Padres Spring Training Report – Mar. 7, 2014

Pitching wins baseball games…ever heard that one before?  Of course you have, and the Padres proved it once again today as they beat the Brewers at Maryvale Ballpark today 6-2.

It started with Tyson Ross who went to the mound and fired 3 scoreless against an offense that many believe cold be one of the best in the N.L. this season.  Allowing 0 hits, and striking out 3 he was at times overpowering with his fastball, and showed off that nearly unhittable slider getting several swings that missed the ball by 2 feet.  Seeing those futile whiffs at that biting slider remind you that no one in baseball induced more swings and misses at his pitches in the second half of the season than Tyson Ross.  He’s thrown 5 innings now this spring and has yet to allow a hit.

The solid pitching continued as Robbie Erlin followed with a scoreless outing, also not allowing a hit, while striking out 1 in his two innings.  Matt Wisler pitched the next two, allowing a triple and a home run in his first frame, but settling down and posting a 0 in his second.  Patrick Schuster and Tony Sipp each threw scoreless innings, allowing just a walk and a hit respectively.  All three lefties, Erlin, Schuster, and Sipp threw the ball well, each using his own style effectively.  For Erlin it was well placed fastballs, change ups, and several big hooks.  Schuster made the lefties uncomfortable with his low 3/4 arm slot, and the righties off balance with sinkers away and hard sliders in.  Sipp just overpowered guys with his fastball.  Great to see the southpaws trying to make Buddy and the front office’s decision on who to keep in the bullpen a difficult one.  Difficult because of having to choose between guys who are all throwing well.  Keep in mind as well that Buddy has made it clear that while he would like to keep 2 lefties, he’ll take the 7 best pitchers whoever they are righty or lefty.  Several of the righty relievers that are in the bullpen hunt have also been throwing well, so the competition is deep…just the way you like it!

The bats were working today as well, with the Pads taking advantage of a Brewer error in the first. Xavier Nady clutched up with a 2-out RBI single to score Venable who also singled, 1-0 Pads.  Alex Dickerson then lead off the 2nd with a line drive solo shot that was hit as hard as any ball we’ve seen this spring, and just high enough to clear the right field wall.  Amarista then came up with another Padres 2-out RBI to drive in Cabrera all the way from 1st base due to his aggressiveness and speed.  Speaking of speed, Rico Noel showed his wheels off two innings later with an inside the park home run.  He smoked a liner to the right center field gap, that Brewer CF Herrera made a diving effort for, but came cup short.  As soon as it got by him you new that Noel was thinking about circling them all.  There was a play at the plate and it may have been bang-bang if Lucroy had been able to hold on to the one hopper that came in, but Noel slid safely in front of him and the Pads had a 4-0 lead. Cody Decker added on two more in the 7th with his 2-out, 2-run double to dead center, making 4 of the 6 Friar runs having crossed with two outs.

The pads played a flawless defensive game to compliment the pitching, and it was all over.  All in all a good day for everyone wearing Padres blue today.

Other notes from the day:  Huston Street was scheduled to long toss today, and may throw a bullpen tomorrow as he works back from a slight groin strain.   Chase Headley continues to recover from his strained calf muscle having taken ground balls yesterday and today, and continued hitting from both sides.  Yasmani Grandal also is moving forward as expected, and may start playing in some simulated game situations to further test his knee.  There is still solid optimism that he will indeed be ready for opening day.

Buddy also mentioned that they will make their first round of cuts this spring in the next couple of days.  A roster move was made today as the Pads claimed OF Alex Castellanos off waivers from the Rangers, and made room for him on the roster by putting Cory Luebke on the 60-Day DL.

Tomorrow the Padres will take on the Indians at the Peoria Sports Complex. Game time is 12:05 PST as normal, and the game will be broadcast both on radio and TV.  Hope you’ll join Jesse Agler and me as we bring you the call on the Mighty 1090!

Scan