Padres End Season With Series Loss

Sep 28, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop

(5) stikes out in the ninth inning of their MLB baseball game with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports. Giants won 9-3.

The Padres (77-85) finished up their 2014 season by losing the 4-game series to the Giants (88-74) three games to one. The Padres did achieve the goal of finishing with a better record than last year, achieving 77 wins as opposed to the 76 they have won the past 2 years. This 4-game series had showed every aspect of why the Padres finished 8 games below .500. The offense was mostly spotty, the pitching was great with a few hiccups.

As a team, the Padres hit .235, which is better than their season average. The offensive player of the series is Yasmani Grandal. He had 5 hits, 2 home runs, 8 RBI and 3 runs scored. Corey Spangenberg also had a great series, with 6 hits, an RBI and 2 runs scored. A few hitters finished the season well. A lot of Padres hitters finished below .250. Jedd Gyorko is the most notable, as he finished the season with a .210 average with 10 home runs and 51 RBI. This is a big drop off from his .249, 23 HR, 63 RBI season in 2013. The Padres have a lot of work to do with the bats.

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Sep 25, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman

(9) hits an rbi single against the San Diego Padres during the seventh inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 was an offensive showdown as 17 runs were scored combined with 23 hits and 6 total home runs. The Giants jumped out to a 6-0 lead by Pablo Sandoval’s 2 RBI as well as Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt’s home runs.  The Padres battled back with long balls of their own. Will Venable hit his 8^th of the year to make it 6-2 then Grandal hit a solo shot to right to cut the lead in half.  Grandal would not finish there. In the top of the 7^th, he launched a grand slam to give the Padres a 7-6 lead. Rene Rivera got into the action with a home run of his own, making it 8-6. The lead would be short lived as 3 Padres relievers relinquished the lead in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Giants the 9-8 win. The Giants took the lead on a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Matt Duffy.

Andrew Cashner had a bad ending to his season. He allowed 6 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings. The 3 runs that cost the Padres the game were charged to Blaine Boyer, who took his first loss. The Giants were able to capitalize when it mattered most by going 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

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Sep 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher

(22) throws to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

The Friars got revenge on Friday behind the arm of Ian Kennedy. He pitched 7 solid innings, striking out 6 and only allowed 4 hits and did not allow an earned run. Multi-hit games by Seth Smith, Venable and Rivera gave the Padres enough of a lead to win their 77^th game. Joaquin Benoit notched his 11^th save of the year. The Padres were out-hit 5 to 9 but they got hits when it mattered most, going 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The Padres got to Ryan Vogelsong for 6 hits and 4 runs in 5.1 innings. The Giants were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 7 on base. Kennedy finishes the season strong by earning his 13th win to even his record. He also surpassed 200 innings pitched. He finished the season with over 200 innings and 200 strikeouts. He has been impressive all year and a durable, reliable arm in a pitching rotation that had been plagued by injuries all year.

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Sep 27, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher

(22) throws against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

The bats were silent against former Padre Jake Peavy on Saturday. Peavy only pitched 5 innings but only allowed 4 hits and one run. Brandon Belt gave the Giants an early lead with an RBI double in the first. The Padres responded in the 5th when Yasmani Grandal hit a game-tying sacrifice fly. Brandon Crawford gave the Giants the lead again with a two-run single in the 8th. That would remain the final score at 3-1.

Eric Stults had a very good start. He threw 7 innings and only allowed one run and struck out 5. He didn’t walk anyone. Dale Thayer was the one to surrender the go-ahead single and was tagged for the loss. Stults finished his season strong after being on the brink of losing his spot in the starting rotation. In his last 11 starts, he went 5-4 with a 2.74 ERA. Neither Stults nor Peavy, who made his first career start against the Padres, factored into the final decision.

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Sep 28, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher

(28) hits a home run off Diego Padres starting pitcher

not pictured) in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

The season finale did not end well for the Padres. Even though they took an early 2-0 lead, it did not last long. Buster Posey hit his 22nd home run in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game at 2. The Giants then took a 3-2 lead the next inning when Gregor Blanco hit a sacrifice fly to score a run. It was 4-2 Giants after 2 innings. The Giants added 4 runs in the 7th inning to eventually win the game 9-3. Rookie Robbie Erlin was knocked around for 4 runs and he was not able to get out of the 2nd inning. 6 of the 8 Giants in the original lineup got a hit in this game.

The Padres finished with their most wins since 2010 despite the worst offense in all the major leagues. This is a testament to the quality pitching the Padres have had all year long. 2015 looks bright for the pitching and also for some young bats that emerged in September. They have a lot of work to do if they want to contend for the NL West title next year.