Framing the Friars: Padres’ Bats Go Cold in Colorado
Credit: USA Today
Denver, Colorado
The San Diego Padres’ bats went cold on the road, and of all places, it happened in Colorado. The hitters’ haven was not a delight for the Padres as they failed to score ample runs to compete against a more well-rounded Rockies team. After being shut out last night, the team only managed four hits and two runs in a day game on Wednesday.
Padres batters struck out 16 times on the day and you could certainly see the frustration among the Padres’ players and coaches. The home plate umpire was slightly generous with his strike calls on the day, but that should not be an excuse for a major league baseball team. The bottom line is the team is failing to make adjustments in the box.
The Padres return home now in hopes of getting on track against a very tough New York Mets team. The team has Thursday off, and the day of rest could help regenerate some momentum for this young team. It can’t hurt.
Here is a glimpse into Wednesday afternoon’s game in which the Padres lost 5-2:
Tyson Ross vs Jon Gray sounds like a pitcher’s duel, and it turned out that way for the most part.
Tyson Ross, coming off his near no-hitter, did have a rough third inning in which he allowed three runs to score. In total he went four innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits. The right-hander struck out seven and walked three in the game. He looked effective after his last effort against Arizona, but was wisely pulled after 94 pitches.
The Padres’ bullpen was solid as Robbie Erlin, Phil Maton, Brad Hand, and Kirby Yates all threw the ball well. Only Yates allowed a run to score.
Gray was solid as usual against the Padres, a team he owns. He struck out 11 batters, only allowing three hits in six innings.
The Padres did not get anything done offensively as only Wil Myers (2-4) had a good day at the plate. Every starter in the lineup struck out, including three from Jose Pirela batting leadoff and two a piece from Carlos Asuaje, Franchy Cordero, Wil Myers, and Austin Hedges. Not a very good effort from the team offensively at all.
As mentioned, the strike zone was a bit off. Here is a look at a Carlos Asuaje’ strikeout on a pitch that was clearly outside.
Adam Ottavino, Nasty 96mph Fastball on the chalk for a backward K. ?? pic.twitter.com/Ynbt5yrlxL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 25, 2018
The Padres are a young team, and with that, there are going to be series and games like this. Not having Christian Villanueva and Eric Hosmer available for the final two games of the series was huge for the Padres. Villanueva should be able to return from a tight hamstring on Friday and there are hopes that Hosmer will return as well from his family/medical emergency.
The Padres will have Clayton Richard (1-2 5.67 ERA) on the mound against Jacob deGrom (2-0 2.53 ERA) for Friday’s contest.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.