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Padres Weekly Recap: April 5th-12th, Let the Fun Begin

By Daryll Dorman |
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Just when people though A.J. Preller was done dealing – he was not. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Opening Thoughts:

After the most exciting off-season in San Diego Padres history, and making the biggest changes of any team in Major League Baseball – 15 players on the Opening Day roster who didn’t play at all on the 2014 version – Opening Day finally arrived.

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The Padres were eager to show off all of the changes made by rookie General Manager A.J. Preller, and endorsed by the latest ownership group; but the first one in some time that is actually investing money into the team and seems to care when the on-field product does not match their expectations of excellence.

The Padres opened on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers eager to show that for the first time since 2010 they could actually compete with their rivals up the 5 Freeway. While many do predict that the Dodgers will still win the division at this point, the Padres aimed to show that perhaps it will not be without a fight.

To top that off, as the team finished up their spring schedule they realized they still had a few too many outfielders. Holdovers Cameron Maybin, Will Venable, and Carlos Quentin all seemed to be holding down the fourth and fifth outfielder spots and all together they took up over $20 million in payroll. Pretty expensive bench. A.J. Preller was not done dealing.

In a blockbuster move, the Padres traded for premier closer Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves. In return Maybin and Quentin were sent to Atlanta and free-agent bust Melvin Upton Jr. and his contract coming to the Padres. It also helps that his brother Justin Upton joined the Padres earlier this off-season and many see Melvin (formerly B.J.) as a bit of a ploy to sign Justin to a long-term contract following this season.

Now, what was already a strength, has become an even BIGGER strength of the Padres. Presumed closer Joaquin Benoit moves back into the 8th inning. The only downside being that Kevin Quackenbush had to be sent down to AAA to make room for Kimbrel and Upton. The next question would be, how many games would the Padres be able to score enough runs for Kimbrel to close them out?

Read on to find out how they did in Week 1.

Next: Dodgers Series Recap?

The former Padre first baseman wreaked havoc on them opening week. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Adrian Gonzalez Goes Wild Against Padres

The season for both the Dodgers and the Padres opened on the same schedule this season – Monday at 1:10.

It wasn’t like last year where the Dodgers had already thrown their ace Clayton Kershaw in Australia and assumed the Padres would have another humdrum season, while they had visions of World Series victories. That was before Kershaw went on to win both the MVP and Cy Young Award last season.

Adrian Gonzalez, of course, is from the San Diego area.  One time considered the face of the franchise – the heir to Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman as Padres ambassadors. Yet, the ownership in place then felt they could not afford to resign him as a free agent, decided to traded him to the Boston Red Sox for another first baseman Anthony Rizzo and pitching prospect Casey Kelly. Rizzo was later traded to the Chicago Cubs and Kelly is still in the Padres farm system.

Opening Day didn’t quite go as planned with new ace James Shields on the mound. Shields matched Kershaw, who didn’t seem quite as sharp as normal, and exited after six innings, only allowing 2 runs.

The Padres held a 3-2 lead, then Nick Vincent allowed a run to tie it in the seventh, next Adrian homered for the second time in the eighth off of Shawn Kelley, and that was all the Dodgers would need. They wrapped it up 6-3 with Chris Hatcher getting his first save of the season.

Game 2 showed all of the talk the new offense the Padres were hoping for. The Padres ended up with 11 hits, scored four runs in the ninth inning (In 2014 they most they ever scored in a 9th inning was 3 runs) and ended up with the victory 7-3. New catcher Derek Norris went 3-5, Yonder Alonso had 3 hits, and shortstop Clint Barmes went 2-2 after coming in to pinch-hit for Alexi Amarista. The pitching matchup pitted 2014 standout Tyson Ross against Dodgers starter Zack Greinke and this one saw the Dodgers with a 2-1 and both starters exiting after six innings. This time though the Padres got through the bullpen before Joaquin Benoit allowed a homer to – ready – Adrian Gonzalez in the 8th to tie the game. Craig Kimbrel came in despite it not being a save situation with the four run lead and showed how exciting he will be to watch this season as he struck out the side.

In the rubber match of the series, Adrian Gonzalez crushed THREE home runs off of Andrew Cashner to lead the Dodgers to a 7-4 victory; last year the Padres scoring 4 runs was a major accomplishment, now it’s expected. Will Middlebrooks did hit his first home run as a Padres. Justin Upton also homered for the first time and at the very least it is exciting to have players who can alter the game with one at-bat. These two teams are bound to fight it out all year long in the NL West. They may have won this battle – but the war has just begun.

Next: Giants Series Recap?

