Padres Game Recap – May 1, 2015

What a difference a day makes…or a day off makes I guess I should say.  After dropping 7 of their previous 8, the Padres returned to work tonight after a much needed ay off, and went to work on the Rockies dismantling them 14-3.  If that score sounds like deja vu all over again you are correct as that is the same score that the Pads beat the Rockies by in the series opener at Coors just 11 days ago.

After going through a stretch where absolutely nothing seemed able to go right for the Friars, tonight it was the exact opposite.  Their bloops fell in, while the Rockies line drives, though they were few,  were right at people. The defensive plays were made including a diving effort by Kemp, while the Rockies with their gold glove candidates everywhere committed 4 errors.  The Friar’s pitching paced by Kennedy got the job done, even the bullpen, whereas the Rockies staff did not with their bullpen at one point literally not able to record a single out while 7 runs crossed the plate.  Heck, things were going so well for the Pads that even Will Myers was issued a walk tonight…twice…back to back!!!

Kennedy as mentioned set the tone.  Rebounding after a very rough outing in his first return from the DL he had excellent command of his fastball and change up and used them both masterfully in holding COL scoreless until the 5th.  He allowed a solo HR in that frame and another in the 6th, but that was it.  Quality effort in every way as he continued his dominance over the Rockies sporting the second lowest career ERA against them at 2.86 in MLB history (Randy Johnson 2.47).

The offense provided plenty of runs pounding out 14 hits and were given some help along the way. Things really opened up in the 4th when Upton, Norris and Alonso reached base, followed by two out of character errors on the infield, and capped with a Solarte 2-run double to make it a 4-run inning, and a 5-0 lead.

Another run was added in the 5th, but then the floodgates opened in the 8th. The first 9 batters all reached base (first team to do that in MLB this season) via 2 walks, 6 hits, and an error, and 8 of them ended up crossing the plate.

It was a well played game all around for the Friars, combined with a sloppy effort by COL to make it a blowout.  Frankly it was just what the Padres needed after a tough week.

On a night where there are obviously so many high points to talk about a couple of the standout events for me included:

• Justin Upton reaching base 5 times on 3 hits, a HBP, and a fields choice. The FC was impressive though because he ran so dang hard hustling his tail off to beat out a potential double play allowing the first run to score, and set the tone for the night for himself and the club.  He would later steal a base, go from 1st to 3rd on an errant pick off throw, and scored from first on a double.  In other words he showed his quad is 100%, and he lead the way tonight with his energy on the bases, and in the field making an excellent running catch in the gap with the game still on the line in the 3rd inning.
• Yonder Alonso had three hits tonight, which is good news in and of itself after his recent 1 for18 slump. However, it was the way he did it that was so encouraging as well, hitting the ball opposite field in three of his at bats.   During his cold stretch he was pulling everything, rolling over to the right side, but tonight he was locked back in to looking the opposite way and it worked.
• Wil Myers had two walks…in the same week…in the same game…back to back! Just had to point that out again since he entered the game with only 2 walks all season, and none in the past 8 games. Not that he is turning over a new leaf and going to be the prototypical lead off man moving forward (not sure Pads even want that), but good to see some plate discipline as he ended up scoring 2 more times tonight to add on to his MLB leading 23 runs scored.
• Derek Norris is a BEAST! 3 more hits for him tonight, and 3 more RBIs, including a clutch one in the 4th to plate the Friars second run when the game was till on the line. Dude is so dang strong, and knows how to get the job done with RISP, as he is now hitting .550 (11/20) in those situations.
• Oh, speaking of coming through with RISP, how about Yangervis Solarte getting 2 more hits tonight and 4 more RBIs to add to his season totals.  You thought Norris’ avg. with RISP was impressive? How about Solarte hitting .611 (11/18) with ducks on the pond?!? Wow!!!

Hey, suffice it to say it was a fun night for Friar fans at Petco tonight, and hopefully it jump starts this club into another nice run like they had just a couple of weeks ago when they won 9 of 11.

Brandon Morrow’s turn to keep the mojo rolling tomorrow with his first pitch scheduled for 5:40 pm.  Look forward to you joining Ted Leitner and myself for all the action on “The Mighty 1090 Padres radio network.”

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