San Diego Padres Showed Themselves Who They Can Be This Weekend

The San Diego Padres need not mind about proving to outsiders that they can be a competitive ballclub this season. All that matters, for now, is proving it to themselves. This weekend they did just that.

When baseball historians look back on the turnaround of the San Diego Padres franchise heading into the Roaring 2020’s, this past weekend’s series loss to the Houston Astros will just be another line on a page.

Except for Eric Hosmer‘s misplayed pop-fly; that will infamously live in San Diegans’ and defensive statheads’ minds and Twitter feeds forever.

But the performance that this team put forth against the reigning world champs was admirable and could turn out to be a turning point in not just this season but well into the future.

Lots to be proud of if you’re the Padres

Aside from the losses, the Friars hung in there with one of the best, and most complete, teams in recent baseball history. The Astros didn’t trot out Justin Verlander, but their staff is so deep that Lance McCullers, Jr., Gerrit Cole, and Charlie Morton are practically aces themselves.

Did the Padres hit the cover off of the ball? Most definitely not. But apart from Cole’s dismantling of the Friars offense on Saturday (they did manage to get five hits off of him, FWIW), this team didn’t look intimidated at the plate whatsoever.

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Padres starters had a very nice weekend, will look to build off it

The amount of confidence that Tyson Ross, Bryan Mitchell, and Luis Perdomo must have after more-than-holding their own against an extremely potent offense should have some serious ripple effects over their next few starts.

With Dinelson Lamet reportedly beginning to progress, combined with the efficiency of the Friars’ bullpen so far, this pitching staff has a ton of upside (which we already knew) and could end up shocking a ton of “experts” who deemed this staff a weakness.

Manager Andy Green has to milk this series for all it was worth, which is a lot. He surely already has stressed to his players just how well they performed.

Rarely in baseball do you see so many positives come out losing two of three games. From the starters to the relievers to the lineup, everyone had something to be happy about this weekend.

Next: Kirby Yates Update (Also, Yesterday's Lineup)

Even Chase Headley got in on the action, notching his first base hit of the season in yesterday’s loss. Things are looking up, folks.