Good morning from Denver,
While it did not turn out to be the comfortable victory it should have been, it was a win in a place where weird things happen and the Padres have historically struggled to win.
As Jason Heyward said afterward, “It’s never not crazy here.”
You can read (here) in my game story from their 13-9 victory over the Rockies how the Padres built an 11-run lead and then how three relievers gave away enough of it over the final two innings that closer Robert Suarez had to come in for the save.
What we will talk about here is the offensive gang being back together again.
Jake Cronenworth returned from the injured list yesterday, giving the Padres their entire “Core 6” in the lineup for the first time since April 6. That game at Wrigley Field was Jackson Merrill’s final one for a month, as he was shut down the next day with a strained right hamstring. Cronenworth suffered a fractured rib that day, as well, though he played two more games before going on the IL. Luis Arraez had a concussion and missed a week in late April.
The other of the core — Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. — have started at least 36 of the Padres’ 37 games. But it had been 26 games since Mike Shildt could write in an optimal starting nine.
“We get the lineup last night, we’re like, ‘Man, this is exciting to see,’” Gavin Sheets said. “Seeing I’m hitting seventh, and I’ve never been more excited to hit seventh in my life. And so it’s like, you know, looking back that it’s been since Wrigley, it’s just exciting. You get everybody back and get a full lineup and a deep lineup and, yeah, I think that’s what we’re capable of tonight.”
All nine players in last night’s starting lineup reached base at least once. The 179 pitches the Padres saw were the most they have seen in a game this season, as they had more hits (16) and scored more runs than they had all season.
“The lineup is a little deeper,” Cronenworth said. “It’s harder for the opposing pitcher to go through our lineup when guys are having quality at-bats back to back to back.”
It was the fourth time in the 11 games the “Core 6” has played together that all six reached base at least once and the sixth time at least five of them did.
Here is a look at the Padres’ offensive numbers with the “Core 6” intact versus when at least one of them is missing:
Those numbers are certainly skewed by the small sample size. However, they are at least indicative of what the Padres can regularly achieve when healthy.
The Padres’ numbers from April 7 through May 7, the span in which they were missing at least one member of their core, were not abysmal. They were not good enough for a playoff team. But the team average ranked 18th and its OPS 20th. It was about as good as could be expected.
This is much better.
“Listen, every night we run a lineup out there, we feel confident about the ability to compete and shake hands at the end of the game,” Shildt said. “We’ve been able to do that. Tonight, though, we got what has been kind of our go-to lineup from the start of the season back in there, and it looked good. It was really good.”
Just bad
how awful the Rockies looked while getting shut out three straight games at Petco Park last month?
Despite the late surge, they arguably looked worse last night in losing for the seventh consecutive game and 14th time in 15 games. Just watching them in the four games against the Padres, it has been abundantly clear why they are 6-32, which is tied with the 1988 Orioles for the worst start in major league history.
The Rockies committed three errors plus a brutal mental hiccup that gave the Padres six runs last night. (Those are detailed in the game story.)
That doesn’t mean you can say that was the difference in a win or loss for the Padres. It might have been. But Shildt would have managed differently had the game been closer than 12-1 in the sixth inning.
For one thing, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., who were lifted in the seventh inning, would remained in a 7-2 game. And if the Padres’ lead were that slim at Coors Field, Shildt would have used his higher-leverage relievers when Randy Vásquez was finished after six innings.
We don’t want to entirely skip over the fact the bullpen has allowed 20 runs in the past three games. But we can put that in context. First, one of those games was at Coors Field, where fly balls carry and base hits fall all over the huge outfield. Second, the majority of those runs have been allowed by Wandy Peralta (eight) and Sean Reynolds (four), who are not a part of the high-leverage crew.
It could well come back to haunt the Padres that they had to use Suarez last night. And if they end up having to use five relievers again tonight, they almost certainly would have to make a move before Sunday’s game.
But it must be ed that even the best bullpen has at least one rough stretch in a season.
Say Hey
Jason Heyward is batting .194 with a .243 on-base percentage after going 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored last night.
