Good morning from Phoenix,
Maybe Fernando Tatis Jr. can return today and hit a grand slam and everything will be OK.
The last time the Padres lost three straight to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field was almost exactly a year ago (August 14-16, 2020). They flew to Texas after that series, and the next night Tatis took that infamous swing on a 3-0 fastball and the Padres won the first of what would be seven straight games.
Tatis could be activated off the injured list for today’s series finale after missing the past 13 games. He said he has been pushing since Friday to get back in the lineup. The Padres were not ready to say he’d be back today, but they acknowledge he is close.
You can’t say unequivocally that Tatis’ absence is the reason the Padres are suddenly sinking. They won six of their first nine games after he went on the IL July 31.
But there is no doubt that Tatis’ energy is contagious and that his ability to create runs in multiple ways can turn games at any time.
It is an easy trap to fall into to assess a team was flat when it loses, especially when it is not scoring much. But it sure has seemed the past few days that the Padres have lacked much life.
Manager Jayce Tingler has said he thinks players are pressing. Eric Hosmer didn’t agree when speaking before yesterday’s game.
“I think we understand where we’re at,” he said. “Obviously, we haven’t played well lately. It’s an experienced group. Guys know we have to turn it up a little bit, but I wouldn’t say it’s pressing.”
After the game, Hosmer addressed his teammates in the clubhouse and talked about the need to reach down inside and find another level and to be ready every day at game time.
Oh yeah, the game.
The Padres got no-hit by a pitcher making his first major league start. I wrote about that and the Padres’ somewhat dire situation in my game story (here).
Joe Musgrove, who started and had his worst outing of the year after having made four consecutive quality starts, said last night’s game could be the rock bottom that gets the Padres working on an upward trajectory.
“Sometimes games like this are what can turn your season around,” he said. “Maybe we needed something like this to shake things up and get us going.”
Not happening
Even before the Diamondbacks played some excellent defense and were often in the right place at the right time last night to help Tyler Gilbert to his no-hitter, it seemed nothing could go right for the Padres in this series.
In Thursday’s opener, there were five balls hits 374 feet or farther. Four of those were by the Padres, and all four were outs. The other was David Peralta’s home run.
On Friday, the Padres were 4-for-8 on eight balls they hit at 99.1 mph or harder.
Last night, the Padres put six balls in play that had an expected batting average of .560 or higher based on their exit velocity and launch angle. (Obviously, they were 0-for-6.)
One of those balls was a 96.1 mph line drive by Hosmer that Gilbert caught by sticking his glove in the right place.
“When I caught that,” Gilbert said, “I was like, ‘These balls are getting hit hard, but there are people right there to make plays.’”
Tidbits
- Musgrove became the 12th pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter and have one thrown against his team in a game he started in that same season. He is the first since Jake Arietta in 2015. Now, that’s a coincidence. I’m told the Padres are among the teams with a chance to sign Arrieta in the coming days. The 2015 NL Cy Young winner was released by the Chicago Cubs on Thursday after posting a 6.88 ERA in 20 starts (86 1/3 innings) this season. With Chris Paddack (oblique) on the IL and the status of Yu Darvish (back) undetermined, the Padres need at least one fill-in starter.
- Reliever Drew Pomeranz will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his left (throwing) arm. Pomeranz had a 1.75 ERA in 27 appearances (25 2/3 innings) but missed significant time this season due to various ailments he believed were all kinetically related to the forearm issue that first surfaced in spring training.
- Adam Frazier’s hitting streak was stopped at nine games. The major league hits leader (142) was 0-for-3 last night, as was every other Padres position player except Tommy Pham.
- Pham, who has lamented his lack of walks recently, walked three times before his lineout ended last night’s game. Pham, whose one walk every 6.65 plate appearances was the ninth-best rate in the majors through July 22, had walked just three times in 75 plate appearances leading up to last night’s game.
What a list
Gilbert seems like he hardly belongs in this group of fantastic names:
- Ted Breitenstein
- Bumpus Jones
- Bobo Holloman
But while his name might not be as fun to say as those three other, Gilbert does belong. Last night, he became the fourth pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter in his first major league start.
Gilbert is the first to do it in 68 years. Holloman threw his on May 6, 1953. The other two were thrown within 54 weeks of each other — Breitenstein on Oct. 4, 1891 and Jones on Oct. 15, 1892.
OK, OK
For most of the season, MacKenzie Gore was the No.1 topic of e-mails I received. Based on the first dozen or so that came in after last night’s game, it is possible that by later today the leader could be missives from those who have given up on the Padres.
But over the past week, the topic about which I hear more than any other is pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Mostly, people want him fired. Others are imploring me to find out what he’s doing wrong.
I’d be wasting your time with quotes from pitchers. They would all be praising him. That’s not to say those quotes wouldn’t be genuine, but no one is going on the record ripping Rothschild. And that’s not saying that anyone has ripped him even privately.
What I mostly get in conversations with pitchers and others over the past several days is that Rothschild is among the most knowledgeable pitching coaches they have ever worked with in terms of the scouting reports he provides and his ability to break down a pitcher’s mechanics. Not every pitcher responds to Rothschild, but that is not at all unusual. Believe it or not, not every pitcher worshipped at the knee of Darren Balsley.
I don’t know for sure that Rothschild will be the Padres’ pitching coach in 2022. The Padres had a different hitting coach each of the first six years A.J. Preller was their general manager. (By the way, how did that usually work out?)
It is possible the team decides there is someone who can get more out of its starting pitchers. But there does not seem to be an internal sentiment that the guy who has helped oversee the majors’ top bullpen is the cause of the rotation’s inconsistency.
All right, that’s it for me.
Talk to you tomorrow.
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