Baltimore @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2007 ) Baltimore 6, San Diego 3
Any day now, the San Diego Padres are going to hit a massive slide and the opposing general managers, circling like vultures, can swoop in and grab All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for a stretch run.
That has been the talk ever since the Padres got off to a great start to begin the season. The thought was that they were playing well above their heads and eventually San Diego would slink back to the bottom of the National League West.
Apparently, Gonzalez and the Padres are not going anywhere anytime soon.
San Diego continues to be one of the season’s biggest surprises as the Padres, sitting 10 games above .500 (38-28) and tied atop the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres open a three-game series tonight with the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park.
Yes, there are still more than three weeks before the All-Star break, but their high-level of play has gone on much further than most expected even after a hot April.
The Padres’ winning percentage has dipped each month - .652 to .571 to .467 – but there are indications that they are here for the long haul.
And the intriguing aspect of it all is the fact that it is being done in the midst of a youth movement. Jake Peavy, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brian Giles and others are gone from last year’s squad.
Players like outfielders Kyle Blanks, Will Venable and Wade LeBlanc have stepped into prominent roles. LeBlanc (4-4, 3.05) will get the start against the Orioles in the series opener.
San Diego is hanging in there because of its bullpen. The offense has been sketchy and the starting rotation has been better than expected, but make no mistake why the Padres have been so good for 2½ months.
Of the six relievers who have pitched in 19 games or more, only one has an ERA above 2.37 and four of them are sub-2.00.
Closer Heath Bell is at 1.98 with 17 saves and Ryan Webb (0.77 ERA), Luke Gregerson (1.57) and Joe Thatcher (1.98) are having terrific seasons as well.
That type of production from the bullpen cannot be understated as far as the confidence and stability it gives a clubhouse. The offense and starting pitchers know all they have to do is grab a lead in the early innings and the Padres are on their way to another win.
San Diego likes those chances of that scenario playing out against the Orioles, who have the worst record in the major leagues at 18-48, putting them on pace to win 44 games all season.
In the 10 games since ending a 10-game losing streak, Baltimore is 3-7 so that is a 30 percent improvement. That has to be something, right?
The Orioles send out left-hander Brian Matusz (2-7, 4.92 ERA) against the Padres. He is their 2008 No. 1 draft pick (fourth overall) and is a big part of the team’s future, but right now he is getting beat up with little run support.
Baltimore is coming off a series against San Francisco where it lost two of three, but the team seems to be responding to interim manager Juan Samuel’s hard-nosed style.