Friar Notes: With the Padres, the only number that really counts is Wins

By Bill Center

FriarWire
FriarWire
Published in
3 min readJun 22, 2022
RHP Mike Clevinger

Outside of successful, the best word to describe the San Diego Padres this season is resilient.

The Padres have been without Fernando Tatis Jr. since day one of spring training. They are now 2–0 since Manny Machado sprained his ankle.

Manager Bob Melvin has twice been away for health issues totaling 20 games. Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger has been on the injured list three times while making only three starts. Starting pitcher Blake Snell missed the season’s first 36 games. Three relievers who opened the season in the bullpen are now on the injured list.

Yet the Padres' 43–27 record is the second-best in franchise history through 70 games. The Padres lead the Major Leagues with 20 comeback wins. Tuesday night’s 11-inning, walk-off win upped their record in extra-inning games to 8–3. It also upped their record in one-run games to 13–8 — and 19–12 in games decided by one or two runs.

The Padres won the first two games of the Arizona series despite scoring seven runs on 10 hits over 20 innings … because the pitching held the Diamondbacks to three runs on nine hits, with the bullpen holding the Diamondbacks hitless over the final five innings Tuesday.

NOTABLE

  • Despite going 0-for-5 Tuesday night, Jake Cronenworth still leads all Major League hitters with 22 RBI. Tuesday ended a season-high, eight-game hitting streak for Cronenworth, who was 17-for-32 during the streak with six doubles, a home run, five RBI and nine runs scored. The streak started with three straight, three-hit games and included six multi-hit games. Cronenworth is 28-for-74 over his last 19 games with 10 doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI with a .378 batting average, a .471 on-base percentage and a .676 slugging percentage for a 1.146 OPS.
  • RHP Yu Darvish is 3–0 in his last three starts and has allowed two runs on 11 hits and two walks with 18 strikeouts in 22 innings for a 0.82 earned run average — lowering his season ERA from 4.03 to 3.17. Ironically, he has also hit six batters over the last three games after hitting only two hitters in his first 10 starts this season.
  • Tuesday was the 10th quality start this season for Sean Manaea. The Padres have won each of Manaea’s three most recent starts and are 7–6 in game started by Manaea this season. Tuesday marked the fifth time this season that the Padres have scored three runs or less in a game started by Manaea.
  • C Jorge Alfaro not only had Tuesday’s walk-off hit, he is 10-for-27 in his last six games with four doubles, two home runs, five RBI and five runs scored — raising his batting average to .285 from .260.
  • Ha-Seong Kim has gone 9-for-27 in his last eight games with three doubles, a triple, six RBI and three runs scored.

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