Turning The San Diego Padres Luck Around (The Show ’15)

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In an unexpected move, we pulled off a trade right after our series with the Astros. It was a salary dump deal and Brian Cashman was shopping around Melvin Upton Jr for a few weeks now and the only team interested were the St. Louis Cardinals and they were trying to offer Jon Jay in the deal. Cashman ended up trading for Rowan Wick who plays right field. Upton was making 9 million and was basically taking up space on our roster. The Cardinals outfielders are struggling so far this season…..Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are off to a slow start with St. Louis. Rowan Wick will stay in the minors for us….

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We were not any fools in the month of April. We quickly rose to the top of the NL West as we started off with a 20-6 record in April and ended on a high note of a 5-game win streak. I’d say right now we’ve looked pretty balance between our hitting and pitching. The 17-6 division record is the best around the majors.

We’ll start with our pitching which has been phenominal so far. We acquired Stephen Strasburg right before spring training in hopes to solidify our rotation a bit more after trading away James Shields last year. I wasn’t too confident with the bunch we had already. Cashner had a great 2015 so I really wasn’t sure if he could duplicate what he did last year.

Corey Luebke and Tyson Ross were our wild cards with hopes that John lackey would be our Bartolo Colon and just eat up the innings.

Well so far, Strasburg has been our ace and his last two games showed that by striking out a total of 26 batters. The big surprises have been Luebke and Ross. Both have ERA’s under 2.00 and are a combined 7-1, with Ross being perfect thus far with a 5-0 record. Ross has shined bright when runners are in scoring position against him by striking out 12…..

Strasburg’s 3-2 record still don’t over shadow that batter are hitting only .192 against, and that right handers are struggling tremendously by batting .132…….

Team Pitching Rankings:
-ERA – 4th (2.58)
-Saves – 3rd (9)
-Runs Allowed – 3rd (73)
-Earned Runs – 4th (64)
-HR Allowed – 1st (15)
-BB Allowed – 21st (74)
-Strikeouts – 2nd (230)
-Tied with the St. Louis Cardinals with (19) Quality Starts
-Our reliever have an ERA of 2.87….Kevin Quackenbush, James Russell and Nick Vincent all have ERA’s of ZERO.

Not to mention that our pitching has been spoiled by not having to pitch from behind thanks to an offense that has provided early run supports for the rotation….which leads us to our batting….

Much like our pitching our lineup has kept us in ballgames and early….it’s good and it’s comfortable for a pitcher when he gets early run support. Matt Kemp has been tearing the ball lately and that is expected. Justin Upton got off to a slow start and has been seeing the ball better lately. Which is huge in itself especially after giving him a big contract in the off-season.

Matt Kemp leads the team in: Hits, Runs, HR, RBI, SLG%, Walks, OBP

But it’s everyone else that is chipping in and playing team ball. Jung Ho Kang has been given the opportunity to play much of second base and has come up in key situations.

Yangervis Solarte already has four 3-hit games this season and also leads San Diego with 7 doubles.

Solarte’s stats so far: .311 // 2 HR // 12 RBI // 8 BB // 13 K // .370 OBP // .316 RISP // and hitting .368 vs LHP, in 90 at-bats

The offense is in the Top 10 in: Batting Average, Runs Scored, Hits, Homeruns, and RBI’s…..

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Eric Castro has been absolutely killing it in AAA. He was our best draft pick last June…..he was highly scouted by us and we might have struck gold with this kid. Scouts still have him to MLB ready THIS YEAR!! Yonder Alonso, you better watch out……if anything Castro will be a September call-up but this kid can’t be over-looked.

1B Eric Castro (AAA, 22-yrs old) – .320 // 7 HR // 17 RBI // 11 BB // .402 OBP // .667 SLG // .333 RISP // in 75 at-bats and has also struck out 18 times.


