Who’s hot and who’s not for Padres: April 18-24
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The San Diego Padres went 4-2 over the week, sweeping the Reds before falling to the Dodgers two games to one.
Here is a look and who was hot and who struggled through this week’s games.
Hot
Several starting pitchers stood out this week, as that has been a strength for the Padres early on. The emergence of MacKenzie Gore is one of the best stories of the early season. He made one start this week, in Wednesday’s series finale against the Reds.
He took advantage of a scuffling team, tossing five shutout innings. Those innings were not without stress, as Gore walked two and gave up four hits. However, he also struck out seven and fooled several Reds batters with nasty breaking balls. This is a fantastic sign for Gore’s development and a welcome boost of confidence for the lefty.
MacKenzie Gore was dominant in his second start for the @Padres:
5 IP
4 H
0 R
2 BB
7 K pic.twitter.com/HErKX9JzmD— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 20, 2022
As was the case for the first week and a half of the season, Machado is carrying the Padres’ offense squarely on his broad shoulders. In the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr., the team, fan base, and entire city look to Machado to provide other-worldly numbers to make up the difference.
So far, so good. This week alone, he hit .389 with a 1.300 OPS with two-run homers on back-t0-back days. He currently ranks sixth in the National League with a .988 OPS.
Profar’s bat has started to slow a little, as shown by his .211 average this week. However, he is still finding ways to make an impact. First, he is still getting on base, with five walks and a .849 OPS, and he hit a home run.
Plus, he made two huge defensive plays in left field, gunning down Joey Votto at the plate, and in San Diego’s lone win against the Dodgers, he prevented the go-ahead run from reaching third in the 10th inning. He is truly coming into his own in left field on both sides of the ball.
Jurickson Profar is playing out of his mind right now! pic.twitter.com/WukOTXVUuD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 24, 2022
The most pleasant surprise on the Padres’ pitching staff early on has been Wilson. He turned in three more scoreless outings this week, twice against the Reds and one inning against the Dodgers on Saturday, which helped the Padres to an extra-inning win. In three innings, he struck out five without allowing a single baserunner. He owns a 1.23 ERA in seven appearances thus far in 2022.
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Not
Grisham’s slow start continued this week. The thump is almost completely gone from his bat. He had just one hit in six games this week, to the tune of a .083 average. He also struck out four times without working a walk. He owns a lowly .132 average and .459 OPS on the season.
Frankly, it’s tough to pick a pitcher that is truly struggling mightily on the Padres’ staff right now. Up until Sunday, Manaea had only allowed three earned runs in three starts. Against the Dodgers on Sunday, things came a bit unraveled. Granted, he faced the best lineup in baseball. He slogged through 4 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs while walking three. Over his two starts this week, his ERA comes in at 6.10. However, this was one bad start after three solid outings.
Like Grisham, Myers is mired in a season-long slump to start the 2022 campaign. He hit just .150 over the six games. His saving grace was his four RBIs and one double. However, almost a third of his at-bats ended with a strikeout. He is batting .192 with a .482 OPS to open the season.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.