Baseball's Future In San Diego

[Kevdog1020]

Weekly Team Power Rankings -- Week 2:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Milwaukee Brewers (172.0, o)
2) Toronto Blue Jays (147.0, ++)
3) Texas Rangers (134.0, ++)
4) Los Angeles Angels (127.0, ++)
5) Detroit Tigers (126.0, -)
6) Kansas City Royals (125.0, ++)
7) Pittsburgh Pirates (124.0, ++)
8) Colorado Rockies (124.0, ++)
9) Atlanta Braves (121.0, --)
10) Cincinnati Reds (109.0, -)
11) Philadelphia Phillies (103.0, o)
12) Houston Astros (102.0, --)
13) Arizona Diamondbacks (100.0, ++)
14) Cleveland Indians (99.0, ++)
15) Seattle Mariners (97.2, +)
16) St. Louis Cardinals (93.0, ++)
17) Tampa Bay Rays (80.0, ++)
18) Baltimore Orioles (77.0, +)
19) Washington Nationals (71.0, +)
20) Oakland Athletics (71.0, --)
21) Los Angeles Dodgers (71.0, --)
22) Miami Marlins (69.0, ++)
23) San Francisco Giants (56.0, --)
24) Boston Red Sox (56.0, ++)
25) New York Mets (55.0, ++)
26) New York Yankees (53.0, --)
27) Minnesota Twins (53.0, --)
28) San Diego Padres (49.0, --)
29) Chicago Cubs (23.0, --)
30) Chicago White Sox (6.0, --)

Players of the Week

AL: 1B Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels 15-24 (.625), 3 HR, 7 RBI
NL: LF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies 11-25 (.440), 4 HR, 9 RBI

[Kevdog1020]

April 17, 2012




EDITORS NOTE: For some reason, the pitching rotation got screwy and Joel Pineiro started on 2 days rest. He was exhausted by the 3rd inning and got pulled after 5. The bullpen sucked and I got angry so I'm not going to do a write-up for this game. Thank you for your understanding. I just posted the box score. I will continue with write-ups for the next game.

[Kevdog1020]

April 18, 2012

Roy Oswalt made his second start of the season for the Padres and was once again just average. He allowed 4 runs and 8 hits while striking out 5. He did go 8 innings which probably kept San Diego in the game (since their bullpen has struggled so much). 3 of the 4 runs Oswalt allowed were on homeruns, a 2-run shot to Todd Helton and a solo shot to Chris Nelson. The other run was scored on an infield single.

San Diego forced the game into extra innings with a late inning rally, scoring 2 runs in the 8th inning on a Chase Headley RBI double and a Will Venable RBI single. The first 2 run were scored in the 5th off of a Roy Oswalt RBI double and a Nick Hundley RBI single.

Josh Spence pitched a perfect 9th inning, and the Padres were shut down in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 10th, Ernesto Frieri loaded the bases with 1 out and got Chris Nelson to ground into a fielders choice before Eric Young Jr. became the hero and hit a walk-off RBI single to send the Colorado fans home happy.

Tomorrow, the Padres look to salvage the series and end a 2-game losing streak at the hands of the Rockies. They will send Cory Luebke (0-1, 2.45 ERA) to the hill to face Jhoulys Chacin (1-1, 2.63 ERA).

Padres Notes: After the game, the team announced the signing of OF Willie Cabrera to a 1-year/$550,000 contract. To make room for him on the active roster, they demoted OF Blake Tekotte (2-21, 3 RBI in 5 games) to Triple A. Cabrera will play CF and make his team (and Major League!) debut tomorrow against the Rockies.

[Kevdog1020]

April 19, 2012

The Padres defeated the Rockies yesterday at Coors Field to salvage the 3rd and final game of the series. The game was not without drama though. The Padres led for most of this game, scoring a run in the 2nd off of a Jason Bartlett RBI single. Colorado tied it up in the bottom of the second before John Baker hit a 3-RBI double in the 3rd inning.

The Rockies started to chip away though, scoring 2 runs in the 6th off of back-to-back homeruns by Troy Tulowitzki and Michael Cuddyer. The Padres got an insurance run in the 7th off of a Will Venable solo homerun. But then the Rockies scored 2 off of Joe Thatcher to tie the game at 5. There was a scoreless 9th inning before the Padres took a 1-run lead in the 10th.