Both Villalobos and Gonzalez were two of our draft picks in last years June draft. Ramon Villalobos is the better contact hitter and is projected to be MLB ready by 2017…..that remains a long shot…Trent Gonzalez has shown he can hit with runners on so far…Let’s take a quick look at some of their stats in Double-A

2B Trent Gonzalez (AA, 19-yrs old) - .333 // 0 HR // 4 RBI // 4 BB // 9 K // .385 OBP // .364 RISP //

2B Ramon Villalobos (AA, 20-yrs old) - .260 // 3 HR // 8 RBI // 8 BB // 12 K // .329 OBP // .130 RISP


SP Robbie Erlin (AAA) – 32.2 IP // 2-2 // 2.76 ERA // 20 K // 9 BB // 0.89 WHIP // hitters are batting .168 against the southpaw.

SP Aaron Northcraft (AAA) – 24.2 IP // 0-4 // 5.11 // 19 K // 10 BB // 1.50 WHIP // left handed hitters are hitting .373 against Northcraft.


Next we'll see what's happening around the league.

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We start things off in the National league….The Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres all lead their respective divisions. In the East the Nationals got off to rather a slow start but have been playing well as of their last ten games…

In the Central, compared to last year, it looks like the teams are upside down. The Brewers who are in last place have scored the most runs in the central but have also given up the most. The Reds started off well, have now lost their last five.

In the West, you can say it’s been a surprising start. The Padres have 20 wins (I played the very last game of the series vs the Astros which went into May 1st but these stats and standings are right at the ned of April) and currently hold the largest lead over the second place team in all divisions. The two surprises have been the Dodgers and Giants, both which are under .500 so far.



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Next we'll run down the American League.....

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In the American League, there is really not one team running away with it. in the East the Baltimore Orioles are looking like they are hurting from the loss of C Matt Weiters in the off-season. But perhaps the biggest story are the Boston Red Sox. Despite the numerous injuries they have, are still in first place!!

Meanwhile in the Central, the Cleveland Indians are benefiting from signing Weiters. The Indians are currently in second place and have scored the most runs in the majors. The Royals lead that division.

In the West, the World Series champs are struggling to get going having lost seven of their last ten games……The Athletics are riding a 12-game losing streak. And the out-of-nowhere, surging Houston Astros are sitting atop of the division. Dominating is their pitching, as a team they have an ERA of 2.15.

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A look forward to May….after coming off a sweep of the Astros, we stay home for our next 7 games against the Dodgers and the Braves. The series against the Dodgers really gives us a chance to bury them a little furthur back in the West. Other than the Texas Rangers, no other team on our schedule is over the .500 mark, so May could really be our month to distance us from the rest of the pack. We’ve beat up on our division. The Rangers will be a good test…..We also play the Cubs, and maybe we get to skip having to face John Lester and their best bat Kris Bryant.

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Series #9

We continued the middle leg of our 10-game homestand against the last place Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers came in 10-16 on the season and in last place in the West at 10 games back.


Andrew Cashner faced off against Zach Greinke. Cashner got some runs quick. In the bottom of the first, After Matt Kemp singled, Justin Upton came up to bat and hits a 2-run homer to right field. Upton has been hot as of late, quick 2-0 lead for us.


In the fourth inning, Cashner got himself into some trouble and issued a bases loaded walk, that got the Dodgers on the board. This was turning out to be a good pitchers duel.


Adrian Gonzalez was up in the top of seventh with a man on and he made Andrew Cashner part of a milestone. Agonz hit a 2-run blast to dead center field for his 300th homerun and to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

Showalter second guessed himself on this at-bat. Showalter came out to talk to Cashner who’s pitch count was getting up there. It might have been to get the bullpen arms a little warmer, but Showalter decided to leave in Cashner….and that proved to be the wrong move.


Cashner’s final line: 6.2 IP // 9 H // 3 R // 3 ER // 2 BB // 5 K // 3.66 ERA…..Greinke pitched good as well in the no decision: 7 IP // 7 H // 3 R // 3 ER // 6 K // 5.84 ERA…..


James Russell came in to pitch the eighth, and got himself in a jam but was able to keep himself out of trouble and the score stayed 3-2.


To the bottom half of the eighth….Derek Norris led off with a triple to right field on a 3-2 count…..Yonder Alonso pinch hit for Russell and after missing a homerun two pitches earlier, he then singled to right field….Norris scores….TIE GAME!!


