Padres Play Spoiler, Sweep Giants

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres (74-81) swept the Giants (84-71) right out of San Diego this past weekend. Surprisingly, it had a lot to do with the offense. The Padres scored 16 runs in the three games, outscoring the Giants 16-4. They are now 9-6 against the Giants this year. The Padres also have a 46-32 record at Petco Park this year, with one series remaining. The Giants dropped down into a tie for the Wild Card spot with the Pirates.

As a team, the Padres hit .226 in the series but it was enough to win each game. The offensive player of the series is Rene Rivera. He had 4 hits and 4 RBI in 2 games of this series. Two of those four hits were doubles. The Padres had 21 hits in the series. Another worthy candidate could have easily been Andrew Cashner. During his start on Saturday, he was 2-for-2 with a walk and a triple.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching was the name of the game in Saturday’s win as well. It was the Andrew Cashner show at Petco Park. While donning the classic brown uniforms, the Padres gave Cashner just enough offense to get the win. He also helped his own cause, reaching base all three times he appeared at the plate including a triple. Cashner also pitched very well, completing 8 innings, striking out 7 and only allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Kevin Quackenbush finished the job in the 9th with his 5th career save.

Rene Rivera was instrumental in the Padres win. In the 6th inning, Rivera doubled home 2 runs to put the Padres up 3-0. That would be the difference in the game as the Giants scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th before Quackenbush came in to shut the door. Without Rivera’s clutch hit, the Padres could have just as easily lost this game. At one point in the game, Cashner retired 15 Giants in a row.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

In the Padres’ final Sunday home game donning the camo uniforms, they completed the sweep of the Wild Card leading Giants. The Friars gave Ian Kennedy plenty of support to the tune of 8 runs on 8 hits. The scoring did not even start until the 5th inning when Amarista put the Padres ahead with a sacrifice fly. Yasmani Grandal helped the Padres break it open with a sac fly and a double, giving him 3 RBI on the day.

Kennedy pitched into the 7th inning. He struck out 5, only walked one and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits. The Padres were 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position, which was enough to get Kennedy his 12th win of the season. The Friars got to Ryan Vogelsong for 4 runs, but only 2 of them were earned thanks to an error by Pablo Sandoval. Rene Rivera once again stepped up with 2 RBI as the Padres’ two catchers on the roster combined for 5 RBI on Sunday.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks to the sweep, the Padres’ goal of finishing with a better record than last year seems very possible now. With 7 games left, they need to finish 3-4 or better to achieve that goal. With those 7 games coming against the Rockies and the team the Padres just finished sweeping, the Giants, this is a definite possibility. No matter what happens from here on out, the Padres will finish in third place. They have one last home series in 2014.

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The Padres are still last in the major leagues in team batting with a .226 clip. However, this is much improved from when they were flirting with a historically bad season around the All-Star break. In the second half of the season, they have raised their batting average 12 points. The Padres have to feel good about many of the young players who came through in the second half. There is still some season left to get young players experience and confidence heading into 2015. If the Padres can finish this season strong, this organization should have a lot to look forward to next spring.