Padres 2007 - Games 51 to 60

After 50 games, my Padres have won 29, lost 21 (home 17-9, road 12-12) and are tied for first place with the Dodgers, but the Diamondbacks are one game back (at 29-23).

Game 51, Tuesday, May 29, SD at Pittsburgh: Pirates win 4-1. This was a winnable game. David Wells (loser, 2-3) gave up 2 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings, pitching out of jams regularly. The Padres got only one run and 7 hits off Tom Gorzelanny in 7 innings - Josh Bard drove in Kevin Kouzmanoff in the 6th. The Pirates got a run in the 6th off Cla Meredith, and another in the 8th off Kevin Cameron (the first earned run he's given up in 18 innings). After 51 games: Won 29, lost 22 (home 17-9, road 12-13), Runs 211-171, homers 46-26. One game losing streak, Pads have on 7 out of last 10.

Game 52, Wednesday, May 30, SD at Pittsburgh: Pads win 9-0. Chris Young (won, now 6-3) was masterful again - no runs, 4 hits, 7 K's, 1 walk over 7 innings. The game was close for 7 innings - the Pads got runs in the 3rd and 5th, but in the 8th Mike Cameron drove in a run and Kahlil Greene hit a grand slam. Another 2 runs scored in the 9th off the Pirates bullpen. Doug Brocail and Justin Hampson pitched scoreless innings to finish up. Young's ERA is down to 2.42. After 52 games: Won 30, Lost 22 (home 17-9, road 13-13), Runs 220-171, homers 47-26, One game winning streak, won 4 of last 5, and 7 of last 10.

Game 53, Thursday, May 31, SD at Pittsburgh: Pads win 4-2 in 11 innings. The Pads were effectively shut down on 3 hits by Shawn Chacon through 7 innings. We got two runs in the 9th on RBIs by Gonzalez and Cameron to tie the game and send it into extra innings. In the 11th, Mike Cameron had a home run, Josh Bard doubled off the top of the RF fence, and charged the umpire after it was ruled a double. He was ejected as was Bud Black. Kahlil Greene drove in the run with a sacrifice fly. Greg Maddux went 6-2/3, giving up 2 runs on 9 hits. Cla Meredith pitched a scoreless 10th and won it (now 2-2), and Trevor Hoffman notched his 16th save. After 53 games: Won 31, Lost 22 (home 17-9, Road 14-13), Runs 224-173, Homers 48-26, Won 2 in a row, 5 of last 6, 7 out of last 10. Pads were 18-9 in May.

In roster moves, Clay Hensley came off the DL and was optioned to Portland. Oscar Robles was cut and may go to Portland. The Pads added OF Hiram Bocachica to the roster. So Justin Germano has earned a semi-permanent spot on the roster.

Game 54, Friday, June 1, Pads at Washington: Nats win 4-3 in 10 innings. This was a winnable game. Jake Peavy fell behind 3-1 after 3 innings, but held them through 7 innings, giving up 10 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk and 7 Ks. The Pads tied it in the 6th on RBIs by Josh Bard and Termel Sledge. In the 10th, Cla Meredith (lost, now 2-3) gave up 3 hits and the winning run. This game was NOT on TV - the only night game of the year not on. After 54 games: Won 31, Lost 23 (home 17-9, away 14-14), Runs 227-177, Homers 48-26, Lost 1 in a row, Won 5 of last 7 and 7 of last 10.

Game 55, Saturday, June 2, Pads at Washington: Pads win 11-3. This was a laugher after the first inning - the Pads got 6 runs off of Levale Steigner, who settled down and went 4 innings. The Nats got 3 runs in the 6th off Justin Germano (winner, now 4-0), 2 on a monster homer by Dmitri Young. Then the Pads scored 3 in the 7th and 2 in the 9th to close it out - Paul McAnulty's homer accounting for the last 2 runs. After 55 games: Won 32, lost 23 (home 17-9, away 15-14), Runs 238-180, Homers 49-27, Won 1 in a row, 6 of last 8, and 7 of last 10.

Game 56, Sunday, June 3, Pads at Washington: Pads win 7-3. The Pads got off to a fast start with a 3-run homer by Josh Bard in the 1st. The Nats tied it up with 3 off David Wells in the 3rd on a Ryan Zimmerman homer. In the 5th, Hiram Bocachica got his first Padre hit - a solo homer - and scored two more on a Gonzalez double. Wells went 5 innings (3 ER, 5 hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks) and is now 3-3. After 56 games: Won 33, Lost 23 (home 17-9, away 16-14), Runs 245-183, Homers 51-28, Won 2 in a row, 7 of last 9.

