Alright, that is how the team should be playing at home. Going 5-1 against some good competition was a nice salve for the home issues they have had and before you say the Padres and White Sox aren’t good competition, they were both over .500 coming into this week. The bats woke up a bit while the starting pitching, for the most part, held serve.
Three up
Brandon Marsh – One of the interesting developments with the season is the continued improvement of Brandon Marsh. One of the only consistent hitters
in the lineup this season, Marsh has put up numbers worthy of a selection to the All-Star Game, something that could be tough with the need for each team to have a representative. He’s definitely deserving, so finding a spot should be a priority among the coaching staff.
Adolis Garcia – A regular of the trio found in the section below this, let’s give credit to where it’s due for Garcia. He had a good week for the team, getting six hits on the week, two of them leaving the yard as home runs. It’s been good to see some right handed pop in the lineup, so let’s hope he can continue. Interesting note: for a player that has had it drilled into his head to take a few more walks, be a little more patient during his time here, Garcia’s best week in about a month and a half came in the week he didn’t take a single walk.
Jhoan Duran – I mean, what else should we say? Duran is about as lockdown a reliever as the league has this season. Each time he comes in, you simply expect a 1-2-3 innings to happen. Even when a batter makes contact, it’s honestly shocking that it happens.
Three down
Justin Crawford – Listen. The kid is struggling. With Steward Berroa here, possessing the ability to even stand in centerfield, it would maybe be a good idea to give the kid a day off to get himself right. Going back to May 4, he’s hitting .186/.239/.291. He’s slumping, badly. He needs a breather.
Andrew Painter – Speaking of struggling rookies. Painter’s job isn’t in question, that much is for sure. He’s a big part of this team’s present and future. But man, has it been disappointing to watch him this year. You wish the team had an alternative to him, someone who could also give him a skipped start or something along those lines. They just have….nothing. In the end, he’ll be fine as his stuff is just too good to see him continue being as up and down as he is. It’s just tough to watch at times right now.
J.T. Realmuto – We knew the decline would be tough, but Realmuto just doesn’t have it right now at the plate. We could talk about the need for days off with him as we do every year, but we all know it’s not going to happen.