Matt Macri got a single before Jason Bartlett doubled him in for the go-ahead run. Relief pitcher Edinson Volquez (after pitching the 9th inning) got the first 2 outs before John Baker made an error. Just to be safe, the Padres brought Luke Gregerson on. He struck out Chris Nelson to end the game and get his first save of the season.

Padres Game Notes: Will Venable went 3-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 2 runs and Matt Macri, Jason Bartlett, and Willie Cabrera all had 2 hits. Cabrera finished 2-4 with 1 run in his MLB debut. Bartlett had 2 RBI for his 2 hits. Orlando Hudson left the game in the 3rd inning after a base-running collision.

[Kevdog1020]

April 19, 2012

At U.S. Cellular Field Paul Konerko smashed his 400th career home run in a game against Baltimore today. The 36-year-old first baseman had a hand in the Chicago White Sox 11-1 victory with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. For the day he went 2 hits-4 at-bats.

At the press conference after the game, Konerko downplayed his achievement.

"Obviously, I've hit 400 home runs so I belong in that 400 club. But when you talk about the other guys that have done it, I'm not as good as they were. Those guys were the greatest of all time. I've just been able to scrape together some good years and stayed healthy and gotten there."

Konerko is batting .282 with 2036 career base hits, including 367 doubles, 8 triples and 401 home runs with 1270 RBIs and 1047 runs scored. He has played in 2009 games, stolen 9 bases and compiled a .358 OBP.

[Kevdog1020]

April 20, 2012

The Padres were sitting pretty after 7 innings but the bullpen blew another lead, this time Josh Spence, and lost the game in the 10th inning to fall to 4-10 on the season, already 5 and a half games back of first place.

Tim Stauffer went 7 innings and allowed 6 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) and 4 walks while striking out 5. Chris Denorfia pinch hit for him and started off a 4 run rally with a leadoff triple. Nick Hundley singled Denorfia in and Willie Cabrera got a hit before Chase Headley smacked a 3-run homerun 413 feet over the right field wall.

The Padres brought Josh Spence in with a 3-run lead but allowed a game tying 2-run homerun to Freddy Galvis. Dustin Moseley then allowed an RBI single to Galvis in the 10th. The Padres failed to score a run in the bottom of the 10th and the Padres left with another disappointing loss.

Carlos Pena was 2-4 with 1 walk and Willie Cabrera was 1-5 with 1 run scored for the Padres. Carlos Ruiz was 1-2, with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 run scored and Freddy Galvis was 2-5 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 run scored for the Phillies.

LHP Clayton Richard will try to get the Padres back to their winning ways. He is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA. The Phillies will send out Ace Roy Hallady who is 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA.

[Kevdog1020]

April 20, 2012



Matt Thornton demanded for a trade late yesterday, and early today he got his wish. The Padres will receive the 35-year-old closer and $10,000,000 in cash, while 21-year-old minor league starting pitcher Robbie Erlin and 21-year-old minor league center fielder Reymond Fuentes will go to the Chicago White Sox.

Up to this point in the season, Thornton has made 5 relief appearances with 2 saves. Thornton has also recorded a 0-1 won-lost mark with a 2.25 ERA. In 4 innings he has fanned 3.

This deal not only nets the Padres a great reliever for the next few years, it also gives the Padres a large amount of salary relief by giving the team a $10 million infusion of cash. The cash can either be used for free agency or the acquisition of new contracts, or it can be used in the future (although John Moores may feel otherwise).

We reached Padres GM Kevin Dombrowski who had this to say, "We feel we had an excellent opportunity to get both a great reliever and get some salary relief considering we've been cash strapped this whole season. This is a great deal for both teams because they [Chicago] got both a solid starting pitcher and center fielder who could make contributions in the coming years. We feel Thornton's contract is very team friendly in the later years."

Thornton has a 5-year deal worth $22.25 million. His first 2 season has him earning $11 million. Chicago just paid for $10 million of that. That leaves Chicago on the hook for the third season at $6 million and a 4th season at $2.25 million. The 5th season is a team option worth $3 million.

