The San Diego Padres (10-7) make their way back home this weekend to face off with the Los Angeles Dodgers (9-6). Having gone 9-5 since the season-opening series in LA, the Padres have managed to wedge themselves into a first-place tie with the incoming Dodgers.
They've topped San Francisco's World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner and Chicago's $155-million man Jon Lester since leaving Los Angeles. They even managed to dismantle Jorge De La Rosa in Colorado for nine runs in 2.0 innings before leaving April 20th's game with a 14-3 victory.
But those aren't the only storylines buzzing around the Padres. Here are three takeaways from..(what do I call this?)...
1. Overflow of starting pitchers
San Diego supporters had reason for concern when they saw the team's No. 4 starting pitcher call out to Bud Black in the team's home opener. He'd pitched a mere 2.1 innings of scoreless, two-hit baseball before his left hamstring secured his spot on the 15-day DL.
After going 201 innings (the most of any San Diego starter) with a 3.63 ERA in 2014, Kennedy proved himself a genuine workhorse in a staff of genuine workhorses. Most teams would have struggled in losing a pitcher like Kennedy, a pitcher with the capacity of eating innings and preventing runs.
Not the 2015 Padres. Not while they had Odrisamer Despaigne waiting in the wings.
Having lost a competitive battle for the team's No. 5 spot in the rotation to Brandon Morrow, Despaigne stepped in for Kennedy's relief to toss 4.2 innings of perfect baseball before a 7.0-inning, one-run performance against Arizona in his first start of the year. But for as good as Despaigne was in his first two appearances at Petco Park in 2015, he would need to prove himself on the road where he went 0-6 in 2014.
And prove himself he did--in Denver of all places.
Despaigne went 6.2 innings while only allowing two runs in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, effectively creating a genuine conversation for his role amongst San Diego's starters.
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Cuban pitcher and his fans, Kennedy is poised to return from the DL with his health and former role firmly intact, shifting Despaigne back to his role as a reliever.
2. Errors could prove costly
Pundits all across the nation often pointed a finger to San Diego's defense as one of the many reasons to halt all plans for October baseball in San Diego. Sure, new General Manager A.J. Preller managed to improve the offense within and the excitement surrounding this ball club, but at what cost?
Through just 17 games this season, the Padres have committed 13 errorsâtied for sixth-most among all Major League teams. At this rate, Black's team is poised to commit 124 errors by season's end, a number that would have placed them as MLB's worst in two of the last three years.
But errors happen. They're a part of the game. It's not something teams should lose much sleep over until it starts costing the team, and the pitcher on record, valuable runs. That's when it becomes a problem, as it's quickly becoming for this year's team.
Through the last five years, the Padres have allowed a little over 54 runs per season. With 10 unearned runs in 17 games, San Diego's on pace to give up 95.
Luckily for the Padres, few of those errors and unearned runs have come at the hands (or gloves) of their brand-new power-hitting outfield.
3. Preller's offense is for real
For as much as the critics wanted to cast some light upon the team's predictable defensive concerns, supporters had reason to feel confidentâthis team was supposed to hit the ball often. It would have been a longshot to imagine that this year's squad could do well enough to topple the league's offensive powerhouses from the top spots, but they did.
Last year's Padres ranked dead last in the National League's ranks for runs scored, hits, RBIs and batting average.
This year's team is first in all of those categories.
But it's not just the Uptons and Kemps that are keeping San Diego atop the sport's best overall hitting teams. The Padres currently sport a .274 batting average, .348 OBP and nine runs scored for their No. 8 spot in the order, ranking third in the NL.
Thankfully for home fans, they're not just doing it on the road, either. Dressed with a large outfield and a thick marine layer at night, Petco Park has tormented hundreds of hitters by holding surefire home runs well before the fence and onto the warning tracks. But this year's team has been hitting .284 at home, .008 better than they've done on the road and .053 better than they did last year.