Game 57, Tuesday, June 5, LA Dodgers at Padres: Pads win 1-0. Another "best game of the year." Chris Young went 7 innings, with 0 runs, 3 hits, 4 BBs, 5Ks. Jason Schmidt matched him well - 6 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 3 BBs, 4Ks. Into the bullpen ... and Rudy Seanez gave up a run on a hit batsman - Russell Branyan, who stole 2nd base, and came home on Marcus Giles single in the 8th. Scott Linebrink pitched the 8th and got the win (now 2-1). Trevor Hoffman recorded his 17th save. After 57 Games: Won 34, Lost 23 (home 18-9, road 16-14), Runs 246-183, Homers 51-28, Won 3 in a row, 8 out of last 10.

Game 58, Wednesday, June 6, LA Dodgers at Padres: Pads win 5-2. Greg Maddux (winner, 5-2) put on a clinic for 4 innings, then gave up two runs on 5 hits with a walk through 6-2/3 innings. The Pads scored 2 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd off Randy Wolf, on timely hitting by Geoff Blum who had 4 RBIs. Jeff Kent homered in the 7th to get it closer, and Heath Bell, Scott Linebrink and Trevor Hoffman (save #18, and #500 lifetime) closed it out. After 58 games: Won 35, Lost 23 (home 19-9, road 16-14), Runs 251-185, Homers 51-29, Won 4 in a row, 9 out of last 11.

Game 59, Thursday, June 7, LA Dodgers at Padres: Pads win 6-5. A roller-coaster ride of a game - we deserved to lose, but luck was with us. It was a pitcher's battle for 6 innings - Jake Peavy vs. Hong-Chih Kuo with a AAA umpire behind the plate, who squeezed both pitchers. In the 7th, the Dodgers got 3 runs off Peavy on doubles by Rafael Furcal and Tony Abreu, knocking Peavy out of the game for Cla Meredith. Luis Gonzalez hit a long homer in the 8th off Meredith, making it 5 to 1. Then the Pads got lucky - scoring 5 runs on 5 hits, an error by Garciaparra and two walks off Jonathan Broxton. Two of the hits were infield hits that could have been outs - and the big hits were a ringing double by Adrian Gonzalez for 2 RBIs and a shot to center by Mike Cameron to tie the game. Russell Branyan drew a walk to drive in the winning run. Needless to say, Padres fans were ecstatic, and Dodgers fans were shell-shocked after innings of gloating. After 59 games: Won 36, Lost 23 (Home 20-9, Road 16-14), Runs 257-190, Homers 51-30, Won 5 in a row, Won 10 of last 12.

Game 60, Friday, June 8, Seattle at SD: M's win 6-5 in 11 innings. A winnable game, very frustrating! The M's jumped off to a 5-0 lead against Justin Germano (5 innings, 8 hits, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks), getting 4 in the 5th. Buddy probably waited too long to yank him. But then the Pads came back with 1 in the 5th and 4 in the 7th, with help from an error and a crushed double by Kevin Kouzmanoff. The bullpens took over, and the Raul Ibanez hit a homer in the 11th off Cla Meredith (loser, now 2-4). The Pads faced closer JJ Putz and went meekly in the 11th.

After 60 games: Won 36, Lost 24. (Home 20-10, road 16-14).

First place in NL West, 1 game ahead of Diamondbacks, 1-1/2 ahead of Dodgers.

Lost 1 in a row, won 5 of 6, won 8 of last 10.

Runs scored: 262 (11th in NL) - 196 (1st in NL).
Home runs: 51 (9th in NL) - 31 (1st in NL).

Hitting statistics - starters:
Adrian Gonzalez - BA 0.296, 15 2B, HR 12, 39 RBI, 24 BB, 49 K
Brian Giles - BA 0.276, 9 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 16 BB, 16 K
Jose Cruz Jr - BA 0.273, 8 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 37 K
Marcus Giles - BA 0.273, 13 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 22 BB, 35 K
Josh Bard - BA 0.252, 8 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 15 BB, 19 K
Mike Cameron - BA 0.236, 14 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 19 BB, 57 K
Kahlil Greene - BA 0.221, 16 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 11 BB, 36 K
Kevin Kouzmanoff - BA 0.212, 9 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 14 BB, 41 K

TEAM BA 0.243, 120 2B, 51 HR, 238 RBI, 202 BB, 439 K
Opposition: BA 0.235, 86 2B, 29 HR, 181 RBI, 147 BB, 391 K

Pitching Statistics - Starters:
Jake Peavy - 7-1, 12 games, 80.1 IP, 58 hits, 21 BB, 92 K, 1.68 ERA
Justin Germano - 4-0, 5 games, 31.0 IP, 23 hits, 2 BB, 10 SO, 1.74 ERA
Chris Young - 6-3, 12 games, 74.0 IP, 54 hits, 30 BB, 65 K, 2.19 ERA
Greg Maddux - 5-3, 12 games, 73.0 IP, 80 hits, 10 BB, 41 K, 3.82 ERA
David Wells - 3-3, 11 games, 62 IP, 74 hits, 14 BB, 35 K, 4.79 ERA

TEAM Stats: 36-24, 2.88 ERA
Opposition: 24-36, 4.09 ERA