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Both the Rockies and Padres will be looking to right the ship this weekend as they meet for the second time in 2014, the first in San Diego.
The Padres were swept at home in a three-game series by the Astros earlier this week, while the Rockies dropped two of three in Arizona. The two teams split a four-game series at Coors Field last week, with San Diego taking the first two games and the Rockies winning the last two to earn the split.
Hitters to watch
Somewhat lost in the hype of the Padres' rebuilding in the offseason was their acquisition of All-Star catcher Derek Norris from Oakland. Norris is off to a fast start in 2015, hitting .313/.329/.463 with nine doubles and a home run. He has walked just twice while striking out 13 times.
Also off to a hot start is one of the few incumbents in the Padres lineup, first baeman Yonder Alonso. Alonso is hitting .315/.400/.411 and is one of the few Padres regulars walking on a regular basis, with 10 free passes issued to him in 85 plate appearances this season.
On the opposite end of the spectrum for the Padres is second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who has struggled mightily to start 2015, hitting just .135/.211/.173 in his team's first 23 games. To put that in perspective, Tyler Matzek hit .184/.225/.211 last season, and he's a pitcher.
2015 hitting stats
Name | G | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | WAR |
Wil Myers | 23 | 101 | 4 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 2.0% | 19.8% | .194 | .324 | .286 | .307 | .480 | .342 | 122 | 0.0 | 2.6 | -5.4 | 0.0 |
Matt Kemp | 23 | 98 | 1 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 5.1% | 17.3% | .152 | .387 | .326 | .357 | .478 | .363 | 136 | -0.1 | 4.0 | -3.5 | 0.4 |
Justin Upton | 22 | 87 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 5.7% | 26.4% | .284 | .283 | .259 | .299 | .543 | .356 | 131 | 0.3 | 3.5 | -3.5 | 0.3 |
Yonder Alonso | 21 | 85 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 11.8% | 12.9% | .096 | .355 | .315 | .400 | .411 | .355 | 130 | -1.2 | 1.9 | -1.4 | 0.3 |
Will Middlebrooks | 23 | 85 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 4.7% | 22.4% | .173 | .254 | .222 | .259 | .395 | .286 | 85 | 0.9 | -0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
Derek Norris | 22 | 82 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2.4% | 15.9% | .150 | .364 | .313 | .329 | .463 | .345 | 124 | -0.5 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 0.8 |
Alexi Amarista | 19 | 62 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16.1% | 17.7% | .115 | .250 | .212 | .339 | .327 | .294 | 90 | 0.2 | -0.6 | 2.8 | 0.4 |
Yangervis Solarte | 21 | 62 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 9.7% | 6.5% | .179 | .320 | .321 | .387 | .500 | .389 | 153 | -0.5 | 3.5 | -2.0 | 0.4 |
Jedd Gyorko | 16 | 57 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7.0% | 21.1% | .038 | .175 | .135 | .211 | .173 | .184 | 17 | -0.9 | -6.5 | -1.9 | -0.7 |
Clint Barmes | 12 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6.9% | 27.6% | .185 | .389 | .296 | .345 | .481 | .362 | 135 | -1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Will Venable | 15 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% | 41.7% | .250 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .417 | .249 | 60 | 0.2 | -0.9 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
Cory Spangenberg | 17 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 30.4% | .136 | .333 | .227 | .227 | .364 | .255 | 64 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
Wil Nieves | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7.1% | 28.6% | .231 | .000 | .077 | .143 | .308 | .199 | 28 | 0.2 | -1.0 | -0.7 | -0.1 |
Pitchers to watch
The Padres will start a trio of veteran right-handers this weekend against the Rockies. Getting the nod in the series opener is 30-year-old Ian Kennedy. Kennedy left his first start of the season in the third inning with a left hamstring strain and struggled against the Dodgers in his return Saturday, allowing eight runs on eight hits in 4⅓ innings. Kennedy has a 2.86 ERA in 110 career innings against the Rockies.
