I swear I just wrote this article a couple of weekends ago.
As bad as the Colorado Rockies have been -- after being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks, they've lost nine of 12 -- the San Diego Padres have been worse. The whole NL West, sans the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been nothing to write home about, but the Padres have been especially bad. After climbing to within a game of the division lead on June 17, the Padres have fallen to seven and a half games off the pace.
San Diego is 4-13 since that day and has lost nine consecutive games. The Padres lost three of four to the woeful Miami Marlins and continued their hellish road trip by being swept by the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals.
The Friars thought they'd receive a boost during the trip with the return of All-Star shortstop Everth Cabrera from the disabled list, but he's gone 1-for-14 from the plate since coming back. What's worse, catcher Yasmani Grandal was placed on the 60-day DL after suffering a knee injury during a collision at at the plate on Saturday. Grandal was batting just .216 in 108 plate appearances, but his on-base percentage was more than 60 points higher than that of Nick Hundley and almost 100 points better than John Baker.
San Diego's pitching has left a lot to be desired, and is perhaps a larger reason why the team has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. The Friars have allowed at least five runs in 10 of 17 games during the aformentioned 4-13 stretch, and the team has an ERA of 4.23 -- 14th in the NL -- and ERA+ of 84, which is tied for dead-last in baseball with the San Francisco Giants.
Eric Stults has clearly been the team's best starter, boasting a 3.70 ERA thanks to a K/BB ratio of 3.14. Somehow, Jason Marquis has a 9-4 record despite walking almost as many batters as he has struck out. He looks primed for a signature second-half fade, which means somebody else in that rotation is going to have to step up. That guy could be Andrew Cashner, who has a 3.81 ERA in 14 starts and walks just 2.5 batters per nine innings. Cashner doesn't rack up the strikeouts like a guy who can touch triple-digits with his fastball probably should, but his pitch-to-contact approach has worked, for the most part.
Fortunately for the Padres, they always have and always will benefit from the services of Joe Thatcher and Luke Gregerson, both of whom have been in San Diego's bullpen since the team wore brown and mustard-yellow uniforms. It's a good thing, too, because the bullpen is fairly mediocre otherwise (Nick Vincent's 13.1 innings notwithstanding), especially closer Huston Street. The former Rockie has allowed 10 (TEN) home runs in 28.1 innings and has almost completely forgotten how to strike batters out.
Sadly, Jaff Decker is no longer on the active roster, so I can't poke fun at his name. Because of that travesty, I refuse to write about the Padres anymore today. Luckily for you, you can get all the Friars news and analysis you'll ever need at Gaslamp Ball.
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Probable pitchers
Game 1: Monday, July 8 at 8:10 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)
Tyler Chatwood (4-2, 2.75 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez (6-6, 5.26 ERA)
Game 2: Tuesday, July 9 at 8:10 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)
Jhoulys Chacin (8-3, 3.74) vs. Eric Stults (6-7, 3.70)
Game 3: Wednesday, July 10 at 8:10 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)
Jorge De La Rosa (8-5, 3.19) vs. Andrew Cashner (5-4, 3.82)
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