Padres Week in Review May 18-24th: Black’s Time Ending Soon?

May 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder

Joc Pederson

hits a solo home run against the San Diego Padres in the 8th inning during the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers Series Recap

The Padres and Dodgers both came into this series struggling. The Padres had lost 5 of their last 6 and the Dodgers were shutout in three straight games by the Giants, with even Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarmer hitting a home run. Both teams hoped that a weekend in Chavez Ravine would awaken their slumbering offenses. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for either team, and the Dodgers mustered just a little bit more.

Game 1 pit Zack Greinke against Andrew Cashner whose bad luck this season has been well documented. Friday would be no different. He threw six solid innings allowing only 1 run and it was of course unearned. This is now remarkably his 12th unearned run of the season, or 40% of the runs he has allowed. Joaquin Benoit had a rare poor outing allowing the decisive home run to Joc Pederson in the 8th after the Padres had rallied to tie it in the 7th. The Dodgers won the game 2-1 and another Cashner start went to waste.

Game 2 started well enough as Yangervis Solarte singled on the 4th pitch of the game from Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger. Solarte by the way was starting at 1B while Will Middlebrooks got his first professional start at SS and Corey Spangenberg started at 3B. That is one way to fix the lack of production from Alexi Amarista if Middlebrooks can start to bump his average up from the Mendoza line himself. That single was erased by a double play and would be the last offense of the day for the Padres. Bolsinger pitched 8 allowing only the leadoff hit and walking none. Meanwhile Ian Kennedy pitched 6 innings and allowed only two runs himself. That was enough though as the Dodgers won this one 2-0. The Dodgers were able to do just enough to win this game, and rookie Joc Pederson homered for the second straight night.

The finale game on Sunday did prove to be the offensive game the Padres had been looking for, as they erupted for an 11-3 victory. This one was easy for James Shields, and the offense clicked on all cylinders. Why can’t we just spread things out a little more? Also, Will Middlebrooks continues to see his batting average rise up which is a positive sign. When Wil Myers and Yonder Alonso return from the DL it will be interesting to see how the manager will keep Solarte’s hot bat in the lineup.

Padres Week in Review May 18-24th: Black’s Time Ending Soon?

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