Regardless of whether the word means what I think it does, that was an unlikely win. Down 5-1 in the ninth on the road? Great work by the bullpen again, although they’ve now logged 15 innings in two days. Brian Lawrence needs to bust out the old efficiency cap on Tuesday. (Efficiency cap? Really.)

Game Notes

• Yesterday I suggested that the way to beat Aaron Harang was to get to him late in the game. Harang obviously didn’t agree with that theory and completely shut down the Pads all night.
• Jake Peavy didn’t have his best stuff, and for the second game in a row, the Padres had trouble getting out of the first inning. But thanks to some late-inning heroics, Peavy didn’t take the loss. He has made seven starts now and has only two decisions, despite averaging just under seven innings per start.
• Some readers of Ducksnorts will be happy to note that Robert Fick is pounding the ball. He hit a homer in Sunday’s blowout at St. Louis (and almost hit another), then cleared the bases to tie the game in the ninth of Monday night’s game. It’s real nice to have guys like Fick and Mark Sweeney ready to come off the bench late in games.
• Ryan Klesko‘s bomb to lead off the ninth was huge. I mentioned on Sunday that he’s pretty much swinging for the fences late in games. Of his eight homers this year, five have come after the seventh inning. He also needs one more bomb to tie his total for 2004.
• Speaking of Klesko, news flash: Two hands held high in the air by your third base coach means don’t keep running toward home plate. What a waste of a beautiful pinch single by Adam Eaton in the 12th.
• Speaking of Eaton, he and Chris Hammond share the team lead with four wins.
• Trevor Hoffman picked up the save, which now gives him 400 as a member of the Padres.
• FREE XAVIER NADY! (Sorry, just had to get that in there.)

Everybody’s Movin’, Everybody’s Groovin’

Out: Tim Redding (DL), Jesse Garcia (AAA), Randy Williams (DFA)
In: Tim Stauffer, Khalil Greene, Brian Falkenborg

Of Stauffer, pitching coach Darren Balsley says, “His stuff is better than I thought it was. I always heard he had good mound presence and knew how to pitch, but usually when they talk about guys like that they don’t throw real hard. But he pitches right around 90-91 mph.” The Padres first-round pick in the 2003 draft makes his big-league debut Wednesday afternoon against the Reds in a game that will not be televised in the San Diego area.

Side note: Stauffer is a product of the University of Richmond, alma mater of current big leaguers Sean Casey and Brian Jordan.

[Update: Jason Scavone tipped me off to an article he wrote for the Saratogian about Stauffer's promotion. These are the types of quotes I love: "It's just like any other game. They're just bigger names. If you go right at them, you're going to get them out." Quiet confidence. Remind you of any shortstops we know? Thanks, Jason, for the heads-up!]