Everyone in the running for the NL Wild Card lost yesterday. Both the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies lost in yesterday’s games. The San Diego Padres lost as well. Had they won, they would have been a measly 0.5 game back of Philly and 1.0 game back of Chicago. It was a key opportunity to make up ground that the Friars couldn’t cash in on.
Thankfully, Arizona lost as well. Nothing lost, nothing gained. With the four-game set versus the Colorado Rockies tied at one apiece, San Diego has
the opportunity to keep their recent hot streak going. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games to surge in the Wild Card standings. That success needs to continue to secure a playoff spot in the volatile National League.
Taking the mound
Mason Adams (COL) v. Robbie Ray (SD)
Adams has made four starts in his big-league career. He was called up by the Rox and made his MLB debut on Aug. 25, pitching against the Washington Nationals. Adams pitched well, surrendering one run across four innings of work. Since then, he’s been solid. Adams owns a 3.38 ERA across 18 2/3 innings pitched.
That said, he hasn’t been able to work deep into games. Adams has never worked into the sixth inning in any of his four starts. He’s also only made one start at Coors Field, and it was his worst one. Adams faced the St. Louis Cardinals in Denver on Sept. 5 and surrendered three runs (two homers) across 4 2/3 innings.
Somehow, Ray got the win in his last start. He surrendered five runs after giving up a grand slam to former teammate Rafael Devers on Friday night, but the Padres’ offense outdueled the San Francisco Giants, scoring seven for the win. Ray has now given up 10 combined runs in his last two starts (7.1 IP).
This isn’t likely to be the place he turns things around. In 13 career starts at Coors Field, Ray owns a dismal 5.04 ERA. Part of that is certainly due to the altitude (it’s always tough for pitchers to acclimate to the hitter-friendly environment). But Ray will need to have much sharper command than he has in order to put up a quality start for San Diego.
Batter up!
The offense has been the star for the Friars lately. It fell flat on Tuesday night in Coors Field. In a place known for its offense-friendly environment, San Diego floundered. It felt like it would continue when Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a moonshot, but the Padres only scored three runs while their pitching staff allowed nine.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Dustin Harris, LF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Campusano, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Freddy Fermin, C
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Harris got the day off yesterday, with Austin Hays batting second in his place. The former will likely return in tonight’s game. He’s been on an incredible hot streak with the Padres. Hopefully, that success can continue to help San Diego in their quest for the playoffs.
Relief corps
The bullpen imploded a bit on Tuesday night versus Colorado. Really, it was Wandy Peralta. The veteran lefty has enjoyed a successful season, but has struggled down the stretch. He entered the game with two outs in the fifth inning and recorded the final out. He promptly gave up the lead by allowing a triple, double and two singles in the sixth inning. Peralta recorded just one out before Randy Vásquez came on in bulk relief.
Vásquez pitched alright, allowing three runs over 2 2/3 innings. Mostly, Vásquez saved the ‘pen for tonight’s game, allowing them to rest. Thanks to that, San Diego has Griffin Canning, Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez available out of the ‘pen.