While he is highly valued for his experience — and willingness to share that experience — it is highly likely the Padres will search for a regular left fielder as the trade deadline approaches if he does not get better at the plate.
But there can be little doubt Heyward has been a pleasant surprise in the field.
Last night, he made what has sort of been his signature play this year, running a long way to catch a shallow fly ball along the foul line. He also dove to make a catch in the gap. At 35 and playing the position he has played far less than the other two outfield spots, his first step might be a bit slow sometimes. But he is making up ground with above average sprint speed and instincts that allow him to be in position to finish a catch.
“I’m still getting familiar with it,” Heyward said. “But the less you think, the better and the more you’re able to just react. Just doing the best I can.”
On the attack
Vásquez did things last night he had not done consistently enough this season.
“I was able to get ahead of guys and then put them away,” he said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “Things that I wasn’t able to do in previous starts.”
Vásquez had walked more batters (24) than anyone through his first seven starts. He walked one last night.
Vásquez was throwing a first-pitch strike less often than any pitcher in the major leagues (54%) going into last night. He threw a first-pitch strike to 21 of the 25 (84%) batters he faced last night.
He was allowing a .240 batting average and .387 OBP after having a 1-2 count. (The MLB averages are .170 and .227.) Last night, the Rockies were 0-for-7 after falling behind 1-2.
He had allowed a .333 batting average and .487 OBP with two outs. (The MLB averages are .234 and .313.) Last night, he immediately followed the second out with the third out in all six innings he pitched.
The two runs he allowed came on solo homers, and he yielded just four other hits.
Yes, it was the Rockies. But the fact is, Vásquez is having a good season.
He gave up six runs in two innings to the Tigers on April 21. In his seven other starts, he has a 2.48 ERA.
, he is the Padres’ No.4 starter. His 3.76 overall ERA and the fact the Padres are 4-4 in his starts suggest he is an above-average fourth starter.
He was their No.6 starter last year, when he had a 4.87 ERA and the Padres were 9-11 in his starts.
His job is not to dominate. His job is to give the Padres a chance to win. You can generally consider a pitcher having given his team a chance to win if went at least five innings and allowed no more than three runs.
Last night was Vasquez’s 28th start for the Padres since he was acquired as part of the Juan Soto trade before last season. He has gone at least five innings while allowing three or fewer runs in 17 of those starts. The Padres are 12-5 in those games, including 4-1 this season.
Kicking
Evidently, Tatis is back to not using a leg kick. Maybe.
After going to a leg kick in seven of his 17 plate appearances over the four games from Sunday to Wednesday, Tatis did not use one in any of his times up last night. (But then, he did not use one Monday or his first time to the plate Tuesday before doing so his final four times up Tuesday and once Wednesday.)
“Just (trying to) find solutions,” he explained yesterday afternoon of the flip-flopping. “It depends how I’m feeling. I’ve been a little bit more tired after the first month. The body is a little fatigued. I was feeling my hands were getting a little slower. Not significant, but missing a couple pitches.”
I wrote (here) last month about why Tatis had abandoned the leg kick he used last season. (That newsletter has photos of the difference between Tatis with the leg kick and without.)
He liked how keeping his foot on the ground helped him with his timing.
But when he started to feel late with his swing at the end of last week, he went to the kick because it helps get him moving sooner.
“My hands are more in movement,” he said.
Tatis also noted that he has had a number of borderline pitches go against him over the past week, which also has him searching for the proper adjustment while he swings more.
“They’re making me swing,” he said. “I’m a really good free swinger when I need to be. And my barrel has more reach when I have more movement.”
However, using the kick involves more movement and, thus, requires more timing. And since he had not done it since last year, his timing is a little off when using the leg kick.
He abandoned the leg kick his final two times up Wednesday and singled and walked. Last night, he did not use the leg kick while going 1-for-4 and hitting a 99 mph lineout to center field and a 102 mph groundout to shortstop.
Right on
Sheets has shown he can hit right-handed pitching again. Time will tell if he is better than ever.
He was 2-for-5 with two doubles against righties last night and is batting .299 (26-for-87) with five doubles, four home runs and eight walks against them this season.
