Padres: Eric Hosmer’s injury news puts postseason in question

Why was Eric Hosmer bunting? The Padres first baseman will reportedly miss two to six weeks, which brings returning for the playoffs in doubt.

With one out and a runner on in the first inning in a 1-0 victory of the Rockies, Eric Hosmer squared up to bunt – on a 1-2 pitch no less – and fouled it off his left index finger. The Padres first baseman was pulled from the game, and he will reportedly miss between two to six weeks.

Sitting at a record of 26-17, the Padres and Hosmer have 17 games or 20 calendar days, including the three off days, to allow Hosmer to return in time for the postseason. The hope is that he can return in time to deal with the pain. Ideally, you’d like to allow him the full time needed to heal, or at least until the end of the season, but then he’s starting the playoffs cold.

The Padres will likely utilize some form of a platoon in Mitch Moreland and Austin Nola, whose primary position was first base before being moved behind the plate. The Friars could also utilize Jake Cronenworth in some capacity at first, and he filled in admirably while Hosmer dealt with some stomach issues early on.

Moreland has a .231 average against lefties, and Nola hasn’t been much better to the tune of a .235 average. I suppose that’s where Cronenworth fits in, and although a limited sample size, he’s hitting .278 off lefties.

As far as the rest of the game went, Dinelson Lamet is quietly becoming the ace of the rotation, fanning 11 batters over 7.2 innings while allowing only six hits and no walks. His ERA sits at a robust 2.24 on the year, and don’t look now, but he’s now just two strikeouts behind Jacob deGrom for the most in the National League.

Both the Padres and Rockies offense was quiet on the evening until Jurickson Profar doubled in Jorge Mateo from first base in the bottom half of the ninth inning to give the home team the victory. Mateo can flat-out fly around the bases, and he made that sprint look relatively easy.