We end up going to extras…..and Jedd Gyorko was the unlikely hero as he took a low fastball off of Brandon League and hit a no-doubter to the left center seats……Gyorko’s homerun helped keep our win streak alive at seven games......... RP Kevin Quackenbush got the win in this one. He pitched two scoreless frames.

We’re now 9-1 in our last ten games. All batters got a hit in this one except for the pitcher and Alexi Amarista…..

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Around The League:
Miami Marlins SP Mat Latos was placed on the DL…He’ll be out 2-3 weeks with a Head Contusion: 2 W // 1 L // 2.35 ERA // 29 K // 10 BB…






We looked to keep rolling against the Dodgers in game 2. LA had Hyun Jin Ryu going and even with a 3-1 record his ERA was 5.46.

So in the bottom of the first, we got off to our usual start as we’ve been doing…..First it was Justin Upton with an RBI double and then Yangervis Solarte followed with a double of his own, his ninth of the year, that scored Upton, 2-0 we led….

We headed into the fourth leading 4-2…..and it was a matter of time before the Dodgers broke through against Corey Luebke…..Scott Van Slyke gave the Dodgers the lead by going deep to centerfield with Ethier and Gonzalez on base…….Luebke would last just one more inning…Luebke final line: 5 IP // 6 H // 5 R // 5 ER // 2 BB // 6 K // 2.45 ERA

Ryu helped himself out in top of the sixth with an RBI double off of Jeff Frasor…..Dodgers led 6-4…..Los Angeles would go on to add three more runs to take the game 9-4 and snap our 7-game win streak. Despite giving up 10 hits Ryu pitched efficiently and got the win.

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Around The League:
Mets C Travis D’Arnaud has a Pulled Hamstring and is expected to be out 2-3weeks….The Mets have called up C Johnny Monell







We turned to Tyson Ross to help us win the finale and hope to improve his record to 6-0…..Ross would pitch another gem. He only allowed six hits. In the sixth and seventh innings, Ross allowed the first two batters to get on but the Dodgers did not do much with it. Ross induced a couple of double plays to get out of both innings. In line for the win, he leaves in the eighth inning with a standing ovation.

On the offensive front we didn’t get going until the fourth inning in which Jedd Gyorko hit a solo homerun, his third of the season and then in the fifth, Tommy Medica, getting the start at first base, hit his first homerun of the year to give us the 2-0 lead.

With a 3-0 lead in the ninth, Craig Kimbrel came in and got his eighth save of the season. James Russel got the Hold.

Ross: 7.1 IP // 6 H // 3 BB // 9 K // 1.52 ERA

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Series 10

To cap off this 10-game homestand, the Atlanta Braves came into town. While we are in the driver’s seat for the time being, the Braves should not be taking lightly. They upgraded their defense in the off-season by adding Josh Donaldson and Michael Saunders.

In the first game we countered with John Lackey. Twice in the first three innings Lackey allowed Freddie Freeman and Josh Donaldson to get on with back-to-back hits……but both times the Braves got nothing out of it.

In the top of the fifth, it was Braves starter Shelby Miller that led off with a triple off of Lackey. Jace Pederson then singled to right, Miller scoring made it 1-0 Atlanta……Two outs later, Freeman makes it 2-0 with his fifth homer of the year, a solo shot.

Through five innings Lackey held the Braves to two runs and our offense was no where to be found besides a few hits here and there….

We didn’t get our fourth hit of the game until the bottom of the sixth after Matt Kemp doubled to right and Yonder Alonso scored to cut the Braves lead to 2-1……Solarte then tied the game up at two with and RBI single…

And Jedd Gyorko gave us the lead for good with a 2-run shot, his fourth of the season. Craig Kimbrel blew the braves hitters away in the top of the ninth, reaching back for a 100-mph pitch that struckout Michael Saunders for the last out of the game and his ninth save.

I liked how we came back in this one. Our offense looked like it had stalled for a bit.

John Lackey final line: 7 IP // 10 H // 2 R // 2 ER // 8 K // 3.45 ERA…and improved to 3-1………

Jedd Gyorko has been hitting well lately after being inserted in the #2 hole, he batted 5th in this game going: 2-4 // 1 R // 2 RBI // 1 HR // .330 BA

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In game 2, a couple of RBI’s from Yonder Alonso and Justin Upton was enough to give us the 2-0 win. Not what we’re used to, but we got both runs late in the eighth inning of the game.