The Padres also made another minor move with the Baltimore Orioles. As part of the deal, the Padres swapped 36-year-old right fielder Mark Kotsay and 22-year-old minor league starting pitcher Casey Kelly to the Orioles getting 22-year-old minor league center fielder Xavier Avery in return. The players indicated it was good to get a fresh new start in another city, but it was difficult to leave your friends on the old team. Mark Kotsay was scheduled to earn about $1.25 million this season, while Casey Kelly looked like he was never going to pan out as a major leaguer.

The Padres turned these 2 players into CF Xavier Avery, a 22-year old from Georgia. He hit .259 with 4 HR, 26 RBI and scored 72 runs last season with the Orioles Double-A Squad.

[Kevdog1020]

April 21, 2012

The Padres dropped another game to the Phillies, and then learned that gold glove 2B Orland Hudson would miss 3-4 weeks with an oblique strain. To take Hudson's spot on the active roster, the Padres recalled SS Andrew Parrino. Evereth Cabrera is expected to assume the leadoff duties for the time being, but nothing on the Padres is set in stone.

Roy Halladay was lights out, going 8 innings and allowing 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 8. The Phillies got into a little trouble in the 9th when they sent out Chad Qualls. The Padres loaded the bases with 1 out, but Qualls got John Baker to strike out and Chris Denorfia to pop out to end all ideas of a comeback.

Clayton Richard went 6.1 innings and allowed 9 hits, 4 runs and 2 walks while striking out 5. Surprisingly, the bullpen didn't allow a run, with Ernesto Frieri pitching a scoreless inning, Brad Bach getting 2 outs and Andrew Cashner getting 1 batter out. Joe Thatcher also made a lefty specialist appearance but walked Jim Thome.

Game Notes: Carlos Pena was 2-4, Matt Macri was 0-4 with 1 RBI, Willie Cabrera was 1-4. Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Hunter Pence and Ty Wiggington all drove in 1 run. Matt Macri and Placido Polanco got into a slight altercation in the first inning. Polanco was thrown out trying to steal second, and Macri must have said something to him. Polanco got into his face but the 2 were quickly separated. The rest of the game went without incident.

[Kevdog1020]

April 22, 2012

The Padres lost big again, a 7-5 loss to Philadelphia along with a 2 week loss of this season's "ace" Joel Pineiro to a strained hamstring. Pineiro injured himself running the bases in the second inning and had gone 2 innings while allowing hits and 2 runs while striking out 1. Edinson Volquez filled in for him, and went 4 innings and allowed 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned) and 2 walks while striking out 3. Joe Thatcher, Brad Bach and Andrew Cashner each pitched a scoreless inning afterwards.

The game started off well, with the Phillies and Padres both scoring a run each in both the first and 2nd innings. The Phillies then scored 1 run in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th before scoring 2 insurance runs, which came in handy, in the 6th inning. The Padres wouldn't score again until Willie Cabrera hit a solo homerun in the 8th, and then a couple hits and a pair of RBI groundouts plated 2 for the Padres.

But the offense couldn't muster any more runs and the Padres fell 7-5. The Padres will send Roy Oswalt (0-1, 4.80 ERA) out to try to avoid a sweep tomorrow. Joe Blanton (0-1, 4.91 ERA) will go for the Phillies.

Game notes: Willie Cabrera went 2-5 and hit his first career homerun, a solo shot in the 8th. Hunter Pence and John Mayberry Jr hit solo homeruns for the Phillies.

[Kevdog1020]

April 23, 2012

"Unbelievable", straight from the mouth of Padres Manager Bud Black following the Phillies sweep of San Diego. "How do you only score 1 run off of a scrub like Joe Blanton?"

Joe Blanton was brilliant, going 8 innings and allowing 5 hits and 1 run while striking out 4 and walking 2. Roy Oswalt was just as good, allowing 1 run and 7 hits over 8.2 innings while striking out 11 and walking 1. He started off the game getting 7 of the first 9 outs via the strikeout.

The Phillies won the game in the 10th, after Lance Nix hit a leadoff double and was eventually scored by a Shane Victorino RBI single. With the loss, Gregorson dropped to 1-1 and the Padres fell to 4-13.

