IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (23 Aug 06)

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Woody Williams (6-4, 3.67 ERA) vs Brad Penny (13-6, 3.70 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com
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Since pitching in the All-Star game last month, Brad Penny is 3-4, with a 5.70 ERA. Opponents are hitting .282 against him, and have knocked eight homers in 43 2/3 innings pitched. Penny has allowd six runs in three of his seven starts since the break, with the Cardinals (7/16), Padres (7/26), and Giants (8/18) all having benefited from his generosity.

Woody Williams, meantime, is healthy, which is more than can be said about most of the Padres rotation. The U-T does a nice job of recapping our current status. In a nutshell:

  • Chan Ho Park has returned to the disabled list due to intestinal bleeding. Supersub Mike Thompson will start in Park’s place on Friday at Coors Field.
  • Clay Hensley, recovering from a “left buttocks strain,” is good to go.
  • Chris Young threw on Tuesday and felt okay. His next scheduled start isn’t until Wednesday in Phoenix. If Young can’t make it, Tim Stauffer could start in his place.

I’ll be out at the game tonight. I don’t bring brooms — it’s a karma thing — but here’s hoping for the sweep. Go Padres!

40 Responses »

  1. Seems like even blog’ing the word “sweep” is dangerous … but I’m with ya on the concept :-)

  2. Just leaving now for the game. Can’t miss a chance to see a potential (per LM, I’m not sure I can say it on the blog for fear of jinx) against the Dodgers.

  3. LaMar … well done … thanks!

  4. “Since pitching in the All-Star game last month, Brad Penny is 3-4, with a 5.70 ERA”

    That translates to 7 innings of 1 run ball against the Padres offense. If Woody is on he’ll only need 1 run.

  5. Man, that is a pretty uninspiring 5-6-7 in the lineup. Bard, Blum, and Bellhorn are all much better off as bench guys than as part of a MLB starting lineup.

  6. Ok, Penny is right-handed and Woody is a fly ball pitcher. Why is Bellhorn still getting at-bats in place of Walker?

  7. Oh yeah….3 runs in the first for the Pads….

  8. Bard has an OPS of .914. Bochy wanted to give Piazza two day off. I’m glad to Gonzalez batting fourth. I think that’s as high as he has batted this season.

  9. I’ve got Brad Penny on one of my fantasy teams….I hope having him in the lineup kills my team tonight….

  10. Wow. I believe these hits are what one would call clutch. And from Bellhorn and Blum. Wow. I am sitting here in a state of shock. Go Padres!

  11. I guess Bochy made the right move starting the Killer Bs.
    When’s the last time the Padres were up by 3 after 1?

  12. re: 12… I’m going to guess 2002

  13. Very impressive start for Woody..and it’s great to see Brad Penny losing his cool already tonight…

  14. SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres right-hander Chan Ho Park had surgery on Wednesday to stop bleeding in his small intestine and is expected to be out for at least four weeks.

  15. Recalled RHP Brian Sweeney from Portland of the PCL. … Optioned RHP Tim Stauffer to Portland.

  16. Way to go, defensive wizard Mark Bellhorn.

  17. The umpires in this league are completely ridiculous…

  18. Todd Walker woulda caught that.

  19. ooooo catfight!

  20. That whole episode was great. Bochy comes out and basically gets Little and Penny thrown out. Great managing by Bochy. That whole thing was just rich.

  21. …and then Bard caps it off with a nice hit.

  22. Woody’s probably playing Tetris in the dugout. He’s been sitting a while.

  23. Well, that was interesting to watch.

  24. That might have been the longest 5th inning in history…..

  25. Woody was so efficient in the sixth, he might have bought himself another inning.

  26. I think you’re right…i would’ve bet that he was done after 6, especially after the 18 hour 5th inning…

  27. That was the worst balk non-call I’ve ever seen. What a bad example of umpiring on display tonight.

  28. Wow, even Brocail is getting Dogs out … ’tis a good night!

  29. Did you notice last night’s pitch counts …

    Pitches-strikes – S Linebrink 18-9; T Hoffman 24-14

    … that’s a lot! Contrast that with Monday …

    Pitches-strikes – S Linebrink 11-7; T Hoffman 8-6

    … so doesn’t seem likely either’d be available for much tonight.

    But Cla should be strong …

  30. Nice to get a contribution from the top of the lineup :-)

  31. That’s our boy Cla!

  32. Kevin, et al … you are clear to use the s-word now :-)

    re: #5 … Paul, if you hadn’t said it, I would have … and been just as wrong …

  33. So pleased that we won this game–great to be back near the top of the division and to demonstrate that we just own the Dodgers.

    On a completely different note, the umpiring was terrible. Something has to be done about umps chasing a player back to the dugout to yell at them. One of the other umps should have thrown that 2nd base ump out of the game. They were all onery all night. And I totally agree with #28, that was the absolute worst non-balk call ever.

  34. Just back from the SWEEP! Cameron’s had a little trouble trying to run the bases the last couple of nights. However, he didn’t have to worry about a non/bad call after the home run. Lugo getting chased was great. Little and Penny getting chased was better. Reminiscent of the Dodger meltdown in LA when Penny was yelling at Lofton.

  35. Beiml was clearly going to the plate but when he saw Cameron make his move he threw over. Just an awful non-call. The umps were atrocious. 3 ejections in one game? Sandy must have been apoplectic, I’m sure he’ll be on the phone in the morning.

    That was a great move by Bochy, helpfully reminding the umps that Little left the mound to argue with the ump and then went back. I love it when managers do stuff like that, although I’m sure Dodger fans would disagree. It wasn’t as dramatic as Billy Martin pointing out George Brett’s pine tar but it had a huge effect on the game and the Dodgers didn’t handle it well.

    How did the Dodgers have such a good month? They seemed like a bunch of fragile crybabies that lost focus at the first sign of adversity.

  36. I haven’t had a chance to watch on TiVo yet, but in person it seemed like the umpires had no clue tonight. From tossing Lugo for no apparent reason, to dragging their heels in the fifth on the Penny situation, to not calling a balk on Beimel, that crew was brutal. I’m still not entirely sure (I have a good idea) what happened in the fifth, but I don’t think it should have taken that long to resolve and it shouldn’t have resulted in two guys getting run from the game. That’s called letting a situation get out of hand.

    Oh, and nice sweep. :-)

  37. When analyzing the umpires, don’t forget the ever-changing strike zone.

  38. I feel good this morning! Let’s hope the Pads can translate their success against the Dogs to success against the rest of the division.