Padres 3 Up, 3 Down: Team can hang with Dodgers

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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

After taking another series from Arizona at Petco, the Padres went to Dodgers Stadium, splitting the four-game series and proved they are legit.

The goal heading into Los Angeles was to, at the very least, split the series with the rival Dodgers. The Padres last matchup with LA didn’t go too well after taking the first game, so when the Friars took game one, I think everyone was hesitant to break out the champagne. But after a convincing 6-2 victory in game two, the remainder of the series was just gravy.

Game three featured a particularly interesting pitching matchup in that Zach Davies was on the bump for the Padres. In his career, he has a 2.08 ERA in seven starts against LA, which was easily the best mark against any opponents with as many starts against. On the other side, Tony Gonsolin was making his second spot start, having tossed four innings in his MLB debut. He went just under five innings, but the Padres couldn’t touch him.

And the finale gave us a glimpse of Jorge Mateo, who, after being acquired, contracted COVID-19 and then disappeared for a while. The Padres jumped out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back bombs from Pham and Hosmer, and the Dodgers quickly responded with a two-run shot by Corey Seager. The Dodgers hit, what seemed like, every one of Chris Paddack’s fastballs. Paddack generally just looked “off” on Thursday, not being to locate his pitches and lasted only three innings.

I’m not ready to press the panic button on Paddack quite yet. With Dinelson Lamet flourishing, and MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino coming to the rotation soon, having Paddack as your fourth starter is a great problem to have.

Let’s look at a few players who performed well and players who have room for improvement.

1. Cal Quantrill

How about the job that Cal Quantrill did in game one in a bases-loaded situation? The 25-year-old has been flirting with the starting rotation, primarily serving in long relief for now. There appears to be an open spot in the rotation after Joey Lucchesi was optioned down to the team’s alternate training site, and Quantrill is making every appearance count.

As noted, the Stanford product began the fourth inning, allowing back-to-back singles, hitting Chris Taylor, and the Dodgers looking to make it a big inning. He proceeded to strike out Matt Beaty and then got Edwin Rios to ground into a double play. Not long after, the Padres chipped away, adding two runs and taking game one.

2. Manny Machado

In year two of a massive ten-year deal, Manny Machado was expected to return to the Baltimore Orioles player that was a perennial MVP candidate. However, that wasn’t the case out of the gate. For whatever reason, Machado was having difficulties hitting fastballs with some bad luck included as well. In game two and the two clubs tied at 1-1, Machado launched a grand slam to dead center to give the Padres a commanding 5-1 lead.

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3. Jake Cronenworth

Has anyone on the roster been more of a surprise this season than Jake Cronenworth? If not for expanded rosters (and a canceled minor league season), the Michigan product might be in Triple-A El Paso to start the season. Instead, he shined, replacing Eric Hosmer, who was out with an illness, at first base. Once Hosmer returned, Cronenworth began seeing regular time at second base, in favor of Jurickson Profar, who has been fading. With stellar defense and timely hits, the “Crone Zone” is becoming must-see tv.

1. Craig Stammen

Craig Stammen hasn’t been bad throughout his career by any means. In three-plus years with the Padres, he has a 3.21 ERA in 217 appearances. But when he’s off, he can be downright terrible. In game three of the series, he replaced Zach Davies who allowed two earned runs over seven strong innings. The Padres offense did nothing off Dodger pitching all night, but the game was officially put out of reach when Stammen came in. The 36-year-old allowed four earned runs on four hits in his only inning of work.

2. Luis Perdomo

It’s likely time to send Luis Perdomo down to the team’s alternate training site. He got the spot start on a bullpen night on Monday, lasting all of an inning and walked the first batter he faced. The decision to not allow Quantrill to start the game was highly contested, which didn’t help with Perdomo’s short outing. He pitched in the series finale on Thursday, in mop-up duty, allowing three runs on five hits while also walking two in just as many innings.

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3. Trent Grisham

Much like Pham, Trent Grisham got off to a quick start, but he’s tailed off as of late. He quietly went two-for-four in the 6-0 loss on Wednesday night, but he went 0-for-6 in the other two games. Manager Jayce Tingler gave him Thursday night off to, hopefully, give him a breather and be ready for the Diamondbacks series on Friday.

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