Games Notes: Willie Cabrera was 1-4, Kyle Blanks was 2-4 with 1 run, and John Baker was 2-4 with 1 2B and 1 RBI. John Mayberry Jr was 1-4 with 1 HR and Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence were both 2-5. Evereth Cabrera stole his 4th base of the season. The Padres executed a waiver claim of Alfred Simon from Cincinnati. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Padres designated Erik Hamren for assignment. Simon took Joel Pineiro's spot on the active roster.

[Kevdog1020]

Weekly Team Power Rankings -- Week 3:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Milwaukee Brewers (138.0, o)
2) Arizona Diamondbacks (129.8, ++)
3) Los Angeles Angels (128.8, +)
4) Cincinnati Reds (128.8, ++)
5) Kansas City Royals (126.0, +)
6) Philadelphia Phillies (121.5, ++)
7) Texas Rangers (118.5, --)
8) Cleveland Indians (111.0, ++)
9) Los Angeles Dodgers (110.2, ++)
10) Colorado Rockies (109.0, -)
11) Toronto Blue Jays (106.0, --)
12) Washington Nationals (100.3, ++)
13) Atlanta Braves (97.2, --)
14) St. Louis Cardinals (95.0, +)
15) Minnesota Twins (91.0, ++)
16) Tampa Bay Rays (89.0, +)
17) Detroit Tigers (88.0, --)
18) Seattle Mariners (80.7, --)
19) Baltimore Orioles (77.8, -)
20) Houston Astros (73.8, --)
21) New York Mets (71.0, ++)
22) Boston Red Sox (71.0, +)
23) Chicago White Sox (69.5, ++)
24) San Francisco Giants (69.0, -)
25) New York Yankees (64.5, +)
26) Pittsburgh Pirates (62.0, --)
27) Chicago Cubs (51.2, +)
28) Miami Marlins (46.2, --)
29) Oakland Athletics (45.9, --)
30) San Diego Padres (32.4, -)

Players of the Week

AL: Alejandro De Aza 15-28 (.536), 1 HR, 6 RBI
NL: Chris B. Young 10-19 (.526), 1 HR, 7 RBI

[Kevdog1020]

April 25, 2012

The Padres entered the 8th inning leading the Nationals 3-2, but finished the 8th inning tied at 3-3 after Andrew Cashner allowed a solo homerun to Mark Teahan (who was only 2-29 on the season before that at-bat). All was forgotten in the 10th inning however after Kyle Blanks hit a walk-off 3-run homerun off of Sean Burnett to send the fans home happy.

The Padres big 10th inning was set up by a leadoff triple by Chase Headley. Carlos Pena got intentional walked before Kyle Blanks hit a 0-1 fastball 419 feet over the centerfield wall. It was Blanks 2nd homerun of the year and his 6th, 7th and 8th RBI of the year. He finished the game 2-4 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 run and 1 BB.

The Nationals scored a run in the top of the 4th after Wilson Ramos drove in Mike Morse, who singled and stole a base before being driven home by Ramos. The Padres answered right back though, when Carlos Pena hit a 2-run homerun (his 6th of the season) off of Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman.

The Nationals would tie it up in the 7th inning, with a solo homerun off of Cory Luebke by Ryan Zimmerman. The Padres would get that run right back after a Will Venable RBI single. He was 2-5 on the day with 1 RBI and 1 SB.

Cory Luebke was solid, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs (1 homerun) while walking 2 and striking out 3. He got the no-decision after Andrew Cashner blew the game. Luke Gregorson would go on to pitch a scoreless 9th before newly acquired RHP Alfredo Simon pitched a scoreless 10th. He would later get the win on Blanks' walk-off homer.

Padres Notes: The Padres signed SP Kyle Davies and SP Rich Harden to minor-league contracts with Major League Options. If Harden and Davies aren't on the Major League roster after 30 days, they can become free agents. Davies made his debut last night going 8 innings while allowing 4 hits and 1 run. He walked none and struck out 5.

[Kevdog1020]

April 26, 2012

The Padres are starting to click, slowly but surely, after their second consecutive walk-off win against the Nationals. In a 10 inning contest, the Padres struck last and improved to a record of 6-13 (4-4 in Extra Inning games).