Accompany that with a stellar performance from Stephen Strasburg……He threw a whopping 118 pitches in a complete game, 3-hit shutout!! While also striking out 12 Braves and lowered his ERA to 2.50. Strasburg is now 5-2 on the season. Atlanta was a ground out machine in this game.

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Around The League:
Miami Marlins trade 3B Martin Prado to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 1B Justin Morneau (the trade doesn’t make sense for either team lol)

1B Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) – out 3-4 weeks with a Pulled Hamstring
CF Lorenzo Cain (KC) – out 1-2 months with a Fractured Forearm






If the Braves wanted a shot at atleast earning a split with us, they must win this game. I liked our chances with Cashner on the mound but Julio Teheran had un-hittable stuff in this one. A complete game by Teheran and the Braves kept taking Cashner deep into counts.

In the fifth inning is when the Braves scored all of their four runs. I thought we’d have a chance in the ninth, Upton led off with a triple to right. After Solarte struckout, Alonso singled to center. But that is all we would be able to score, Jun Ho Kang grounded into a double play to end the game.

Cashner’s final line wasn’t all that bad, but a high pitch count was getting him tired and unable to execute pitched towards the end.

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A good old-fashioned pitchers duel ended this four-game series between the Braves and us…..Corey Luebke faced off against Travis Wood….The Braves scored first in the fourth. First freeman broke the scoreless game with a solo shot……Michael Saunders later doubled to drive in Andrelton Simmons.

The story for us in this game was once again our offense stalled. Travis Wood pitched a good game, striking out eight. The lone run he gave up to us was on a solo homerun by Jung-Ho Kang in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 2-1.

The score remained the same throughout the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Kemp led off with a double but we just weren’t able to drive that run in. Corey Luebke didn’t pitch that bad either: 7 IP // 7 H // 2 R // 2 ER // 1 BB // 7 K // 2.47 ERA…..but obviously that ended up not being enough.

11 strikeouts as a team.....the final two games of this series were dreadful for us offensively.

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Next we head to Texas for a 2-game series versus the Rangers.

[enyc718]

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Series 11



We were off to Texeas to face the Rangers. The Rangers came in with a 7-15 record and after getting swept by the Seattle Mariners, they just finish taking 3 out 4 from the Houston Astros.

We are looking to get our offense going again and early. Maybe we’ve relied too much early on with the offense.

In the first game we had probably our best pitcher going for this two game set. Tyson Ross was looking for his seventh win of the season.

Much like our other starters as of late, getting in early jams is becoming the norm…..Tyson Ross was in a few of them in the first couple of innings and it wouldn’t be until the fifth inning that the Rangers got to him…..Prince Fielder pushed the first run in with an RBI single.

Then Texas got the bases loaded for Leonys Martin and he slapped a single to right field….Matt Kemp comes up throwing but the throw is late, Jurickson Profar and Robinson Chirinos score, Rangers led 3-0.

Earlier in the inning Justin Upton showed off his arm again….nailing Shin Soo Choo at the plate.

Rain started to fall in the top of the seventh as we looked to get something going but with the bases loaded we failed to do anything.

In the bottom of the seventh, that was it for Tyson Ross. Buck Showalter pulled him and Ross was in line for the loss unless the offense can come around.

The lefty specialist came in. Showalter going for the matchup advantage having to face three straight lefties in Fielder, Moreland and Shin Choo. James Russell did what he does best, struckout Fielder, Moreland grounded out and Choo also struck out.

Russell has been money out of the pen for us, still sporting a ZERO ERA.

It came down to the top of the ninth to decide this one……The Rangers brought in closer Neftali Perez to shut the door….but not so fast….

Justin Upton led off with a triple to right field and on a 3-2 count a batter later Yangervis Solarte hits a moonshot to right field for his fourth homerun of the year…..and we’re back in it with a chance to tie. Perez then got Gyroko and Kang to strikeout on sliders low and away…..and Amarista grounded out with a runner on first to end the game.

