first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Chan Ho Park (7-7, 4.68 ERA) Tim Stauffer (0-0, —) vs Chad Billingsley (4-3, 3.16 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Padres’ new secret weapon, the venerable Manny Alexander. Now that one of the few people in baseball who can make Geoff Blum look like an offensive dynamo is on the roster, the Dodgers don’t stand a chance.
Wilson Betemit? Yeah, right. We’re going all the way, baby!
Billingsley is done. Could be good news for Padres.
Wow, nice top of 6th … thru 5-1/2 …
Pitches-strikes – C Billingsley 95-56; T Stauffer 66-42.
Ground balls-fly balls – C Billingsley 3-7; T Stauffer 11-4.
Batters faced – C Billingsley 22; T Stauffer 21.
Dessens comes in with a 2.25 ERA …
I cannot believe Cameron got three out of that one.
Dessens, iirc, was a WBC teammate of Adrian and Vinny …
Nice job, Tim!
C’mon bully … let’s close out a W for the guy!!!
Embree in for Stauffer, who did a beautiful job tonight in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Count me as another who was very impressed by Stauffer tonight. I still think that he’s got a decent chance to be a mid-rotation major league pitcher.
Embree really needs to stop grooving 0-2 fastballs. I don’t care if he’s throwing mid-90s; big leaguers can hit those.
I don’t see how Stauffer could have regressed as bad as he has at AAA this year and still have a chance to be an average MLB pitcher … I’ll root for that … but I gave up expecting that back in April …
Cla Meredith continues to bring it.
Now *that* is a “save” … by Cla
That’s probably the only batter Meredith faces tonight, so I’ll take this opportunity to point out how destructive he’s been on RHB: counting Martin’s ground out to end the seventh, they’re hittting .069/.069/.115 against him in 61 PA. Yep, that’s a 184 OPS.
Now … PH for Meredith? Hmmm, not obvious …
On the ESPN broadcast, they talked about how Peavy begged Bochy to start tonight, guaranteeing a win. I think Bochy made the right choice. I’m starting to think Sutcliffe is not that bad, although he’s funnier when he’s wasted.
GY … just to illustrate how low that OPS is … it’s lower than Vinny’s!
Wonder why no double-switch when bringing Meredith?
Good point, usually Bochy wakes up double-switching.
Giles crushed that ball. Breathing room is nice. Let’s get more.
Uh, never mind. What was Giles thinking?
re: 65…I was just saying to my wife last Monday night that Sutcliffe is a lot more tolerable when you only hear him once a week or so. It was when he was on every night that he was annoying. I’m still stuck listening to Vin Scully who has said “by the way” 125 times tonight…
I’d like to apologize to Tim Stauffer, to his parents, grandparents, descendants here or yet to be, and all his kith and kin.
“BY THE WAY”…what was Giles thinking?
San Francisco 3-0 in the 8th..
Scully is still my favorite announcer. … That steal attempt by Giles was the textbook definition of “ill-advised.”
Scully isn’t bad…I just think it’s funny that he says “by the way” about every 10 minutes.
Linebrink found a new way to not have a 1-2-3 inning. But we’ll take it. Why can’t Meredith be the setup guy?
Yeah, Scully rocks. Nobody tells a story like him.
You know what else rocks? Linebrink working an uneventful eighth. That’s more like it!
For the same reason that Linebrink couldn’t be the setup guy early last year when Aki was struggling.. Linebrink gets the 7th..Aki the 8th, trevor the 9th…
Bochy is like Reggie Jackson in the Naked Gun…until someone pushes the button to get him out of the trance..he’s going to stick with the program..
And a streak is broken…Linebrink’s first appearance without giving up a hit since July 9th (15 straight games)
Linebrink had his first HBP of the season though. … I agree, Mark. It takes a lot for Bochy to change the batting order during the season, too. It’s a major move for him to move Giles around a little.
Scully can get weird with names though sometimes, he keeps calling Wilson Betemit “Bet-a-meet”, I thought it was “Bet-a-mitt”.
Not sure what the correct pronunciation is, but Vasgersian and Gwynn are calling him “Bet-a-MEET” as well.
Scully is right. Bet-a-meet would be the way it’s pronounced in the Dominican.
I hear bells all the way up here in Oregon!
We must have three different broadcast going here.
Hoffman: first save opportunity since Aug. 12
Changeup, Drew K. Death.
J.D., say hello to icky. Now say goodbye.
Room service ground ball. Double play. Taxes … Hoffman.
Sweet! One down, two to go…I think I’ll blame the Careys for Bet-a- mitt, I thought that’s how they were pronoucing it earlier this year on TBS…according to the poll they showed on KCAL, 87% of viewers think Grady Little should be Manager of the Year (2nd – Randolph 8%, 3rd – Narron 5%). If Grady Little wins manager of the year, Red Sox fans will be sure to check the weather forecast in hell for light snow flurries. Personally, if Florida comes within 5 games of .500, you have to give it to Giradi, right? I mean, that’s a team that was supposed to lose 100+.
Hoffman: 32 saves this season, 468 in his career, 10 behind Lee Smith.
First the echo of bells … then the echos of cheers!
A good game to win … aaaaahhhhhh!
I don’t Grady Little is a good manager. I think the Dodgers are quite good because of their front office. … It’s hard to give it to a manager who is below .500.
They’re talking to Stauffer on the TV postgame. He found out around 11:30 a.m. that he might get the call and arrived in SD on a flight from Portland at 5 p.m. What a stud.
Dewon with a rough outing for Portland tonight … http://tinyurl.com/h4xka … but before tonight, I’d have thought he’d be the better callup (vs Stauffer, not Sweeney).
Oh yeah, I don’t think there’s a shot in hell they give it to Girardi for real, I would assume Randolph is probably the winner. But I would give it to him, if only for telling Jeffery Loria to shut the hell up.
Hey, you guys that watch’d the Storm yesterday … whatdya think of Headley and Hundley?
Nice game for the Emeralds tonight … http://tinyurl.com/gd2os … 2 hits and a walk for Antonelli in 5 PAs … but still no power … Huffman’s HR #8 tells me it’s not park-effects …
Yeah, the Reds guy wouldn’t be a bad choice, either. But let’s face it: these guys are managing in the new junior circuit.