Padres at Rangers Game Recap 4/1/12

The final Cactus League game of the spring for the Padres saw the team come up short and saw newly extended pitcher Cory Luebke get hit hard.  Luebke went just two inning (partially because of his scheduled start Friday), and the Padres lost 5-3.

Luebke gave up four hits in the first inning, three singles and a double.  The hits accounted for three of the five runs Luebke would allow in the game.  In all he went two innings, allowed six hits, five runs, and struck out three.  Luebke says his arm feels good and he’ll be able to turn his focus to Friday’s regular season start.

"The ball was coming up on me a little bit today. I wanted to work on getting in to righties today, but some of them didn’t get all the way in there. They have a good lineup. You got to make your pitches, and it didn’t happen today. My arm feels good, so I’ll put it behind me and get ’em Friday."

On the opposite end of the spectrum, pitching prospect Casey Kelly went five strong innings in relief.  Kelly allowed six hits, no runs, and struck out three.  His spring ERA is just 1.74.

Cameron Maybin‘s woes at the plate continued as he went 0 for 2 and saw his batting average drop to a minuscule .167.  His overall spring line is just .167/.286/.317.

The Padres scored twice in the fourth inning and once in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early five runs scored by the Rangers.  Matt Clark (of Chicken Friars FreeClark movement fame), hit another home run – a solo shot in the fourth.

The Padres finish up Cactus League play with a  record of 19-15.  They played the most games of any team in the Cactus League and are hoping that extra practice translates to success during the regular season.  The Padres will head home to Petco Park for an Exhibition game against the Royals on Tuesday.  Game time is 7:05 PT.

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