Ross loses his first game of the year, his final line: 6 IP // 9 H // 3 R // 3 ER // 2 BB // 58 K // 1.90 ERA….

For the Rangers Yovanni Gallardo pitched very good: 6.1 IP // 5 H // 1 BB // 2.73 ERA

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Game 2 was very similar to game 1…….John Lackey was on the mound for us and he had pitched a fine game…….he left after seven innings with a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the eight inning, we were presented with the same exact matchups and Showalter again went to Russell out of the pen to face the same three lefties as he did in the previous game.

First James Russell got Prince Fielder to pop out…..then he struckout Mitch Moreland on a slider low and away…..but gave up a single to Choo……Showalter already had Kimbrel warming up for the ninth and quickly brings him in for a 4-out save……Kimbrel would get Aramis Ramirez to pop out on a 3-1 count to end the eighth.

To the bottom of the ninth we go, leading 3-1 and Kimbrel ready to shut the door……Kimbrel gets the first two runners he faces to reach base…..Then Delino Deshields bunts to third base….Solarte charges, throws on the run but it’s wide and the throw ends up in right field……Profar who singled to start the inning, scores, it’s now 3-2…..

On the error, rougned Odor advanced to third base………Elvis Andrus was the next batter, and the Rangers surprised everyone with the SUICIDE SQUEEZE!!! Odor scores and we have ourselves a tie ballgame.

In the tenth inning, Matt Kemp ended it with a groundout for a double play…..In the eleventh inning, reliver Kevin Quackenbush gets a couple of runners on but gets Prince Fielder to groundout into a double play and get us out of a pickle….

Onto inning number twelve…..Quackenbush still in the game, issues a base on balls to Choo with one out…….two batters later he gives up a single to Leonys Martin…….Matt Thornton comes in to pitch next and Elvis Andrus makes contact for a single……bases are loaded for Prince Fielder………and on the very first pitch he hits a gapper to left center…….and that’s the ball game…..

Crushing loss…everyone had atleast one hit but a total of fourteen strikeouts as a team. John lackey’s final line: 7.0 Ip // 6 H // 1 R // 1 ER // 2 BB // 5 K // 3.14 ERA

Quackenbush finally gave up a run for the season……He had gone 16.2 innings without giving up a run. Keving threw 49 pitches in 3.2 innings, his ERA is now at 0.46. This was also Craig Kimbrel's second blown save of the season.

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Four straight losses drops us to 24-11 and our lead in the West shrinks to 5 games with Arizona in our rear view. Next is another four-game set against the Chicago Cubs



Around The League:
2B Danny Santana (MIN) - Torn Rotator Cuff - OUT 6+ Months (.269 BA // 3 HR // 8 RBI)

[enyc718]

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Series 12


Our next series is against the Cubs for four games and we took our pitching staff, arguably the best in baseball right now into Wrigley Field.

We rank first in ERA, Strikeouts, Runs Allowed and HRs Allowed. The Cubbies are playing just under .500 ball with a 17-18 record.

Wil Myers started the game off for us with a homerun to lead off the game. We added another run in the fourth inning when Jung Ho Kang doubled to left field…..Wil Venable came up throwing but Matt Kemp beat the throw to the plate for the 2-0 lead.

But the Cubs came right back in the bottom half of the fourth to score two runs, thanks to RBI singles from Dexter Fowler and Javier Baez to tie the game up at two.

Fowler then gave Chicago the lead with a solo HR (2) in the fifth inning. We headed to the top of the eighth down 3-2, but Yangervis Solarte takes 1-1 hanging slider deep to right field for a 2-run double(11), Kemp and Alonso score.

Two batter later, after Soalrte is moved over to third…….Gyorko smacks a 2-run homerun to left center on a 2-2 pitch off of Neil Ramirez…….6-3 we lead.

We brought in our left specialist James Russell for the L vs L matchup on Rizzo….and Rizzo lines out to second. Then we went to Nick Vincent and he gets Kris Bryant to ground into a double play to end the eighth…..Our pen does it's job again.

