first pitch: 5:10 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Darrell May (0-0, 4.26 ERA) vs Jeff Suppan (2-3, 3.23 ERA)
The preseason favorite to win the #5 spot in the rotation makes his first start as a Padre. Unfortunately, he’ll be making it against a team full of guys who beat him like a rug. If May can step up and keep the game close, we could see Trevor Hoffman get a shot at save #400.
AB BA OBP SLG
May vs current Cardinals 41 .366 .381 .732
Suppan vs current Padres 134 .321 .396 .500
That’s a really small sample, but damn. Albert Pujols is hitting .111/.111/.222 against May in 9 at-bats. Everyone else is hitting the tar out of him. Nine extra base hits in 42 plate appearances? Ouch.
For the Padres, two of the guys doing the most damage (Geoff Blum, Eric Young) are hurt. Among the healthy, Brian Giles (.353/.429/.706 in 17 AB) and Robert Fick (.231/.417/.500 in 26 AB) have had their share of success against Suppan. In more limited duty, Mark Loretta (.667/.667/1.000 in 9 AB) and Ryan Klesko (.429/.556/.571 in 7 AB) have also done well.
Notable Quotes from This Week’s In-Game Discussions
Still not sure you should be hanging out with us during the game? Your call, but here’s a little of what you’ve been missing…
Eaton should consider not giving up doubles to the hitter leading off each inning.
–Richard, 2 May 2005
Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!! Tie ballgame. [Ed. note: This has quickly supplanted "boom goes the dynamite" as my favorite home run call]
–Lance, 3 May 2005
This is why I dislike the whole bullpen hierarchy system. Now that the Linebrink-Otsuka setup tandem has been memorialized and immortalized, you can’t shift their roles without a big fuss about demotion or losing confidence. Reliever performance is so volatile, you should be able to just play the hot hand with them.
–Eric, 4 May 2005
Roll out the bad poetry, we have a new curse on our hands — the CURSE OF ANNA KOURNIKOVA! Apparently, Brian Giles hasn’t had a hit since he caught the first pitch from her. [Ed. note: Only the threat of bad poetry was needed; Giles snapped out in a big way on Thursday night]
–Brian G., 5 May 2005
Richard also kept a running tally of expected runs during Tuesday night’s game against the Rockies. Fascinating stuff. And of course LynchMob provided his usual excellent dose of updates from the farm.
Fun with Numbers
- Dave Roberts has 15 hits so far this year; of those, 7 are for extra bases. His ISO is .176.
- Including his monster game Thursday night against the Cards, Giles’ ISO also is .176. He is hitting .120/.290/.200 at home and .288/.400/.558 on the road, in a roughly equivalent number of trips to the plate.
- I love the bullpen, but should Dennys Reyes and Scott Linebrink have more walks (27) than Jake Peavy and Woody Williams (22) in fewer than half the innings?
Go get ‘em, boys!
Second base umpire Mike DiMuro is a former Channel 10 intern. The things you learn from Matt & Mud. He’s also a USD grad. Toreros represent!
They’re saying Nevin was removed from tonight’s game due to back spasms. That’s not good.
hi, just got home from bible study
oooh so Seanez came in in the 7th with a 1-run lead?
Hey Eric; welcome. Indeed, he did!
Trevor goes for #400. Sure wish we’d been able to push across an insurance run.
Falls behind Walker, 2-1.
Full count.
Walker strikes out looking. One down, two to go.
First pitch strike to Eckstein.
Eckstein can’t handle Trevor’s fastball.
Keeps fouling pitches off. Time to throw one out of the zone, make him chase.
Ground ball right to Burroughs. Two out. So Taguchi stands between Hoffy and #400.
Count is 1-1.
Fouls it off to the right side. One more strike.
Just outside, 2-2.
Yikes. That had distance, but it was foul. Don’t throw that pitch again.
Got him looking. Listen to them boo. Trevor gets #400, the Pads have clinched at least a split!
Woo-hoo!
Terrific win! Congrats to Trevor!
Who’s next as the #5 starter?
that was some deep booing…
nice.
400 for Hoffman.
As Leitner points out, that’s more than Fingers, Gossage, or Cy Young Award-winning Mark Davis.
Watching him throw utter smoke in ’94, I’d have never believed he’d be doing it with change-ups in 2005.
Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!
AP story has this note …
Sweeney is 5-for-18 as a pinch hitter with two RBIs after leading the majors with 23 pinch RBIs last year.
Sorry about the disappearance. My girlfriend had just gotten here and to her, it was bad enough that I was watching the game. Talking about it online would have been crossing the line (apparently).
I didn’t see Sweeney’s HR “change direction” in any fashion, regardless of what Mark Grant says. Looked like a blown call by the ump.