Brandon Morrow will get the start for San Diego in game two of the series. This will be Morrow's second start of the season against the Rockies, as he allowed five runs on six hits in six innings on April 21 at Coors Field in a 7-6 Padres win. He has allowed just three runs in 21 innings in his other three starts this year, all of which have come at Petco Park.
James Shields will start the series finale for the Padres on Sunday. Like Morrow, he did have a start in the series at Coors Field, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings in a Rockies win on April 22. Shields has a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings this season with nine walks and 41 strikeouts in his five starts.
2015 pitching stats
Name | W | L | SV | G | GS | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | BABIP | LOB% | GB% | HR/FB | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WAR |
James Shields | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 11.90 | 2.61 | 1.16 | .301 | 76.4% | 43.4% | 13.8% | 2.90 | 3.29 | 2.86 | 0.7 |
Andrew Cashner | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 10.45 | 2.32 | 1.45 | .325 | 71.4% | 49.4% | 15.6% | 2.61 | 3.93 | 3.21 | 0.3 |
Tyson Ross | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 27.2 | 12.04 | 5.86 | 0.98 | .348 | 76.6% | 55.6% | 16.7% | 4.55 | 3.99 | 3.44 | 0.2 |
Brandon Morrow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 6.33 | 2.00 | 0.67 | .270 | 79.4% | 46.7% | 9.5% | 2.67 | 3.41 | 3.49 | 0.4 |
Odrisamer Despaigne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 21.1 | 4.22 | 2.53 | 0.84 | .159 | 75.6% | 50.8% | 11.1% | 2.95 | 4.60 | 4.50 | 0.0 |
Joaquin Benoit | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 9.00 | 4.09 | 1.64 | .231 | 78.4% | 38.5% | 18.2% | 4.09 | 4.92 | 3.89 | -0.1 |
Dale Thayer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 10.1 | 2.61 | 2.61 | 0.87 | .219 | 93.8% | 48.5% | 8.3% | 1.74 | 4.74 | 5.03 | -0.1 |
Brandon Maurer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 5.40 | 3.60 | 0.90 | .226 | 66.0% | 45.2% | 9.1% | 4.50 | 4.49 | 4.66 | 0.0 |
Craig Kimbrel | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 8.2 | 10.38 | 4.15 | 1.04 | .364 | 69.0% | 43.5% | 12.5% | 5.19 | 3.77 | 3.50 | 0.1 |
Ian Kennedy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6.2 | 5.40 | 4.05 | 4.05 | .333 | 61.2% | 47.8% | 50.0% | 10.80 | 9.64 | 4.99 | -0.3 |
Frank Garces | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5.2 | 6.35 | 4.76 | 0.00 | .278 | 87.5% | 27.8% | 0.0% | 1.59 | 3.37 | 5.48 | 0.0 |
Shawn Kelley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5.1 | 10.13 | 8.44 | 1.69 | .444 | 55.6% | 16.7% | 12.5% | 10.13 | 6.19 | 5.75 | -0.1 |
Kevin Quackenbush | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.2 | 7.36 | 4.91 | 0.00 | .333 | 50.0% | 66.7% | 0.0% | 4.91 | 3.19 | 3.56 | 0.0 |
Nick Vincent | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.1 | 8.10 | 2.70 | 0.00 | .462 | 57.1% | 23.1% | 0.0% | 5.40 | 2.29 | 4.29 | 0.1 |
Christopher Rearick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | .500 | 76.9% | 44.4% | 66.7% | 12.00 | 11.19 | 3.86 | -0.2 |
Cory Mazzoni | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4.50 | 9.00 | 4.50 | .500 | 30.3% | 36.4% | 33.3% | 27.00 | 11.69 | 7.19 | -0.1 |
Probable starters
Game 1, 5/1: Eddie Butler vs. Ian Kennedy
Game 2, 5/2: Jorge De La Rosa vs. Brandon Morrow
Game 3, 5/3: Tyler Matzek vs. James Shields