Padres must consider closer strategy change after lucky break vs. Astros

By now, most San Diego Padres fans are well aware of the mess that happened at the end of the second game of the team's series versus the Astros. Houston had the go-ahead run on second base when Jose Altuve fouled a ball off his foot that was ruled in play and resulted in the ninth inning coming to an end. Altuve's vociferous protest of the call included him taking his shoe off and getting promptly ejected. However, what was lost is yet another shaky performance from Padres closer Robert Suarez.

Before getting out the pitchforks, no one is arguing that Suarez shouldn't be used in high-leverage spots at all. In 61 appearances this season, Suarez has put up a strong 2.51 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while pounding the strike zone and getting guys to chase when he needs to. The number of teams that wouldn't want Suarez in these late and close situations is very, very small. His performance earlier in the season carried the Padres bullpen.

However, Suarez's rocky ninth inning against the Astros did highlight some of his limitations and concerns that the Padres may need to address going forward.

The Padres need to add other relievers in addition to Robert Suarez in closing situations

Again, the context has been overshadowed by Foot Gate, but it encapsulated what Suarez is up against. The first batted ball Suarez gave up was a 97 MPH rope of a double on a fastball left over the middle of the plate. After that was a fly ball that Jason Heyward was way under on, but it still left the bat at over 91 MPH. The combination of middling ability to miss bats and giving up some loud contact is not new.

In addition to having season-long batted ball and swing-and-miss characteristics that are middle of the pack despite having power stuff, Suarez has looked a bit shaky towards the end of the season here. Since Aug. 1, Suarez has a 4.91 ERA with a corresponding dip in his strikeout rate. As has been the case for a while, the answer may be to use Suarez less often.

This isn't a knock on Suarez at all, but the reality is that he is functionally a fastball-only pitcher who is already way above his career highs in innings and appearances this season. San Diego is going to need him in tip-top shape ahead of a likely playoff run.

Not only would using guys like Jason Adam, Tanner Scott, and Jeremiah Estrada more often in place of Suarez give him some rest without much of a drop-off, but it would give opposing teams a different look and make the Padres harder to gameplan against. When you know Suarez is coming in and that he is going to basically almost only throw fastballs, good teams are going to be ready. If they are less sure as to how to approach the late innings, Suarez's heater becomes that much more difficult to handle.

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