The San Diego Padres were on the wrong end of the best start of Dustin May’s major league career. The righty threw nine shutout innings against the Friars with some help from some key defensive plays by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres only had one real rally in the seventh inning and it was quashed by a lucky double play.
Starter Lucas Giolito pitched well, surrendering just three runs across five innings of work. He looked better than he has in his last few outings, commanding his pitches well apart
from a two-run fourth inning. But it was impossible for Giolito to keep up with May. Thankfully, San Diego staved off a perfect game after six perfect innings from the right-hander. Still, he pitched a one-hitter and gave up just one walk to Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres’ offense had looked great for the last few games until Tuesday night. Hopefully the Friars can right the ship in Game 2, and force their fourth consecutive rubber match.
Taking the mound
Andre Pallante (STL) v. Michael King (SD)
Pallante has been a solid starter for St. Louis to start the year. He boasts a 3.88 ERA and 1.26 WHIP through 69 2/3 innings. He’s been incredibly consistent throughout the year, surrendering less than four runs except for three of Pallante’s starts.
Most of the Friars have yet to face the right-hander. The only batter to have any success has been Manny Machado. The star third baseman owns a career .273 batting average in 11 at-bats against Pallante.
King has put up a fantastic season with the Friars, posting a 3.46 ERA and 72 strikeouts through 80 2/3 innings. He’s had some rough outings lately but bounced back somewhat against the Cincinnati Reds (3 ER, 6.2 IP).
Unlike Pallante, King has faced plenty of the Cards’ hitters. The ace has had plenty of success against the St. Louis lineup, with the group having a combined .148 batting average when facing King. Should he have the same success tonight, it would be huge for San Diego.
Batter up!
The offense struggled in an (almost) historic way on Monday night. San Diego had been slugging their way to victory in the last two series, scoring an average of 5.2 runs per game against Cincinnati and the Baltimore Orioles. It was a resurgent performance for the Friars. Hopefully the club can regain that momentum against Pallante in Game 2.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Samad Taylor, LF
- Will Wagner, DH
- Sung-Mun Song, 2B
- Rodolfo Durán, C
Monday night was Taylor’s first game out of the lineup since last Saturday against the New York Mets. He’s been a spark plug for the Friars offense so his departure came at a difficult time. He figures to be back in the lineup with manager Craig Stammen back after serving his one-game suspension for Saturday’s debacle with the O’s.
Relief corps
With Wandy Peralta being used as an opener, the Padres only had to turn to Kyle Hart to cover the final two frames for the San Diego pitching staff. Hart was called up in Mason Miller’s place after the latter was placed on the bereavement and family medical leave list ahead of Game 1.
With just those two relievers being used, San Diego has a plethora of options to turn to tonight. Jason Adam, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez are all available out of the bullpen. Marinaccio and Matsui haven’t been used since Saturday, and Morgan since Friday’s game against Baltimore. Those three will likely be the first out of the ‘pen once King exits the game.