Craig Kimbrel got the call for the ninth……with one out, Venable doubled to left field and advanced to third on a throwing error by Upton……Javier Baez then walked…..Miguel Montero followed that with liner to center for a single……Venable scores and Baez advanced to third base. On Myer’s throw to third base allowed Montero to advance to second base….

Johnathon Herrera then pinch hit for the pitcher, and singles to center. Baez scores and Montero hold at third……..Starlin Castro was then the batter but a pitchers best friend…….Kimbrel gets Castro to ground into a double play to end the game…..Kimbrel gets his 10th save of the season. Joaquin Benoit (1-0) gets the win.

Matt Kemp: 2-5 // 2 R // 2B
Stephen Strasburg and John Lester were the starters but neither of them factored into the decision.
Strasburg: 6 IP // 7 H // 3 R // 3 ER // BB // 8 K // 2.71 ERA
Lester: 6.1 IP // 5 H // 2 R // 2 ER // 7 K // 2.16 ERA

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We faced Jake Arrieta in game two and he hasn’t necessarily been pitching too good. Arrieta came in with a 1-4 record and an ERA of 3.59….We had Andrew Cashner on the mound….

The Cubs took the 1-0 lead on us in the bottom of the second on a solo HR (7) from Jorge Soler……but Justin Upton help tie the game up with a solo HR (8) of his deep to left field…..That would be just the third hit of the game between both teams…..

Arrieta really cruising until in the top of the sixth Jedd Gyorko singles to score Yonder Alonso to give us the 2-1 lead.

Alexi Amarista shows off his power in the top of the eighth by hitting a 3-run HR (1) to right center, pretty much putting us in the driver seat with a 5-1 lead.

Cashner was also pitching well and was still in there to pitch the bottom of the eighth…….but Castro would take him deep, a 402 foot HR (4)…..a 3-run shot at that to cut our lead to 5-4….Showalter quickly signaled in the lefty Matt Thornton……he gets Rizzo to groundout…..the mistake by Showalter was probably to leave in Thornton to face Kris Bryant……Bryant singled up the middle….

That brought in Nick Vincent. Bryant on the first pitch steals second base, then Jorge Soler singles to left field…..the throw not in time and we have ourselves a tie ballgame……..

In the bottom of the ninth, Dexter Fowler delivered the game-winning single to centerfield off Joaquin Benoit….

Justin Upton: 3-4 // 2 R // RBI // HR // .275 AVG
Starlin Castro: 1-4 // R // 3 RBI // HR // .270 AVG
Justin Grimm collected the win in this one.

With this loss, we’ve now lost five of our last six!!!

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The third game of this series saw Corey Luebke matchup against Travis Wood……Both pitchers went seven innings, both pitchers gave up two walks and two earned runs…..But once again the game was decided in the ninth inning…….With Nick Vincent pitching in relief to hold on to the tie…..he first gives up a leadoff double to Baez……Baez would then be moved over to third……

Yonder Alonso might of saved a run for us on the next batter……he comes up with a ball that was going to be a hit and score Baez, but he took the grounder and stepped on first base for the second out….

The Wil Venable came up, facing his former team and hits a soft grounder down third base…..it should have been Solarte’s ball to field……but Vincent picks it up……Baez stalls at third base……Vincent sees that and fires to first but the ball ends up in right field……Baez scores and that’s how the Cubs walk off on us for the second straight game……The throw from Vincent would of beaten the batter too…..

Jung Ho Kang extended his hit streak to 11-games…..


A tough break for us in the ninth……Jedd Gyorko hurt himself diving for a grounder…..He’ll be checked to see if he has a pull or a torn calf….

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We looked to salvage the series and atleast get a split out of this…….Before the game though, we announced that 2B Jedd Gyorko is going on the Disabled List and will be out for 3-4 weeks with a Pulled Calf……More than likely it will be Alexi Amarista getting the starts at second base for now.


What better pitcher to send to the mound when you need a win for us than Tyson Ross. He came in 6-1 on the year. And although he got down early in bottom of the first, on a Rizzo two-run HR, Ross still improved to 7-1.

We got a couple of runs in fourth inning to tie the game up…….****ns in the seventh and eighth innings and holds by Frasor, Russell and Vincent and then Kimbrel’s 11th save allowed us to earn the split in the series….

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