Padres vs. Rockies Game Recap 3/20/12

Jesus Guzman reminded us all why we want him in the everyday lineup so bad.  In the bottom of the fifth, Guzman came to the plate as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded.  He took an Edgmer Escalona pitch deep for a grand slam.  The Padres ended up scoring five in the inning and went on to win 10-6.

Cameron Maybin hit his second home run of the spring on his way to a 1 for 4 day.  Chase Headley 2 for 3 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI.  Will Venable collected three hits.  In all, the Padres offense was firing on all cylinders.  The pitching was a different story.  At least the starting pitching.

Joe Wieland, looking to prove himself this spring and earn a major league call-up at some point during the season, got lit up.  In 4.1 innings pitched, he gave up three hits, two walks, a home run, and six runs (four earned).  The Rockies got two in the first off Wieland, then they scored four in the fourth.  Wieland’s spring ERA rose to 6.97.

The rest of the pen, though, pitched well in relief of Wieland.  Brad Brach, Mile Mikolas, Joe Thatcher, Luke Gregerson, and Andrew Cashner combined for 4.2 innings of two-hit ball without giving up a run.  Cashner came on in the ninth to shut the door, and he did just that.  In the inning, he did not allow a hit and struck out all three batters he’s faced.  He has now pitched in six games, worked six innings, and he has not given up a run.  In those six innings, Cashner has nine strikeouts and just two walks.

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies hit a home run as part of the Rockies four-run fourth inning.  Colorado scored two in the first, four in the fourth, and then they were shut down the rest of the game.

With the win, the Padres have now won four straight and seven of eight.  They’ve run their spring record to 10-8 and have seen offensive production increase quite a bit.

The Padres will take on the Dodgers in Camelback Ranch today at 1:05 PT.  The game will be shown on MLB.tv live and on MLB Network delayed.  The goal in today’s game is to get Stauffer five innings of work, but he has been knocked around so far this spring and his time on the mound will be dependent on how well he pitches.

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