San Diego Padres: Beating LA and other signs of progress

Despite being well out of playoff contention, there are reasons for San Diego Padres fans to be encouraged after a promising week.

Before arriving in San Diego on September 1, the Dodgers had lost only 10 of their previous 62 games. The team undoubtedly came into the series expecting to have their way with the Padres, which hadn’t taken three straight against L.A. since June 2013.

Game one undoubtedly challenged the notion that the Padres would fold, as rookie Dinelson Lamet, who began the season in Triple-A, almost matched ace Clayton Kershaw pitch for pitch. Lamet allowed only one run on a single by Chase Utley in the sixth inning. In his first game back after missing over a month with a back injury, Kershaw and the Dodgers’ bullpen held the Padres scoreless.

However, the Padres answered with a sweep of a double header on Saturday (including a walk-off in the first game) and a victory Sunday afternoon.

Especially sweet, in the final game the Padres beat Alex Wood, who started a benches-clearing fracas in June after accusing Jose Pirela of stealing signs while on second base. In the rematch, Wood (who had given up only two home runs in his first 14 starts) gave up two to the Padres, one to Pirela. Pirela later admitted he did have a little extra motivation. Jhoulys Chacin got the victory, giving up only two earned runs, striking out eight, walking none. By contrast, in his previous two starts, both losses, Chacin had walked seven batters and hit four.

Playing tough against the rival to the north with the $250 million payroll and a daunting 92-47 record has to give the young Padres’ players a boost of confidence. Unfortunately, the team has come back down to earth losing the first three games of a four game series against the Cardinals.

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On the positive side, rookies Austin Hedges and Manuel Margot rank toward the top in most defensive stats, and Carlos Asuaje has shown plate discipline that is rare for a first-year major leaguer. The fact that the Padres chose to send Hunter Renfroe back to El Paso shows that management might actually follow through on developing young players rather than jettisoning them as soon as they falter.

Likewise, rookie pitcher Lamet, as well as second-year starter Luis Perdomo, have weathered the long season, learning along the way. Perdomo had a miserable start to his season, with only three losses to show for his first 10 games. He has had a tendency to lose focus and let games get out of hand. But lately, Perdomo has regrouped after a bad inning and gotten back on track.   Lamet, who will definitely need to enlarge his arsenal of pitches beyond just fastball and slider, has averaged 11.30 K/9 and shows real promise.

Next: Impressive week as Friars top the Dodgers

Aside from a short trip to Minnesota, the Padres will be sorely tested by games against National League West rivals. Beating the Dodgers in Los Angeles would be especially sweet.