Padres vs. Giants Game Recap 3/30/12

If you haven’t figured it out, Peoria Sports Complex is no Petco Park.  In yet another slugfest, the Padres came from behind late to beat the Giants 8-7.  The Padres started the game hot and looked like they were going to cruise, but a seven-run Giants fifth inning changed all that. Jeremy Hermida was the savior of last night’s game with a two-run go ahead home run in the eighth.

Dustin Moseley looked like he was going to be untouched by the Giants in this start.  He went 4 solid innings before getting roughed up in the fifth.  Some of that, though, was bad luck.  Three runs scored after an error.  But Pablo Sandoval‘s blast did the most damage.  Sandoval hit the three-run blast off Moseley to tie the game at five.  The Giants would score two more in the inning.

The good news, despite the poor outing by Moseley, was the offensive production.  Again, the Padres bats have come alive.  They’ve hit more home runs this spring than any Cactus League team.  Yet, they are doing it with more than just the long ball.

Nick Hundley was 3 for 4.  Kyle Blanks was 3 for 4.  Everth Cabrera was 2 for 4.  And the Padres as a team collected 12 hits.

Cameron Maybin‘s spring struggles continued last night.  He was 0 for 4, was caught stealing, and was picked off.  If that’s not bad enough, he laid out for a ball in centerfield, landed hard on the outfield grass, and wasn’t able to make the play.  The saving grace is the fact that spring training numbers don’t matter for the most part. It’s a double standard we can use here for Maybin.  Spring number will get us hopeful for the season to come, but if a player is struggling, it’s easy to write them off as meaningless.

With the win, the Padres moved to 19-12 in the spring.  They will play split squad games today, both in Peoria. The first game will be at 1:05 PT, and Tim Stauffer will get the start.  The second game will be at 6:05 PT, and Joe Wielan will take the hill.

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