San Diego Padres score shutout victory over Milwaukee Brewers

The San Diego Padres opened their homestand against the Milwaukee Brewers with a shutout, thanks to a strong effort from starter Joey Lucchesi.

The San Diego Padres proved what can happen when they get quality pitching on Monday: they held the Milwaukee Brewers scoreless in a 2-0 win.

Opening a three-game series with Milwaukee at PETCO Park, the Padres saw another flash of greatness from Joey Lucchesi. Lucchesi (now 6-4) pitched seven innings, giving the team’s rocky bullpen a rest.

He only allowed three hits—though he did walk three batters—and struck out five. It was a marked improvement over his past two June starts, in which Lucchesi surrendered a cumulative seven runs, nine hits (including two home runs) and five walks.

Offensively, San Diego did all their damage early in the game. They scored one run in the first and another in the third; the team could have opened up an even wider margin of victory, as they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

They also left nine men stranded on base.

But Joey Lucchesi did the bulk of the work on Monday. He threw 103 pitches—the highest pitch count he’s had in the 2019 season—and only 41 of those pitches missed the strike zone.

He also combined with relievers Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates to allow just one runner in scoring position.

If San Diego can continue to put together quality pitching, that will set the tone for similar wins like this game. Most of the team’s problems have come because their pitchers surrender runs both early and late in games, putting pressure on the offense to dig them out of holes.

Having pitchers who can keep the other team off the board, or at least minimize the number of runs that they allow, would erase that disadvantage. And on the nights where the offense is hot, it could enable entire blowouts. It’s simply finding that consistency that makes all the difference.

Thanks to their wild rally at Colorado the day before, the San Diego Padres now have a two-game winning streak going after losing five of six games last week. As most of the National League West was off Monday, the Padres now sit 12 games out of the division lead and one game below .500.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base all season long.