first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Justin Germano (2-0, 0.47 ERA) vs Claudio Vargas (3-0, 3.68 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

Lame dad-type thing to say: Love the participation, but as a reminder to everyone, please take a moment to review the Comments Policy. If you think I’m scolding you, I’m not; just want to make sure this continues to be the best place for intelligent discussion of Padres baseball.

Okay, enough of that. Kevin Kouzmanoff is on fire. Among National League batters with 50 or more plate appearances in May, nobody has a higher OPS than Kouz (1141). Also, his OPS at home (851) is more than 300 points higher than his OPS on the road (540).

Of course, OPS is a nonsense stat. But we use it anyway because it’s easy and it gives us a rough idea of how a guy is doing.

Anyway.

The other story is Justin Germano, who has done a remarkable job of filling in for Clay Hensley while the latter is on the DL. Germano’s K/9 is alarmingly low (2.37) and he would appear to be due for a “correction” at any moment. Still, he’s gotten the job done.

I thought tonight might represent more of a challenge for Germano, but Milwaukee’s offense (4.73 runs per game) isn’t really much different from Atlanta’s (4.79) or Seattle’s (4.70). Here’s hoping he can enjoy the ride a little longer.

Go Padres!

Tagged as: Baseball, brewers, claudio_vargas, justin_germano, milwaukee_brewers, mlb, padres, san_diego_padres