Padres Series Recap with Indians

Apr 9, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians third baseman Mike Aviles (left) tags out San Diego Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera (2) on an attempted steal of third base in the third inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres salvaged the last game of the series in Cleveland, winning 2-1. The bats quieted down a little bit from last night but it was still better than what the Padres have had lately. They only managed 2 runs on 5 hits, but it was enough. Chris Denorfia’s “double” (see controversial challenge by Francona) in the 1st inning set up a Seth Smith RBI. Chase Headley added a clutch, go-ahead RBI single in the 6th which was the difference in the game. That was Headley’s first RBI of the 9-game old 2014 season. Everth Cabrera continues his great start with 2 hits and scoring both runs, and also adding a stolen bag. His season average is now at .333. The player of the game was definitely Robbie Erlin, the 23-year-old starting pitcher threw 6 solid innings, allowing only one run on 4 hits and striking out 6. His ERA now at 1.35.

The Padres had back-to-back solid starts from Eric Stults and Erlin in today’s games. Stults had a stroke of bad luck. After Alexi Amarista’s throwing error, Stults surrendered a home run to Jason Kipnis, leading to the only 2 runs of the game, the Tribe shutout the Padres 2-nil. Stults did throw 5 2/3 solid innings, with only one earned run and 5 hits allowed. Once again the Padres avoid a sweep on the last game of the series. This is not a good trend. The Padres finally scored first for the first time all year when they took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd game of the doubleheader today. The offense needs more consistency. Bud Black said it himself, the good pitching and good hitting just needs to sync up.

For the 3 game series, the Padres accumulated 8 runs on 26 hits (that equals way too many people left on base), a team average of .245. X-Nady was the only HR of the series for the Friars. A less than stellar series to say the least, but the bats seemed to have awoken a little. The Padres fly back home at 3-6 on the young season, with an off day tomorrow to prepare to take on the mighty Tigers of Mo-Town. It will be fun to see the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter and Justin Verlander at Petco (Verlander is scheduled to start Saturday’s game in San Diego). We will see how the Padres fare against one of the American League’s elite. But hey, at least we get to see AL pitchers hit. That’s always quite entertaining.