Padres Win Final Home Series

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Sep 16, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; The San Diego Padres celebrate a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres (76-82) won the final home series of the 2014 season two games to one against the Rockies (66-93). The Padres pitched very well. They held the Rockies to 6 runs in the three games. The Friars finished 48-33 at home, which is 3 games better than last year.

The team as a whole hit .217 during this series. They racked up 20 hits in the 3 games but only 4 of them were extra base hits. The offensive player of the series was Tommy Medica. He had 3 hits including a 3-run home run and a double. He also had 2 runs score and 3 RBI. The Friars were 3-for-26 with runners in scoring position in the series. The team average is at .226.

Aug 25, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Stults (53) pitches during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Monday night’s 1-0 win was an impressive display of what the Padres have had all year, good pitching. Eric Stults got it started by pitching 6.1 innings of scoreless ball. He struck out 5 and only walked one. The bullpen came in in the 7th inning and took over. 4 Padres relievers combined for 2.2 shutout innings while only allowing 3 hits without a walk.

The only run scored in the whole game was in the first inning. Rene Rivera doubled home Jedd Gyorko to give the Padres a 1-0 lead to start off the game. The scoring would end there. The Rockies did collect 10 hits but to no avail. Padre pitching held them to an 0-for-8 clip with runners in scoring position. Stults pitched out of his share of jams, but he pitched well enough to earn his 8th win of the season. He now has a 2.92 ERA over his last 10 starts after a shaky start.

Aug 24, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Drew Stubbs (13) runs after hitting a RBI double in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres offense performed well on Tuesday put they just could not get enough runs across to win. The Rockies jumped out to a 2-0 lead with RBI singles by Justin Morneau and DJ LeMahieu. The Padres were able to tie the game with RBI singles of their own by Rymer Liriano and Alexi Amarista. Drew Stubbs untied the game in the 8th with a home run to right field, giving the Rockies a 3-2 lead, and that eventually would be the final score.

Robbie Erlin pitched only 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2. Dale Thayer was the one that surrendered Stubbs’ go-ahead home run that led to the Rockies win, as he was tagged with his 4th loss. The Padres had 9 hits in this game but were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They left 10 men on base. The Friars could not take advantage of a shaky start by Jorge De La Rosa. He pitched 6 innings and walked 4 while allowing 7 hits. Only 2 runs got across even though De La Rosa put 11 Padres on base.

Sep 16, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Tommy Medica (14) singles during the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres got their revenge and the series win on Wednesday. Charlie Blackmon led the game off with his 19th home run of the year, giving the Rockies an early 1-0 lead. Tommy Medica saw to it that that lead would be short-lived when he smacked a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 1st, giving the Padres a 3-1 lead. The Padres got it to 4-1 win Alexi Amarista beat out a double play ball in the 4th to drive another run in.

Joe Wieland got his first major league win by pitching 5.1 innings and allowing 3 runs on 3 hits. He struck out 5 and also walked 3. The bullpen picked him up by throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless ball. Joaquin Benoit returned from injury to earn his 10th save of the year. Yohan Flande was tagged for 4 runs, including Medica’s home run that eventually led to his 6th loss of the year without a win. Two Rockies had 3-hit games, Michael Cuddyer and Corey Dickerson.

Jun 27, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Seth Smith (12) loosens up on deck before an eighth inning at bat against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres now have equaled their win total from the past 2 years, at 76. They won their final home series which is good momentum heading into the offseason. The Friars finished 15 games above .500 at home. The Padres improved a lot on offense in the second half of the season. They went from a .214 team batting average to now a .226 average. It remains to be seen what the team will look like the next time the Padres take the field at Petco Park, but every fan hopes that it will contain players that can hit. This means keeping some players that showed over this season that they can hit consistently, getting rid of players who can’t, and signing players that can.