San Diego Padres: Jenkins Strong, but Padres Lose Late

Starter Tyrell Jenkins pitched two strong innings of no-hit baseball for the San Diego Padres in their third exhibition game on Monday. In the end though, the Angels emerged victorious thanks to a two-run seventh.

The San Diego Padres fell to 0-3 on Monday afternoon, losing 5-3 to the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

In a tight ballgame throughout, the difference came in the bottom of the seventh inning when Jason Jester surrendered a two-run rally capped by RBI hits from Kaleb Cowart and Jose Briceno.

Tyrell Jenkins was one bright spot of a much more pleasant afternoon for the Padres, as he started the game with two strong innings. Jenkins recorded the six outs without giving up a single hit, walked just one and also struck out one.

The Padres also showed flashes of offensive production led by the young core. Austin Hedges drove in Hunter Renfroe with a single in the second, serving as the first run of the game. Later, it was Wil Myers who got in on the action, trimming the deficit to a single run with his RBI knock that drove in Christian Bethancourt.

The loudest hit of the afternoon came in the top of the seventh, when Dusty Coleman homered to right center. This tied the game, and concludes the positive offensive highlights for San Diego.

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On the pitching front, two other notable outings besides that of Jenkins and Jester occurred in the fifth and sixth innings. With most of the Angels’ starters still in the game, Jon Edwards and Kevin Quackenbush pitched solid 1-2-3 innings. Each should have a spot in the team’s bullpen, making their strong outings very encouraging.

Once again, the theme for the Padres thus far this spring is the strong play of their starters overshadowed by the incapable bench players, minor league invites, and non-roster invites. Whether or not this is a good thing is still up for debate. Certainly, the Padres have a promising young core who has already revealed their ability this spring. But on the other hand, this organization severely lacks depth.

Next: Lack of Pitching Depth Evident Following Two Defeats

San Diego will be in action once again on Tuesday afternoon, this time back at their home facility in Peoria. The opponent will be the National League West foe San Francisco Giants, an early opportunity for fans to scout out one of the club’s biggest competitors. First pitch is set for 12:10 PM PT, and this game can once again be seen on Fox Sports San Diego.