The San Diego Padres, and the entire NL West for that matter, has been struggling over the past week but the Padres are just 0.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The San Diego Padres dropped its first series of May against the Chicago White Sox but salvaged the series by winning the finale 4-3 in a thriller.
Padres right-hander Griffin Canning made his Padres debut Sunday and pitched well, tossing five innings and allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven, earning a no-decision. He outpitched White Sox lefty Anthony Kay, who pitched five innings but surrendered two runs on seven hits and one walk while fanning five.
Although not off to the starts they’d hoped for, third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop Xander Bogaerts are beginning to heat up. Machado went yard for the fifth time this year and Bogaerts picked up his 18th RBI on a go-ahead single in the eighth inning.
Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. got the day off, and the Padres are trying everything it can to bring Tatis’ power stroke back. He is one of the few qualified players who haven’t homered yet this season, which is shocking to say the least.
Tatis and center fielder Jackson Merrill have been rough offensively and the Padres need them to be producing for it to be the best version of itself. But despite its top stars struggling to begin the season, the Padres are 20-13 and just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield gave the Padres a B-plus grade for the month of April after being one of the hottest teams in baseball despite some bad luck for San Diego’s cornerstones.
“Somehow, Fernando Tatis Jr. hasn't homered yet,” Schoenfield wrote Monday. “And what has happened to Jackson Merrill? His offensive struggles are semi-alarming. And Manny Machado hasn't been all that great, Jake Cronenworth is hitting well under .200 and three-fifths of the rotation has an ERA over 5.00. Yet here the Padres are, neck-and-neck with the mighty Dodgers. What happens the rest of the way is a mystery.”
The starting rotation has been shaky, but right-hander Randy Vasquez has been great outside of one bad start and will take on the San Francisco Giants in their series opener tonight.
Vasquez is 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 34 strikeouts through six starts (33.2 innings). The Chicago Cubs tagged Vasquez for five runs on five hits and three walks in five innings his last time out, but San Diego overcame a Moises Ballesteros grand slam and won 9-7.
The Giants will send 25-year-old right-hander Trevor McDonald to the bump to make his season debut and just his third career start. McDonald pitched very well in three appearances for San Francisco last season, striking out 14 batters and walking just two in 15 innings of work.
However, McDonald hasn’t pitched that well in Triple-A Sacramento this season, posting a 5.40 ERA and 1.53 WHIP with 12 strikeouts to 15 walks in 15 innings (five appearances, four starts).
First pitch is at 6:45 p.m. PDT on ESPN Unlimited, MLB.TV and regional sports networks.