The Padres jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead of Nationals starter Stephen Strasubrg after Evereth Cabrera walked, Willie Cabrera singled and Chase Headley drove Cabrera home with a single. The other Cabrera and Headley were then driven in on a 2-RBI double by LF Kyle Blanks. The Nats got 1 run in the 4th before Wilson Ramos hit a 3-run homerun in the 5th to give Washington a 4-3 lead. The Padres got that run back on Kyle Blanks 2nd double of the game. Blanks drove in Headley, who singled earlier in the inning.

The 7th inning was very much like the 5th inning, that Nats scored 1 in the top of the 7th before the Pads got that 1 run right back. Wilson Ramos got the RBI (his fourth of the game) in the top of the 7th, and Willie Cabrera got the RBI in the top of the 7th. The game would be quiet until the 10th inning, when Sean Burnett walked the bases loaded. John Baker hit a walk-off RBI sac fly, sending San Diego fans home happy.

For the Padres, Tim Stauffer went 6 innings and allowed 7 hits and 4 runs while striking out 6. The bullpen was very good, with Dustin Moseley allowing an unearned run, Ernesto Frieri striking out the side, and Luke Gregorson and Matt Thornton allowing 2 baserunners each in their innings.

Padres Notes: Chase Headley left the game in the 5th inning with an undisclosed injury. More information to come in the coming days.

[Kevdog1020]

April 27, 2012

Clayton Richard was the story last night in San Diego, he went 8 innings while allowing 3 hits, 1 run while striking out 5. Unfortunately Matt Thornton, the Padres newly acquired closer, blew the save. Luckily for the Padres, the late-inning hitting has been great as of late and Carlos Pena delivered a walk-off single, the 3rd walk-off hit in as many games for the Padres which led to a sweep of the Washington Nationals.

The first inning brought the Padres a wacky run, Evereth Cabrera singled. Will Venable recorded the first out in the inning. That brought up Willie Cabrera. He doubled into the gap, Evereth Cabrera tried to score but he was thrown out at the plate by Mark DeRosa's relay throw from right field. Willie Cabrera went to 3rd on the throw, and catcher Wilson Ramos threw down to 3rd to try to get Willie out but threw the ball into left field. Willie then scampered home for the run. He finished the game 2-4 with 1 2B, 1 RBI and 1 run.

The Nats tied it up in the 5th inning when Rick Ankiel hit a sac fly to right and Wilson Ramos barreled over catcher Nick Hundley after a good throw from Will Venable to tie the game at 1-1. Jason Bartlett hit a leadoff triple in the 7th inning and scored on a wild pitch. He would've been singled in by Andrew Parrino though, who got the single right after the wild pitch. Parrino was 2-4 in his season debut. The Nats loaded the bases in the 9th with 1 out, Thornton struck out Wilson Ramos, but then walked Mark DeRosa to bring in a run and blow the save. He got Mark Teahan to fly out and keep the game tied.

Ernesto Frieri was sent out to pitch the top of the 10th inning, he allowed 1 hit but struck out 3 batters (his last 6 outs recorded were on strikeouts). Frieri got the win after Carlos Pena got a bases loaded RBI single. The threat started after Chris Denorfia got hit by a 1-2 pitch from Henry Rodriguez. Evereth Cabrera struck out, but Denorfia then stole 2nd base. The Nats intentionally walked Will Venable then unintentionally walked Willie Cabrera to tie the game. Carlos Pena then delivered the walkoff hit.

With the sweep of the Nationals, the Padres improved to 7-13. They will head to San Francisco for a 3-game set before heading back home to face Milwaukee. Edinson Volquez (1-1, 10.57 ERA), Roy Oswalt (0-1, 3.42 ERA) and Cory Luebke (0-1, 3.00 ERA) will pitch for the Padres in Milwaukee.

[Kevdog1020]

April 28, 2012

In absence of a game report, we have provided last night's box score of the Padres-Giants game. Instead, we direct you to an exclusive interview with Padres GM Kevin Dombrowski following last night's game.

