San Diego Padres: Week #10 recap

Recapping all of the action from the second week of June, a week that the San Diego Padres fell back down to earth, dropping five of six against the Diamondbacks and Royals.

After winning five straight last week, the major league Padres ran into another week of ineptitude, losing three straight to the Arizona Diamondbacks and two out of three to the Kansas City Royals at home.

Poor starting pitching along with an implosion from the bullpen was responsible for the majority of the losses. It was not helped by continuing slumps from first baseman Wil Myers, catcher Austin Hedges and third baseman Ryan Schimpf, and a return to earth for outfielder Allen Cordoba.

Although newly promoted utility man Jose Pirela hit .500 with 3 doubles, 2 HR and 5 RBI and right fielder Hunter Renfroe continues his growth with 3 HR and 4 RBI, the poor pitching doomed the Padres to a 1-5 record and sole possession of last place in the NL West again.

Ryan Schimpf was demoted to AAA El Paso, as was Kevin Quackenbush, in order to allow other players and pitchers  a chance to show their stuff and get Schimpf more consistent at bats.

Related Story: Padres week #9 recap

Promoted after Jose Pirela was late inning reliever Phil Maton, who made his major league debut on Sunday versus the Royals, and pitched a clean inning with two fly balls and a debut strikeout of Lorenzo Cain.

Also shining on Sunday was third baseman Cory Spangenberg with two homers and increasing his average to .271 after inheriting third base as his own after Schimpf’s demotion.

Every starting pitcher besides Jhoulys Chacin struggled during the week, with relievers Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates showing well with the rest of the bullpen having inconsistent results.

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Late inning reliever Phil Maton, the 18th rated prospect according to Baseball America, has risen quickly thru the Padres organization. Drafted in the 20th round of the 2015 draft, the 6-3 and 220 lb righty was a starter in college but quickly adopted the reliever role as a pro. He rose quickly thru the system during the 2016 season, A ball to AAA, finishing 2016 as the closer for El Paso.

His 93-96 mph fastball has one of the highest spin rates in baseball. He also has a low 80’s curve, a low 90’s cutter and plus control. He projects as a late innings reliever or a closer and will hopefully stick with the major league club through the season.

Next: The division dilemma

The Padres play three games at home versus the Reds at the beginning of this week with an off day on Thursday.  Then they are on the road for three games each versus Milwaukee and Chicago.