Padres Slug Their Way to Consecutive Series Wins

Jul 19, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Rene Rivera (44) singles during the third inning against the New York Mets at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Some of the Padres numbers offensively look a lot better after this series. Seth Smith’s average is now at .293, which is almost 50 points higher than the next Padre who has played in more than 60 games. Venable went from .208 to .215 , Tommy Medica went from .226 to .240 and the team average is now at .216, which is the highest it has been in a while. Another sight for sore eyes is the amount of “crooked numbers,” or multiple runs, the Padres put up in several innings. The Padres scored 2 or more runs in 5 different innings, including a 9-spot in the sixth inning of the 13-3 rout on Thursday. The last time the Padres scored 9 runs in an inning was in July of 2011 against the Marlins. They also sent 15 batters to the plate in that inning, which is the most in 7 years.

The Padres just looked more confident at the plate in this series. The at-bats were longer and more fundamentally sound. Everyone seemed to be a little more relaxed and patient at the plate, and it paid off over and over. The 11 walks drawn in Wednesday’s 8-3 win were the most in 2 years. It would be naive and unrealistic to expect these numbers from the Padres on a consistent basis, but something has to be said about how this will affect the confidence of the offense moving forward.