Q: Good evening Mr. Dombrowski, your team sits at 7-14 with 3 games left in the month of April. What are your thoughts on how the season is going?
Well I think that we're below where we wanted to be so far this season. Nobody was expecting anything too high, but I think 10-11 would've been a good place for our team to be. We've lost a couple close games, blown a couple games we shouldn't have, and that's why we're sitting at 7-14 at this junction in the season.

Q: Speaking of the bullpen, your bullpen sports a record of 4-8 with a 5.23 ERA, how do you plan on correcting this weakness?
I believe that some of these guys in the 'pen are going to come around and be productive players this season. Ernesto [Frieri] and Luke [Gregorson] are starting to come into form, and Brad Bach has been one of our most productive arms. I think that if out of Andrew Cashner, Joe Thatcher, Alfredo Simon and Dustin Moseley, 2 of the 4 can be relied upon, then we will be successful. I'm always looking for options to improve our team, but don't want to part with key pieces to get bullpen arms. If I could get a good arm in as a throw-in in a major deal, I would definitely execute that. But I'm not trading our chips for bullpen arms. That's an off-season adjustment.

Q: You just talked of the trade market, what are your feelings on your trades thus far, and the availability in the trade market?
I think that these 2 major trades are going to help us in the long run. We've cleared a ton of long-term and short-term salary, while still ending up with a couple valuable pieces for this season and beyond. The veteran leadership, power, and defense that Carlos Pena is going to provide will help out our younger players. His presence will give Yonder Alonso more time to develop in Triple-A. I also think that once Matt Thornton settles in, he's going to be a very important piece in the bullpen. He will be the mentor and the anchor of our bullpen as the season progresses, and has a very friendly 5-year contract for our team as we rebuild. As far as the availability on the trade market, there will be players out there will be buyers and sellers out there as usual, so I'm not concerned.

Q: You talk of buyers and sellers, which will the Padres be?
Well, it is early and ideally you always want to be a buyer. But the business isn't like that. There aren't 30 buyers and 0 sellers. We would like to be buyers, but most likely we will be sellers. We have a small budget and some higher contract players and I would like to clear some finances for free agency next season.

Q: Any players in particular that are "on the block"?
None at this particular moment, but even if there were, I probably wouldn't disclose them.

Q: Only a few more questions, your team currently has 4 starters on the disabled list. How do you feel this has negatively impacted your team?
Well anytime someone gets injured, that hurts. But you can't make excuses because every team has players that are going to get injured. I think we have to do a better job of conditioning in the off-season so we stay healthier, but these are just some bad breaks.

Q: With the emergence of OF Willie Cabrera and the return of LF Carlos Quentin off the disable list, are you concerned with where to put all your outfielders once Cameron Maybin returns from injury?
I'm not really concerned, it's a great problem to have. Kyle [Blanks] has provided a lot of our offense, Willie has been great in his games thus far, Carlos hasn't started yet, and Will [Venable] is starting to come around. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Thank you for your time Mr. Dombrowski.

[Kevdog1020]

April 29, 2012

Roy Oswalt was anything but stellar, but still got the win in spite of his 5 inning, 7 hit, 6 run performance. He allowed 4 runs in the first inning, and settled down a lot before allowing a 2-run homerun to Pablo Sandoval in the 5th inning. After he recorded the final outs of the inning, Padres Manager Bud Black had enough and turned the game over to his bullpen. The Padres scored 2 runs in the top of the 6th, Andrew Parrino hit a solo homerun to leadoff the inning, then Evereth Cabrera singled and stole second base and Nick Hundley singled him home.

The bullpen was very good, going 4 innings and allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. They did not allow a run, one of the few times all season. Dustin Moseley pitched two 1-hit innings. Joe Thatcher got 1 out in the 8th in the lefty specialist role, then Brad Brach went the final 1.2 innings while allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. Brach earned his first save of the season in his appearance.

The Padres offense had two other big innings, one in the 1st and one in the 3rd. Willie Cabrera started things off, hitting a 3-run homerun in the first inning. The 3rd inning had a little more going on, Evereth Cabrera doubled and was then singled in by Nick Hundley. After a couple more hits and outs, Jason Bartlett hit a 2-RBI single.

