The San Diego Padres went five games without a home run before last night, but Luis Campusano ended that streak.
The San Diego Padres are finally getting big contributions from Luis Campusano, and they’re coming at the right time. The Padres were in the middle of a power outage last against the Colorado Rockies, but Campusano broke a streak of five homer-less games with a solo shot to left in the seventh inning of the 8-3 loss.
“Everything [was going well],” Campusano said in a piece written by Owen Perkins of MLB.com. “I’m just locking in on one good pitch, just giving us a chance. It really doesn't matter what the score is at Coors Field – there’s always a chance to get in or get out. We just keep fighting until the last out.”
Campusano also went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, and he scored two runs to go with his RBI. He’s now hit in 14 of 17 career games against Colorado, and he was the only Padre to get an extra-base hit in this one.
The power shortage isn’t a major concern for manager Craig Stammen given that the Padres have been playing winning baseball. They’ve been getting timely hitting and strong pitching, even if last night was the exception.
“I don't think we're counting how many days it is without a home run,” manager Craig Stammen said. “We don't have it on the big board out there. But it is nice to see Campusano have a great game tonight. He's been swinging well throughout the year, and three great swings from him today.”
The lack of production at Coors Field is a concern, however. The Padres have gone just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and while they did win the series opener, 1-0, that’s not going to get it done in a park where scoring is a priority.
“It's part of the season,” Stammen said. “We’re not going to score 10 runs every game, and you just have to manage those ups and downs. Right now, I don't think our guys are seeing the ball really well. We'll get them right, and eventually they'll start clicking.”
Stammen has larger concerns with the rotation, even if he has been getting good starts from pitchers who are back-of-the-rotation types. Last night it was Walker Buehler who stumbled, giving up four runs in just 2-2/3 innings.
“I feel actually pretty good about what I did, relative to the box score,” Buehler said. “You know your stuff's not going to act the same [at Coors Field], so you're trying to get the ball on the ground, and you give up seven hits on the ground.
“I've had plenty of experience pitching here,” Buehler said. “I've had a couple of good ones, and a lot that you leave scratching your head. These games don't end up looking or acting like games at 29 other places. But this game was not a Coors Field [game, when] they're hitting the ball 35 miles an hour and getting it to the wall. They hit the ball where we weren't, and for me, dictating contact point and [stuff] like that, that's my job. I didn't do good enough, so we'll move forward.”