Padres 2007 Season - Games 111-120

After 110 games, the Pads are 60-50 (home 32-26, road 28-24), and are in second place in the NL West, 2 games behind Arizona. The Dodgers are 4 games back, and the Rockies are 5 games back. The Padres have, versus their opponents: BA 0.243 to 0.254, Runs 472-418, Homers 101-75, ERA 3.51 to 3.91. The Pads have won 6 of the last 10, and 11 of the 23 games since the All-Star break.

Game 111, Monday, August 6, SD at St. Louis: Cards win 10-5. This was the strangest game of the year to date. The Pads had a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 5th, and David Wells had shut the Cards down through 12 outs. He never got another out - the Cards put 10 hits and 2 walks together and scored 10 runs off of Wells (7 ER, 11 hits, lost, now 5-8) and Mike Thompson (4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB). The Pads had 3 HRs from Kahlilk Greene, Geoff Blum and Adrian Gonzalez, but had only 9 hits. After 111 games, the Pads are 60-51 (home 32-26, road 28-25), Runs 477-428, HR 105-77.

Game 112, Tuesday, August 7, SD at St. Louis: Pads win, 4-0. Jake Peavy and 3 relievers pitched another shutout - Peavy went 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, now 12-5). The Pads offense scored a run in the 7th on a Josh Bard single, and 3 runs in the 9th on a triple by Scott Hairston and a wild pitch. After 112 games, the Pads are 61-51 (home 32-26, road 29-25), Runs 481-428, HR 105-77.

Game 113, Wednesday, August 8, SD at St. Louis: Cards win 2-1. This was a very winnable game. The Pads scored 1 run in the first inning, but the Cards xcored 2 in the bottom of the first on 4 straight hits by the top of the order. Greg Maddux shut the Cards down for 6 innings (2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, lost, now 7-9) and the bullpen provided 2 more shutout innings, but the Pads couldn't score again against Kip Wells and 3 relievers. After 113 games, the Pads are 61-52 (home 32-26, road 29-26), Runs 482-430, HR 105-77.

Game 114, Thursday, August 9, SD at St. Louis: Cards win 5-0. The popgun offense continues - only 4 hits off of Cards starter Joel Pineiro. Chris Young, in his first start off the disabled list, went 6 innings, giving up a run in the 4th and 3 in the 7th (6 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 Ks). Doug Brocail gave up a 3-run HR to Rick Ankiel for the last 3 runs. After 114 games, the Pads are 61-53 (home 32-26, road 29-27), Runs 482-435, HR 105-78.

Game 115, Friday, August 10, SD at Cincinnati: Pads win 12-7 in 11 innings. They almost blew this one badly. The Pads were behind 4-2 after 3 innings, and ahead 7-6 after the top of the 7th. The Reds tied it in the bottom of the 9th off Trevor Hoffman (blown save #4). Wil Ledezma started, but went only 2.1 innings (3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks). Kevin Cameron went the last 2 innings and won the game. The Pads scored 5 runs in the top of the 11th off David Weathers, with a triple by Josh Bard and a homer by Kevin Kouzmanoff. Brian Giles, Kahlil Greene and Adrian Gonzalez also homered for the Pads. After 115 games, the Pads are 62-53 (home 32-26, road 30-27), Runs 494-442, HR 109-79.

Game 116, Saturday, August 11, SD at Cincinnati: Reds win 8-3. This was a close 1-1 game until the bottom of the 7th, when the Reds scored 4 runs off Justin Hampson and 3 runs off Mike Thompson. Justin Germano went 5.1 innings (1 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks). The Pads scored in the top of the 7th on a Brian Giles HR, then he hit a 2-run HR in the 9th. But the damage had been done off the bullpen. After 116 games, the Pads are 62-54 (home 32-26, road 30-28), Runs 497-450, HR 111-79.

Game 117, Sunday, August 12, SD at Cincinnati: Pads win 10-4. Jake Peavy pitched OK (6.2 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks - won, now 13-5). The Pads scored 5 runs in the first 4 innings, then 1 in the 7th and 4 in the 9th. Brian Giles hot two more homers, Mike Cameron had 2 hits, Kahlil Greene had 4 hits, and Morgan Ensberg had 2 hits as the Pads had 15 hits off Bronson Arroyo and 5 Reds relievers. After 117 games, the Pads are 63-54 (home 32-26, road 31-28), Runs 507-454, HR 113-80. The Pads were 3-4 on the road trip, and have won 6 out of the last 10 games.

Game 118, Tuesday, August 14, Colorado at SD: Pads win 8-0. Greg Maddux finally won another game (5.2 IP, 0 R, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks). The bullpen finished it off with only one hit and no walks. The Pads scored 1 in the first inning and 6 in the second - including homers by Kevin Kouzmanoff and Morgan Ensberg. The Pads had 8 hits and 9 walks off Jeff Francis and 4 relievers. After 118 games, the Pads are 64-54 (home 33-26, road 31-28), Runs 515-454, HR 115-80. The Pads have won 2 in a row, and 6 out of the last 10.