The top of the Padres order brought all the muscle, Evereth Cabrera was 3-4 with 1 2B, 3 runs and 1 BB, while Nick Hundley was 3-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. Willie Cabrera was 1-5 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 run -- he has 2 HR and 7 RBI while hitting .333 in 10 games this season. Meanwhile Andrew Parrino went 1-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 run. He is 5-13 with 1 HR and 1 RBI in the 3 games since Chase Headley strained a muscle in his rib cage (it was announced he will miss 3 weeks).

In the rubber game of the series, the Padres will send out LHP Cory Luebke (0-1, 3.00 ERA) and the Giants will send out LHP Madison Bumgarner (0-3, 8.55 ERA).

[Kevdog1020]

April 30, 2012

Madison Bumgarner was dealing in San Francisco as the Giants defeated the Padres in the rubber game of the 3-game series. Bumgarner pitched 7 scoreless innings while holding the Padres offense, which has been very good of late, to 7 hits while striking out 6 batters. Bumgarner earned his first win of the season (1-3) and dropped his ERA from 8.55 to 6.33. Cory Luebke also pitched very well, he allowed 2 runs in the first before settling in and pitching 6 innings while allowing 7 hits and 2 runs while also striking out 6.

The Giants struck early, with Angel Pagan hitting a leadoff solo homerun. Freddy Sanchez then doubled before Pablo Sandoval hit a sac fly. The Giants added a couple insurance runs in the 8th inning off of Andrew Cashner. Cashner pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks.

Notable hitting performances for the Padres were Kyle Blanks (2-4) and Jason Bartlett (2-4). Andrew Parrino went 0-4 in his 4th start, it seems as if he is coming back down to earth for the Padres. He is 1-9 in his last 2 games.

[Kevdog1020]

May 1, 2012

[Kevdog1020]

AL Batter of the Month: 1B Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels 8 HR, 14 RBI, 20 runs, .443 AVG

NL Batter of the Month: CF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies 8 HR, 21 RBI, 22 runs, .311 AVG

AL Pitcher of the Month: SP Tom Milone, Oakland Athletics 4-1, 2.08 ERA, 22 K, 34.2 IP

NL Pitcher of the Month: SP Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals 4-1, 1.66 ERA, 31 K, 38 IP

AL Rookie of the Month: C Jesus Montero, Seattle Mariners 4 HR, 9 RBI, .231 AVG

NL Rookie of the Month: CF Willie Cabrera, San Diego Padres 2 HR, 8 RBI, .340 AVG

[Kevdog1020]

Weekly Team Power Rankings -- Week 4:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Milwaukee Brewers (142.1, o)
2) Kansas City Royals (137.9, ++)
3) Los Angeles Angels (135.9, o)
4) Cincinnati Reds (124.7, o)
5) Texas Rangers (119.5, +)
6) Arizona Diamondbacks (117.5, --)
7) Atlanta Braves (105.4, ++)
8) Philadelphia Phillies (98.2, -)
9) Seattle Mariners (96.9, ++)
10) Baltimore Orioles (94.0, ++)
11) Minnesota Twins (91.0, ++)
12) Los Angeles Dodgers (91.0, --)
13) Colorado Rockies (88.3, --)
14) Washington Nationals (87.1, -)
15) Detroit Tigers (87.0, +)
16) St. Louis Cardinals (82.8, -)
17) Cleveland Indians (82.7, --)
18) Miami Marlins (80.8, ++)
19) Chicago Cubs (77.6, ++)
20) New York Yankees (74.6, ++)
21) Pittsburgh Pirates (74.1, ++)
22) San Francisco Giants (72.6, +)
23) Boston Red Sox (72.6, -)
24) Houston Astros (71.6, --)
25) Toronto Blue Jays (70.8, --)
26) Chicago White Sox (69.4, --)
27) Tampa Bay Rays (68.6, --)
28) New York Mets (65.5, --)
29) San Diego Padres (59.6, +)
30) Oakland Athletics (58.6, -)

Players of the Week

AL: CF Jason Bourgeois, Kansas City Royals 15-27 (.556), 6 RBI
NL: LF Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals 12-28 (.429), 4 HR, 10 RBI