San Diego Padres Weekly Preview

4 of 5

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They are coming off a week where they beat probably the two most consistently winning franchises in the National League in the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. They beat the Cardinals twice, swept the Braves, and against both, had a game where they won by over 10 runs. Yes, make no mistake; they are playing very good baseball.

Now, can they keep it going? We have seen this movie before of course haven’t we? A hot second half surge, or a five game surge, maybe even 10, followed by…nothing.

So as the newcomers get acclimated to San Diego, let’s hope they keep hitting, and pitching, like they have been. This week will be a short week for the Padres, with an off-day Monday before a two-game set against the Twins, followed by a set against the Pirates in Pittsburgh over the weekend. 5 games to prove the last 6 haven’t been a one-week fluke.

The Padres lead the NL in runs, BA, and OBP for the second half. Their pitching is still pretty darn good too, and Andrew Cashner has finally made a rehab start to get back to the rotation. What can they prove with two months to go?

The Padres and Twins have nearly identical records. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Twins Preview

Despite similar records, the Padres and Twins have taken different paths to get there this season. The Twins actually played pretty well to start the season, hovering around .500 for a long time, before a descent in the last couple of months. Brian Dozier has been a bona fide All-Star, and pitcher Phil Hughes led the charge early, before watching his ERA rise a full point over the last month.

He has lost 5 of 7, though his previous two starts he allowed a total of 5 runs and lost both. He will go up against Jesse Hahn, the hottest young pitcher in baseball right now. Wednesday’s game will pit former Padre Kevin Correia against Odrisamer Despaigne, who has struggled of late, and lost his last two starts. It will be important for him to turn things around against Correia, and the Padres have a great shot at winning both of these games for a quick two-game sweep.

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Pirates Preview

After the Twins they head to Pittsburgh for a few games against last year’s Cinderella team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year the Milwaukee Brewers are looking to be the NL Central surprise, and have led most of the season. However, the Cardinals have won two straight since losing 2 of 3 to the Padres and made some trade deadline moves to get better.

Newcomer and postseason stalwart John Lackey picked up his first win with this team on Sunday. The Pirates did not make any moves, which is surprising because they need some help. They are 1.5 games out of first, but have struggled this season to get into long winning streaks. Edinson Volquez is still in their starting rotation for example. Right.

But the offense is still there, and don’t forget the mental edge this team might have over some others. They now HAVE won and made it into the playoffs instead of the years where they did not. They are a team that knows how to fight.

The Padres are hitting well, a big part of it being Tommy Medica’s Awakening. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Player to Watch

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Tommy Medica is the one to watch for the Padres this week. It is a short week: an off day, followed by a two game series, followed by an off day before closing out with three in Pittsburgh. Which makes it even more important to do well! Momentum can be a tricky thing in baseball, so hopefully the funky schedule doesn’t screw out the groove he is in. Both starters in Minnesota are right handers as well, so it will be interesting to see where Medica even fits into the starting lineup with all of the left handed hitters available to Buddy Black.

For much of the season Medica floundered at the plate, with a game here or there where he showed his true potential like his near-cycle in Arizona. If he can end the season hitting .285 with 15 HR it would rank a high success, and that much closer to making sure they find room for him in the outfield or even at first base next season. New GM take note.

The first part though is making sure he hits those numbers; not dropping down and ending at .250 with 9 HR’s. That wouldn’t impress anyone and wouldn’t help him in 2015 and beyond.

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Predictions

The Padres are playing two other teams this week that have had their share of disappointments this season. The Pirates were hoping to be a little better off in the division, and both the Twins and Padres were hoping to actually make wild card pushes right about now. The Padres roster has turned over the most certainly in the last two weeks alone, but so far that mix has been working. I wouldn’t completely count out the Twins, but if push comes to shove I think the Padres have more to prove there. The Pirates I think are the opposite, as they fight to make the playoffs two years in a row after a 21 year absence of even a winning record.

I think the Padres will two game sweep the Twins, and manage only 1 of 3 from the Pirates for an average 3-2 with 2 rest days on the week.

Home / Padres News