Game 119, Wednesday, August 15, Colorado at SD: Rocks win 3-0. This was a pitchers battle between Chris Young and Uvaldo Jimenez for 6 innings. Young went 6 innings (0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks). Jimenez went 6 innings also (0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks). The Rocks got 2 runs in the 7th off Cla Meredith (lost, now 4-6) and 1 run in the 9th off Doug Brocail. The Pads had only 3 hits, and struck out 12 times - more popgun against hard throwing pitchers. After 119 games, the Pads are 64-55 (home 33-27, road 31-28), Runs 515-457, HR 115-80. The Pads have lost 1 in a row, and won 5 out of the last 10.

Game 120, Thursday, August 16, Colorado at SD: Padres win 11-9. We were there - at one of the most interesting games of the year. The Rocks jumped to a 2-0 lead on Clay Hensley, and the Pads tied it up in the 3rd inning. The Rocks scored 4 in the 5th off Hensley, but the Pads scored 9 runs with two outs to go ahead 11-6. Then the Rocks made it interesting by getting 3 more in the 6th off of Kevin Cameron. Hensley pitched poorly (5 IP, 6 R, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks, won, now 2-3) and then Hampson, Bell and Trevor Hoffman shut them out over the last 3 innings. The Pads had 14 hits, including a 3-run homer by Mike Camerron and a 2-run shot by Pete Laforest, both in the 5th. The first 4 Padres hitters had 2 hits each, and Laforest had 3 hits. After 120 games, the Pads are 65-55 (home 34-27, road 31-28), Runs 526-466, Homers 117-80. The Pads have won 1 in a row, and 5 of the last 10, and 16 of 33 since the All-Star break.

At the 3/4 mark of the season (120 games), the Pads statistics relative to the opposition are:

Games Won:................... 65-55
Batting Average: .......... 0.244 to 0.248
On-base average: ......... 0.314 to 0.309
Doubles: ....................... 234 (1.95/game) to 196 (1.63/game)
Homers: ....................... 117 (0.98/game) to 80 (0.67/game)
Runs Scored: .............. 526 (4.38/game) to 466 (3.88/game)
RBI: ............................. 498 (4.15/game) to 455 (3.79/game)
Walks: ......................... 404 (3.37/game) to 344 2.86/game)
Strikeouts: .................. 934 (7.78/game) to 804 (6.70/game)

Team ERA: ................ 3.51 to 4.02
Earned Runs: ............ 427 (3.56/game) to 483 (4.03/game)

The leading hitters are (starters only) - BA, AB, H, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K:

Brian Giles: 0.296, 311, 92, 17, 7, 33, 42, 40
Adrian Gonzalez: 0.266, 466, 124, 36, 19, 68, 52, 107
Josh Bard: 0.264, 265, 70, 17, 3, 33, 35, 38
Geoff Blum: 0.262, 195, 51, 12, 2, 19, 22, 33
Mike Cameron: 0.251, 451, 113, 27, 15, 61, 46, 122
Kevin Kouzmanoff: 0.239, 331, 79, 16, 13, 51, 22, 76
Kahlil Greene: 0.236, 436, 103, 29, 19, 66, 25, 88
Marcus Giles: 0.225, 387, 87, 15, 4, 35, 37, 78

The starting pitchers stats are (W-L, ERA, IP, H, ER, BB, SO):

Chris Young: 9-4, 1.93, 130.2, 84, 28, 46, 125
Jake Peavy: 13-5, 2.23, 157.2, 124, 39, 44, 164
Greg Maddux: 8-9, 4.00, 148.2, 164, 66, 21, 80
Justin Germano: 6-6, 4.16, 97.1, 88, 45, 27, 56
Clay Hensley: 2-3, 6.70, 44.1, 54, 33, 27, 24

The leading relievers stats are (W-L, Saves, ERA, IP, H, ER, BB, SO):

Kevin Cameron: 1-0, 0 , 1.39, 45.1, 37, 7, 27, 41
Trevor Hoffman: 2-3, 30, 2.14, 42.0, 25, 10, 10, 10, 28
Heath Bell: 5-3, 0, 2.24, 68.1, 49, 17, 20, 71
Cla Heredith: 4-6, 0, 3.43, 57.2, 72, 22, 13, 42
Doug Brocail: 4-1, 0, 3.98, 54.1, 48, 24, 17, 29

With 42 games left, the Pads are in 2nd place in the NL West, trailing Arizona (69-53) by 3 games. The Rockies are 62-58, the Dodgers are 62-59, and the Giants are 51-70. If Arizona plays 0.500 ball the rest of the way (finishing at 89-73), the Pads have to play out at 24-16 (0.600) to tie them. If the Snakes play at their current 0.566 pace (a 92-70 record), the Pads would have to finish 27-13 (0.667) to tie them. Not likely the way the team is playing. The Pads need a long winning streak and some luck to make the playoffs!