SAN DIEGO – The Padres came out ready against the Cleveland Guardians after a disappointing loss in the bottom of the ninth vs the Rockies. The Padres put up a 4 spot in the first inning with a Xander Bogaerts sac fly and a 3-run homer thanks to newly acquired Gary Sanchez who has been red hot as a Padre. Joe Musgrove got off to a great start but would be halted by a Josh Bell homer in his return to Petco Park since signing with the Cleveland Guardians this past offseason. Fernando Tatis Jr stayed red hot at the plate after his six-hit weekend. In the bottom of the second, he crushed a 405 Foot homer to give the Padres a sizeable lead. The rest of the game would be smooth sailing for the Friars with Josh Hader striking out the side for the save.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Gary Sánchez Stays Hot
He has been a season-saving acquisition for the Padres at the catcher position as the team was in great need of that position. In his two-week time with the club, Sánchez has already hit 6 home runs which is more than the whole catcher position had in the entire season. Sánchez provides a much-needed power bat later in the very top-heavy lineup. Sánchez after continuing to show production will most likely be the Padres day to day catcher for the rest of the season.
Getting What You Paid For
The Padres the past several offseasons have been willing to pay the bag for their star players. This season has been bumpy to save the least for the Padres. When he signed the four-headed monster of Tatis Jr., Soto, Machado, and Bogaerts, owner Peter Seidler envisioned them producing this level of firepower every night. If the four of them are all hot at the same time, the amount of production would be something special. The Padres are currently ranked 22nd in the majors for runs. The Padres hope to have the type of production they had tonight with 5 hits and 3 rbi’s between the four of them.
Bullpen/Josh Hader Show Flashes of What Could Be
With this team’s disappointing record up to this point of the season, not a ton of the blame for the lack of wins can be put on the pitching staff. They rank 5th in team ERA and 4th in opponent batting average. Minus a couple of hiccups here and there the Padres bullpen has shown flashes of becoming one of the major’s best bullpens. The bullpen will need to continue to be steady if they want to be in playoff talk come October. Every great bullpen has a go-to closer they can rely on. Josh Hader has been more steady this season proving why the Padres invested so many prospects into him. Hader has consistently shut the door down to opponents this year with him tonight striking out the side. He also would record his 600th career strikeout
The Padres (32-34) will continue the three-game series vs the Cleveland Guardians (31-35) Wednesday night at 6:40 PT. The probable pitchers for the game will be Michael Wacha for the Padres and Aaron Civale for the Guardians.
