Padres Series Recap: Padres Get Dominated By O’s In Two-Game Series
The San Diego Padres were just obliterated in a two game series against the Baltimore Orioles. To be fair to the Padres this was really not the worst showing they have had all season. At the very least the offense was there for the Padres as they manged to score 13 runs in two games.
That should be enough to win you some games at Petco Park. The only problem was that the Padres pitching staff allowed 23 runs in the two games. That is just unacceptable at Petco Park. Through each and every series, Petco Park seems to be losing it’s “pitcher friendly” reputation. I mean 36 runs were just scored in two games.
Overall this wasn’t a good series for the Padres. While the Orioles are a decent team they have struggled on the road so far this season. Before this series the Orioles had been 14-17 away from Camden Yards. To add to it the pitchers going in this series for the O’s had struggled heavily throughout the season. Another factor was that the Padres had beat them before, not too long ago. All these factors leaned towards the Friars favor. The fact that they were beaten so bad is certainly disappointing. The offense actually was decent in this series and are not to blame. In the end, it was the bullpen and starting staff which let us down in this series.
Game 1: Two Thirds Of An Inning
Erik Johnson would be the starting pitcher for the Padres in this one. Johnson had been struggling heavily going into this game. He had already given up seven home runs in his short time with the Friars. Well Johnson would continue the trend in this game. He would allow his eighth home run as a Padres pitcher against the first batter of the game. San Diego native, Adam Jones would take him yard to kick off the game. Melvin Upton Jr. would quickly counter that in the next half inning with a lead off blast of his own off of Ubaldo Jimenez. The game started off exciting with the score tied at a run a piece. The O’s would then retake the lead in the fourth inning. Chris Davis would drive in Jonathan Schoop with a sac-fly. The score would be 2-1 in the Orioles favor. Erik Johnson wouldn’t look too bad after four innings of work. He had only allowed two runs up to that point. Well things would go downhill from there. Johnson would allow a two run blast by Hyun Soo Kim in the fifth inning. The score would be 4-1 after five and Johnson would be done after only five innings pitched. Not the worst of starts for Erik Johnson. But overall still a pretty mediocre start. Especially considering he gave up two home runs in the game. Despite this Johnson would not turn out to be the worst pitcher of the game.
Carlos Villanueva had struggled severely earlier on in the season. Then he would pick it up again. But on Tuesday night he would allow seven runs to cross the plate in only two-thirds of an inning of work. Villanueva would blow the game in less than an inning of work. This would definitely turn out to be Villanueva’s worst outing of the season and maybe of his career. The Padres would try to bring it back after a score of 11-1. Wil Myers would start it off nicely with a three run blast which would make the game a 11-4 affair. Myers would continue his dominance at Petco Park. After that the Padres wouldn’t get much going until the ninth inning. Adam Rosales and Yangervis Solarte would get a double each which would drive in three total runs. Unfortunately, the Padres comeback would fall a bit short in this one. This loss would ultimately fall on the shoulders of Carlos Villanueva. Allowing seven runs as a reliever is just horrifying. That is just an incredibly bad way of letting your team down. The Padres offense really did all it could do. Literally until the final inning. They really tried their best, scoring seven runs in the game. The other Padres relievers also tried their best. Kevin Quackenbush would pitch one and third shutout innings. Matt Thornton would look really impressive pitching two shutout innings. Even Erik Johnson would really not have a horrible start, considering his previous starts. Every other member of the Padres did everything possible to win this game. This just shows how cruel the game of baseball can be. It just took one man having a bad night and two-thirds of an inning to let down the whole team in this one.
Game Two: One Third Of An Inning
Well after game one of the series you thought it couldn’t get worse. Didn’t you? We saw two-thirds of an inning decide the fate of the game on Tuesday night. We saw an entire team effort go to waste because of one reliever and his bad night. Well on Wednesday afternoon we almost saw the same thing unfold. The bullpen yet again is what ultimately cost us this game. Christian Friedrich would be on the mound for the Padres. He would have a very bad time on the mound. Friedrich would allow six total runs in the game through five innings of work. The pitcher facing him would be Yovani Gallardo. The Mexican right hander would have a nice day on the mound. He would have a quality start as he would go six innings and only allow three runs to cross the plate. Those three runs would come in the sixth inning via a three-run home run by Brett Wallace. The score would be 7-3 after six complete. We would see no other action at all until the ninth inning. One of our most reliable relievers, Ryan Buchter would enter the game. But what would he do?
Well Buchter would look really off. He would give up five runs in just a half of an inning. He would also look real shaky as he would walk three in just that half inning. The Padres would then try to bring it back hopelessly in the bottom of the ninth once again. Alexei Ramirez would bag himself an RBI double. Then Wil Myers would bag himself two RBI via a double. The score would be 12-6. But once again the comeback would fall short and the Padres would fall in this one. Now several factors would affect this outrageous scoreline. One was the relievers. Brad Hand and Ryan Buchter would allow six runs to cross the plate. If they had performed I might have been telling a much different story. Then one play in particular would also affect the score. Back in the fifth inning there would be an extremely controversial play at first base. Chris Davis would run into the base path which would make it hard for Wil Myers to properly receive the ball. The umpires however would not see it this way. Andy Green would get heated and ejected for the second time in his career. The so-called “error” would allow a run to score. So hypothetically if everything had gone perfectly, the Padres would have won the game 6-5. But we are the Padres and this is baseball so it didn’t go as planned. Many factors, not just Buchter played a role in this loss. But it’s always very worrying to see a reliever give up that many runs. The positive once again was the offense. Six runs is normally enough to win a game not just at Petco Park, but anywhere. Wil Myers would have another productive game, getting two RBI. It was also nice to see Brett Wallace contributing to the scoreboard. Overall this game and this series were extremely split into two categories. Good offense and horrible pitching. Specifically the bullpen would be the big let down of the series. In order to pave the path to victory, all components must be in place.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.