The San Diego Padres took a flyer on new starter Griffin Canning, and yesterday it paid off in his first start.
The San Diego Padres probably weren’t expecting all that much when they signed starter Griffin Canning, but they could be getting a surprising addition. Canning was outstanding in his first start as a Padre yesterday against the Chicago White Sox, as he gave up just one run in five innings and threw an economical 73 pitches in doing so.
The eventual result was a 4-3 Padres win, and while Canning didn’t get the decision, going five innings was important, especially since his pitch count in his final minor-league rehab start was 68 pitches.
The Padres haven’t gotten much length from their rotation to date, and the back end has been especially problematic. Walker Buehler, German Marquez and Matt Waldron have had some rough starts, and getting a performance upgrade is important if the Padres want to stay in contention and build on their current record of 20-13.
“It’s what we expected when we signed him -- that he had the potential to be someone we could rely on,” said manager Craig Stammen when he was asked about Canning’s outing in a followup piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “This is one start for him. He’s coming off a major injury. There’s bound to be hiccups. But he’s off to a good start.”
Canning had command issues to start, and he looked primed for an early exit when he walked two hitters in the first inning and wound up throwing 27 pitches. But Canning course-corrected quickly, and he actually struck out the last four White Sox hitters he faced.
“I just had a lot of fun being back out there and competing again,” Canning said, which was understandable given that he’s coming off a serious ankle injury last year.
Building up his pitch count is now a priority going forward, and the Padres will also be adding Lucas Giolito to the rotation. The back-end starters need to hold the fort with Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove out for what looks like an extended stretch, and it will be interesting to see how much freedom new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones give GM A.J. Preller to wheel and deal when the trade deadline approaches.
Canning’s start also helped break a four-game losing streak as the Padres rebounded to stay within a half-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres offense has been up and down, and while the bullpen has been strong, there have been a couple of games where the relievers have failed.
“Big, big win for us,” said Manny Machado, who homered yesterday to help boost the offense. “It hasn’t really been our week. … We battled. That’s part of baseball. Nothing’s easy.”