If he cannot become a viable regular option against left-handers, that will leave the Padres searching for a designated hitter when they face left-handed starters.
But Sheets does see a benefit in facing lefties.
Sheets was in the starting lineup against an opposing left-hander for the first time this season when he started Wednesday against the Yankees’ Max Fried. Sheets was hitless in three at-bats against the American League ERA leader and is 3-for-15 with a double and one walk against lefties this season.
Like a lot of players who don’t get many chances against same-handed pitchers, Sheets said he felt the benefit of facing a lefty.
“It locks you in a little bit more,” Sheets said yesterday afternoon. “You keep your front shoulder in a little bit more. … I think there’s something to it. Regardless of the results, it’s just getting those at-bats and kind of getting locked in.”
Still a win
Maybe you have heard that any win is a good win. It might be debatable sometimes. But at Coors Field for the Padres, it is pretty much always true.
To reiterate what I wrote about in Thursday’s newsletter, even good Padres teams have struggled at Coors Field against the Rockies.
Since 2020, the Rockies have the worst record in Major League Baseball. And since 2020, the Padres have been to the playoffs three times and have the seventh-highest winning percentage in MLB.
And from ‘20 through ‘24, the Padres won just five of their 12 series in Denver. (They lost six and tied one.)
After last night, they are now 17-23 at Coors Field since 2020.
Tidbits
- Last night’s victory assured the Padres of their first winning road trip of the season. They are 5-2 with two games remaining.
- Just 10 of the Padres’ 37 games have taken longer than two hours, 47 minutes. Four of those have come on this trip. Those game times do not include the nearly four hours worth of rain delays over the first four games in Pittsburgh and New York.
- You can read my pregame notebook (here) for insight into Cronenworth being “healed enough” to return and updates on pitchers Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish.
- I also posted a story (here) early in the game on a little trade the Padres made to get a minor-league pitcher and cash from the Reds in exchange for outfielder Connor Joe.
- Machado was 3-for-4 last night and is batting .457 (16-for-35) with a .513 OBP during a nine-game hitting streak. In that span, his batting average has risen 47 points to .319, which ranks third in the National League. (Tatis is fourth at .317.)
- Sheets’ bases-loaded double last night was his second this season. The only other extra-base hit the Padres have with the bases loaded this season was a double by Machado. Sheets also had four RBIs for the second time this season. The only other Padres player to do that is Merrill.
- Merrill was 3-for-5 with a double last night and is 7-for-13 in three games since returning from the IL. He has an extra-base hit in each game since returning and in eight of his 13 games this season.
- Cronenworth was 1-for-3 with two walks last night. He is batting .263 (10-for-38) with a .429 OBP.
- Martín Maldonado hit his second home run of the season last night. He also walked and raised his batting average to .207 and his on-base percentage to .233.
- Luis Arraez was 3-for-6 last night. He has built a .290 average in a somewhat interesting manner. He is tied for the MLB lead with six games with at least three hits. He also has gone hitless in 13 games. That is more hitless games and more three-hit games than he has ever had 31 games into a season.
- Bogaerts lined out twice last night on balls that, based on launch angle and exit velocity, were deemed by StatCast to have hit probabilities of 67% and 61%. Bogaerts is just 13-for-19 (.684) on such balls this season. For comparison, Machado’s 40 balls in play with a hit probability of 60% or greater are second-most in MLB behind Shohei Ohtani (46). Machado is batting .750 and Ohtani is batting .761 on those balls.
- Jose Iglesias’ last hit was last month. He was 0-for-1 last night and has not reached base in 20 plate appearances. He was batting .278 with a .333 OBP on April 30.
- Jeff Sanders posted an interesting Q&A (here) with Dave Macias, the Padres’ first base, outfield and baserunning coach. This coaching staff as a whole works as hard as any I have ever seen, and Macias is among the busiest. He might be the only one whose workload rivals that of the pitching coaches.
- I have never heard a ballpark as quiet for pregame introductions of the home team’s lineup as Coors Field was last night. It wasn’t just that it was exponentially louder when Padres players were introduced, it was as if no one even noticed when Rockies players’ names were read.
All right, that’s it for me.
Talk to you tomorrow.