The Padres won Game 2 by a 1-0 margin. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Coming Home: Giants Series Recap

Thursday was the Padres Home Opener against 2014 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. It had all the pomp and circumstance we have come to expect of Opening Day at Petco Park, and the Padres were excited to show off their new roster and HD Scoreboard in left field. Unfortunately, once the game got going the most exciting thing for most of it was the Giants triple switch late in the game. While Ian Kennedy had to exit due to a hamstring injury after just 2 1/3, Odrisamer Despagne pitched 4 2/3 of perfect baseball to keep the Giants off the board through the first seven innings. Unfortunately for the Padres, Giants veteran Tim Hudson was doing the same thing. Craig Kimbrel worked around a lead-off triple after Bud Black‘s first ejection of the 2015 season in the 9th to send the game to extra innings. The Giants Justin Maxwell pinch-hit single in the 12th gave the Giants the 1-0 lead they needed to win Game 1 of the series. Where was that new offense?

In Game 2 on Friday, the vaunted new offense also spent most of the game in a slumber. After fifth starter Brandon Morrow pitched seven terrific innings in his Padres debut, only allowing four hits and striking out seven, once again the game went to the bullpens. Tim Lincecum pitched seven strong innings of his own, and continued his success against the Padres but no no-hitter this time around. Wil Myers finally broke the game through with a RBI double in the eighth to give the Padres the only offense they would need. Kimbrel came along for his first save as a Padre, though with no strikeouts this time.

Saturday the Padres finally showed the Giants they got some new bats this winter. And remember how you beat up on James Shields in the World Series? Not this time. A World Series rematch that finally went right this time for Shields, in Bumgarner vs. Shields. The bats exploded with the Padres scoring 10 runs on 20 hits to defeat the Giants 10-2! They were lead by Yongervis Solarte going 3-4 with a walk (and getting the start at 1B), Matt Kemp going 4-5 with two doubles, and Will Middlebrooks going 3-5 as well. It is interesting to note they did not hit any home runs and only had two doubles out of those 20 hits. James Shields pitched seven strong with seven K’s to pick up his first Padres win.

In the series finale, it was the much anticipated return of Jake Peavy to San Diego; only the second time he had faced his former team. Tyson Ross delivered his second straight quality start and got the win this time. Ross only allowed three runs over six innings and struck out eight. The big hit though was Wil Nieves, who caught Jake Peavy‘s first start as a Padre back in 2002. He hit a grand slam off of Peavy in the fourth to give the Padres the lead they would not relinquish. Buster Posey hit a home run in the seventh for the Giants to pull within one, but recently called up pticher Chris Rearick got out of the jam, and Craig Kimbrel closed it out in the ninth for his second save this season.

The good news out of the weekend, for the Giants, is that third baseman, Casey McGehee, won’t be out an extended amount of time; but the Padres proved to the Giants that this year they have the lumber, the pitching, and the tenacity to win both slug-fests and the pitching duels.

Next: Who Gets the First Padre Player of the Week?

It was a good week for many of the new Padres, and a few old ones as well. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Padres Player of the Week

Despite not going undefeated this week, it was a pretty good week for these new look San Diego Padres. Matt Kemp looks just as energized as we expected him to be, and led the offense for much of the week. He sits at 11 for 30, a batting average of .367, with a stolen base, three doubles and a triple. He has yet to hit a home run but he has shown power, and it likely is only a matter of time. Therefore, he earns the first Padres Player of the Week honors.

While the offense seemed to be a little sleepy for a couple of games, it is exciting to look at the possibilities. Jedd Gyorko still looks lost at the plate, but this year he doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb when everyone else is hitting around him. He has time to get things back on track. The Padres scored 25 runs in their first six games, compared to 15 in 2014 and 14 in 2013. Derek Norris looks productive behind the plate, and Yongervis Solarte is off to a good start wherever he is plugged in as well.

Next: Padres Week Ahead

The Cubs made a push for the NL Central like the Padres did in the West. Who will win Round 1? Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Padres Week Ahead

The Padres have three games at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks before a day off on Thursday, then heading on the road to take on the new-look Chicago Cubs over the weekend. It is tough to say just what exactly the Padres need to work on at this point. The Padres ended the week at 4-3 and on some momentum taking 3 of 4 from the defending World Champions.

The starting pitching looked great this week, with James Shields and Tyson Ross both delivering two great starts. While Andrew Cashner‘s first start is some concern, I chalk it up more to Adrian Gonzalez being the zone than anything else. The Ian Kennedy’s injury is bad, but dramatically different than it might’ve been last year. This year Odrisamer Despaigne is an easy first resort, with Robbie Erlin waiting in AAA if further help if needed, or possibly even Brandon Maurer, who just got recalled to the major league roster. Brandon Morrow‘s first start with the Padres could not have gone better either, and a strong fifth starter like him could make a huge difference throughout the season.

The Diamondbacks sit at 3-3 on the season after taking two of three from the Dodgers over the weekend. The Cubs ended the first week at 3-3 and their offense got the benefit of already playing a series in Colorado to build up some confidence.

Current Record: 4-3

Standings: .5 out of 1st.

Predictions for Next Week: 5-1

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