Game Notes @ LAA (05.26) Friars Vie for Even Series behind Despaigne in Anaheim

By Friar Wire

Last night’s three-run comeback in the seventh inning involved a valiantly fought effort by the Padres thanks to contributions from Yangervis Solarte and Will Venable. Despite their efforts, the Friars fell by a score of 4–3 in game one after an Angels walk-off victory on Memorial Day. Tuesday presents a new opportunity for the Padres however, and the team will look to get right back on track in game two in Anaheim.

The Padres (21–25) have a chance to even the series with a victory on Tuesday, and they hope to secure that series tie by sending RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (2–3, 6.11 ERA) to the rubber against RHP Matt Shoemaker (3–4, 6.29 ERA) and the Angels (23–22). Despaigne showed signs of returning to form his last time out on May 21st against the Cubs when he threw a quality start over six innings while striking out four on 98 pitches.

To get you up to speed on the Padres recent endeavors and accomplishments before game two against the Angels, here are some highlights from today’s game notes:

• Quality Pitching — The Padres pitching staff has been on a veritable tear lately after Tyson Ross collected the team’s seventh consecutive quality start in a row last night. With Ross’ start the Padres increase their Major League leading number of quality starts on the season to 31, pushing ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates who come in second with 28 quality starts on the year. Over those last seven games by the Padres starters the rotation has posted a 2.80 ERA while limiting the opposition to a .249 batting average. The team owns a 2.67 ERA as a whole over its last six games thanks in part to the Padres bullpen, which has gone 2–2 with a 3.38 ERA in the month of May after posting a 5.35 ERA in April. Additionally, the Padres pitching staff has recorded 396 strikeouts so far this season, giving them the second-most in Major League Baseball while trailing only the Cleveland Indians who have 421. Entering play today, the Padres franchise record for fewest games to reach 400 team strikeouts is 51 games which was accomplished last season in 2014. If the pitching staff can record four more strikeouts today then the team will set a new franchise record by attaining 400 strikeouts in only 47 games.
• You’re in the “Middle” of a Ride — Prior to May 12th, Will Middlebrooks was in the midst of an 0-for-22 season-long hitless streak. Since that date, Middlebrooks is hitting .310/.326/.476 (13-for-42) with a double, two home runs and two RBI over his last 11 games. Over those last 11 games, Middlebrooks has hit safely in eight games while also recording five multi-hit games in that span.
• Free Will(y) — Since May 8th, Will Venable has hit .400/.481/.556 (18-for-45) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI in 14 games. During this span, Venable has raised his batting average on the season from .133 to .293. In the Month of May, Venable’s .353 batting average stands as the 10th-best batting average in Major League Baseball and the fifth-best average in the national league. With runners in scoring position and two outs on the board, Venable is now hitting .625 (5-for-8) on the season while also hitting .525 (6-for-11) with runners in scoring position overall.

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