Padres Split Brief Series With Twins

Aug 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (23) hits a double in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

  Padres Series Overview 

The Padres (52-61) split the series with the Twins (51-61) at Target Field this week. Both rookie pitchers made mistakes that made life difficult for the Padres to overcome. In the series preview, I mentioned that the Padres needed just a little offense to win the series. One run in the first game didn’t cut it but the Padres came through in Game 2. Both Jesse Hahn and Odrisamer Despaigne had decent starts, but nothing spectacular like last month.

The offense sputtered at times, but it was not completely in shut-down mode. The team hit .284 in the two games. The Padres got to Kevin Correia after a few innings after being silenced most of the game. The offensive player of the series is Yonder Alonso. He seemed to have been slumping since his return from the DL a couple of weeks ago. But he was responsible for the only run in Tuesday’s loss when he hit his 6th home run of the year. He had 3 hits in that game and added 3 more on Wednesday, including the key double that would eventually tie the game in the top of the 9th.

The pitching staff wasn’t as lights-out as usual, but they still pitched well. The staff as a whole had a 3.50 ERA in the two games. The bullpen pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball. Hahn and Despaigne walked a combined 7 Twins. The Padres offense just could not pick up the occasional hiccup by the starters.

Aug 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Kennys Vargas (19) hits a three run home run in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

 Game 1: L, 3-1 

Game 1 featured a version of Jessie Hahn the Padres had not seen in a while. He walked 4 in 5.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on one pitch. He surrendered a home run in the 6th to rookie Kennys Vargas, marking his first career big fly. All 3 Twins runs came on his swing and it was enough to win the game. Alonso got the Padres on the board first with a solo home run in the 5th. They had a 1-0 lead until that home run in the 6th. Alonso had 3 hits in the game and Will Venable added 2 hits including a double. The Padres had 12 hits in the game but could not capitalize. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the game. The Friars left 11 men on base throughout the game.

The loss put Hahn at 7-3. Phil Hughes won his 11th game as he pitched well, striking out 9 for Minnesota and only allowed the Alonso home run. He also scattered 7 hits. The Twins did what the Padres couldn’t, got a big hit when it counted. The Padres out-hit the Twins 12 to 5 but still lost the game.

Aug 6, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne (40) pitches in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

 Game 2: W, 5-4 (10) 

The finale of the series did not start nor end well for Despaigne. Trevor Plouffe got things started with a 2-run home run, his 8th of the year. The Twins also had runners on first and third in the second but Despaigne was able to wiggle out of that. The middle innings were impressive. He was chased from the game in the 6th inning after plunking Danny Santana for the second time and then eventually surrendering an RBI single to Plouffe, scoring Santana. Despaigne finished with 5.2 innings, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts and 4 earned runs. The Padres kept battling back, tying the game at 3-3 before that RBI by Plouffe, making it 4-3. Tommy Medica had 2 hits with a run scored and an RBI.

The Friars squandered some good opportunities to tie the game or take the lead early in the game. Alonso had a bad base-running blunder when he was picked off at second with no one out that killed a rally. The Padres eventually tied the game in the 9th against closer Glen Perkins after Alonso made up for that base running error by ripping a double to lead off the inning. The game went into extra innings as Alexi Amarista made an acrobatic over-the-shoulder grab in the bottom of the ninth to save the game. The Padres then got a boost from Seth Smith, as he hit a towering home run to put the Padres up in the 10th. Joaquin Benoit made things interesting but eventually earned his 4th save in the bottom of the 10th.

Aug 6, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Tommy Medica (14) breaks his bat in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Where They Stand 

With the Padres now at 52-61, they surpass the Twins in winning percentage. They also remain firmly in 3rd place pending the other National League games tonight. They are 11.5 games back of the Dodgers, three games ahead of the Diamondbacks and 7.5 games ahead of the last-place Rockies. The Friars are now 9-11 in interleague play. That was the end of interleague games for the Padres in 2014. The Padres are now 4-1 to start off the month of August. They are yet to have a winning record in a month this year, with their best month being May, when they went 13-14, a .481 winning percentage.

The Padres are now at a team average of .224, as it continues to rise. Not too long ago it was hovering around .214. Smith boosted his average back up to .290. Medica’s continues to rise, now at .277. Alonso’s average has soared in these two games, at the start of the series it was at .217 and now it is at .233. The key to this series split was the timely hitting in Game 2. The Padres’ bats are yet to cool off this month. If the Padres can continue to get as many hits as they have, while mixing in some hits with runners in scoring position, they can beat anyone.