All-Star Break after four games on the road with the Dodgers.