Framing the Friars: Margot Returns, Wil Robbed of a Homer & Missed Opportunities
Matt Kemp and the Braves made their first trip to Petco Park this season.
The Padres were looking to get out ahead of them this time around, since their last meeting ended in a Braves sweep of the Friars in Atlanta.
The game started out on the wrong foot in the bottom of the first inning with two outs. Wil Myers drove a pitch to deep right center and the ball bounced off the top of the outfield wall and back into play. Myers began his home run trot before realizing the umpire had called the ball in play and it turned into a lousy double.
Andy Green challenged the call, but after the stall, the call was upheld and New York unsurprisingly left Padre’ fans scratching their heads. On the situation, Green said that Petco Park’s ground rules dictate a ball that hits the top of the right field wall is a home run. He later added, “I have no clue how New York interpreted it.”
This brings back the question, why use replay if you’re going to be to scared to overturn calls? Too many times we’ve tuned in to a game only to inevitably get to a replay review that should be changed, however does not get changed. The controversy drives the question, do the umpires not overturn calls in order to keep their accuracy percentage up? Who knows, but New York and the replay system officials need to figure it out.
Moving on to other game action: Manny Margot returned from the disabled list on Tuesday, as he hasn’t played since May 24. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts and left a runner stranded. Not the best performance, but it is exciting to see him back at the top of the starting lineup.
With Margot returning, we wonder what is to happen with Franchy Cordero? Many suggest that he returns to Triple-A to better his timing and plate discipline, despite his short success at the major league level. It’s no doubt he has some fine things to tune with his game and, being so young, it wouldn’t hurt for him to get some extra time in the minors. But, we shall see.
The third thing I wanted to touch on with this game is the missed opportunities. The first one was Myers’ home run-turned-double in the bottom of the first. Hunter Renfroe followed up with a swinging strikeout to give the team their first of seven at bats (on the night) with runners in scoring position. In all seven of those at bats, the Padres got zero hits. Zero hits and they lost by just three run. This needs to improve.
The Braves, however, were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and this led to their 3-0 lead.
The problem is that these missed opportunities are what’s causing the Padres to lose (duh). Many thought at the beginning of the season the Padres would be putting up runs, but the pitchers would be giving up more runs than the Padres were bringing in.
Jhoulys Chacin pitched seven strong innings for the Padres, allowing just seven hits and two earned runs. Another strong outing for Chacin, but he was tagged with the loss on the day because the Padres’ bats fell asleep as soon as a couple of guys got on base.
If the Padres want to win, they need to take advantage of every opportunity given to them.
Derek is a 22-year-old out of Lemon Grove, California. A burning passion for San Diego sports led him to pursue an opportunity to write and share about what’s going on with the teams in America’s Finest City. A young and aspiring sports journalist looking to grow his knowledge and expand his experience at any opportunity.