IGD: Padres @ Diamondbacks (27 Sep 06)

first pitch: 6:40 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Jake Peavy (10-14, 4.13 ERA) vs Miguel Batista (11-7, 4.36 ERA)
preview: Padres.com
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Unfortunately the Padres couldn’t hold off the Cardinals on Wednesday, and the Rockies couldn’t hold off the Dodgers, so the Pads’ lead in the NL West is back down to 1 game. And the Phillies, who needed 14 innings to beat the Nationals, aren’t letting go of their wild card dreams just yet.

So, this is our season. Four games in Phoenix.

Nobody said it would be easy.

Jake Peavy goes for the Padres in the opener, and he’s gotten hot at just the right time. Peavy has a 2.61 ERA over 72 1/3 innings since the beginning of August, and his peripheral numbers are strong as well.

Miguel Batista gets the call for the Diamondbacks. His ERA is a very respectable 3.59 since the All-Star break, but the other numbers don’t necessarily support it. He’s been stingy with the long ball in the second half, but walking and striking out four batters apiece per game isn’t exactly a recipe for sustainable success. Batista also has posted a much higher ERA at home than away, and his extreme lefty/righty splits play into the Padres’ favor. Lefties are hitting .318/.403/.486 against Batista this year, while righties are at .255/.309/.363.

The Snakes might appear to be vulnerable, but they always play the Padres tough. And I don’t buy that non-contenders are just mailing it in at this point of the season. They’ve got professional ballplayers on their team, too. Everyone wants to win; that’s why they play the games.

Nobody said it would be easy. But it sure will be fun. Go Padres!

139 Responses »

  1. And 11 hours later, the Phillies and Nationals have gotten underway. Wonder if any fans are there for the 11:30 p.m. ET start.

  2. Game is finally starting in D.C.

  3. Could the Padres clinch tomorrow night if they win this one? That is if the Dodgers also lose tomorrow. And if so, is it going to be televised on the sporadic MLB Extra Innnings package?

  4. Magic number for the division is 4, only 3 for the wild card though. They can clinch a playoff birth tomorrow but the division will have to wait until Saturday.

  5. If the Phillies lose tonight and the Padres hold on to this lead and win, and then the Padres win tomorrow and the Dodgers lose, then the Padres would clinch a a playoff spot and a tie for the NL West. Since they win the West in the event of a tie with the Dodgers, then they would have effectively clinched the division.

  6. Astros 0.5 game back. Would this be the biggest flop in history?
    BTW, where’s that half game?

  7. Cards-Giants game rained out and will only be made up if it is meaningful on Monday.

  8. if the Astros end up 1/2 game behind or ahead, it will have to be played. Which leaves the possibility of:

    Cards-Giants Monday
    Cards-Astros Tuesday
    Game 1 for the winner Wed

  9. ty

    Home or away? I’d get a ticket if I were a Giants fan.

  10. I’m behind you guys a few minutes so I’m not going to hang around to see comments, but I wanted to show you something I thought was cool… ESPN is effectively eating Crow (without admittind as much of course):

    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview06/news/story?id=2386544

    Pre-season predicted NL West standings:

    LA 87-75
    SF 84-78
    SD 80-82
    AZ 74-88
    CO 70-92

    Current NL West standings:

    SD 85-73
    LA 85-74 -.5
    SF 76-82 -9
    AZ 75-83 -10
    CO 74-85 -11.5

    (Of course assuming the Padres hang on, LA will go down a full run and CO will go down to -12.) Experts my arse… I knew it would be an LA-SD race…

  11. Okay, I decided I couldn’t stand it and just bought tickets for Sat and Sun in Phoenix. Any other Ducksnorter’s going to be there? I’m sure the team wouldn’t feel right unless I was there.

  12. What’s Jake’s pitch count now?

  13. 113 to this point..

  14. LaMar,

    Thanks for representin’. How will I recognize you on TV?

  15. Perfect. Get a few guys some innings, Jake leaves game with big lead, Line, Cla, Embree rest — just as we asked. Now if the Nats can pull off a miracle (Lieber-O’Connor — tough matchup), we can forget all about last night.

  16. Can’t believe Pedro’s out for the season with a torn calf muscle. That’s huge. Why the hell is Jake out there for 113 with a six run lead (other than the fact our bully is pretty spent)?

  17. dprat, I’d tell you I was the tall, good-looking, blonde guy, but that would just be a flat assed lie. I’ll have a blue alternate Piazza jersey. My girlfriend will have the away “Greene” jersey. Don’t look for a hat, more likely a visor, since I have a pin head and have never been able to pull off a baseball cap.

  18. Geoff Blum… I understand you have a 6 run lead. I understand you would like to just get out of there with a nice win. Still. How do you swing at that pitch when you are ahead in the count 2-0 and the plate ump has been extremely inconsistent calling balls and strikes?

    Also, why is Embree coming in? Isn’t Embree actually occasionally used in important situations? Why not someone that you never want pitching in a high leverage situation?

  19. Nationals up 1-0 in the second.

  20. Adkins is getting ready. My guess is he’ll work the eighth, with one of Cassidy, Seanez, or Sweeney working the ninth assuming all else remains the same.

  21. Okay, LaMar, will keep an eye out. Bring ‘em home for us.

  22. This ump is awful.

  23. Rob Bowen sends his regards.

  24. Crushed to right. Bowen makes the argument for continued at bats.

  25. Nobody better swing at a ball ahead in the count. I don’t care it’s 10-2.

  26. Who is this Ryan Klesko guy..is he new?

  27. Oh man, Klesko almost hit that out. Nice.

  28. Klesko now has 3 PA, a UBB and a 2B. He has now passed Eric Young in runs above replacement.

  29. hey boys..lets save some for the weekend..

  30. Geoff Blum always seems to be saving some for the weekend.

  31. Good to see Park out there again.

  32. That’s right…
    Homeboy cheated death, twice, and is pitching a month later. Unreal. as much as I disliked dealig for him, I gotta give CHP props.

  33. I’ll rephrase. It’s good to see Park healthy again. In comes Sweeney.

  34. well..it was good to see him out there…just would’ve been nice to see him record an out…

  35. 1-1 bottom of 5 in Washington….how many people do you think are at this game that started at nearly 11:00?

  36. For a while I was worried Bochy was going to bring in Meredith to a 12-4 game…..you can never be too careful, but you always pitch to Pujols no matter the situation

  37. I just got home to see the score. Sweet!

  38. Nationals go up 3-1 over the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth, still have runners on the corners with 1 out.

  39. And the Nats win. Playoff magic number at 1. The divison can be essentially clinched tomorrow with a Padres win and Dodgers loss.