Padres Report - September 28th

Padres Report – September 28, 2006

The Padres win combined with the Phillies loss guarantees the Padres of at least a tie in the Wild Card standings.

I was up when the Philadelphia-Washington game ended at about 11:00 PM Pacific Time (keep in mind, that's 2:00 AM East Coast Time). After the late start and later finish, the Phillies still had to get on a plane and fly to Miami for their 3-game season-ending series with the Marlins. Just a hunch, but I bet Charlie Manuel cancels batting practice to give the team some extra rest.

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On April 25th, having pitched in his last game of the month, Jake Peavy’s ERA stood at 5.17. In May Jake posted a 3.32 ERA, in June it was 5.28, and in July it was an abysmal 7.13. Jake’s out of body experience ended and he posted a 2.87 ERA in August and a 2.43 ERA here in September. At the All Star break, Jake’s ERA was a disappointing 4.46 and two rough post-All Star games his ERA reached a high-water mark of 5.15. Tonight his season ERA ended up at 4.09.

Jake’s final line:

11-14, 4.09 ERA, 202.1 IP, 187 H, 93 R, 92 ER, 23 HR, 62 BB, 215 SO, .243 BAA

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As you know the Padres and Dodgers each knocked around their opponents on Thursday. The difference, while the Dodgers scored 19, they also allowed 11. The Padres, on the other hand, scored 12 but held the Diamondbacks to 4 runs.

The Dodgers needed the following contributions:

Brad Penny 1.0 IP (left with back spasms)
Chad Billingsley 2.2 IP (gave up 6 ER)
Joe Beimel 0.0 IP (gave up a hit and walk and 1 ER)
Aaron Sele 0.1 IP
Mark Hendrickson 2.0 IP
Brett Tomko 2.0 IP
Eric Stults 1.0 IP

So while the Padres got 6.0 innings of 2-run ball out of their ace, the Dodgers had to scramble to get the win. The Padres bullpen badly needed a break and got one. With the typical expanded September rosters, Dodgers manager Grady Little did not have to unload the bullpen, he did have to use a few precious bullets heading into the Dodgers heated rivalry with the San Francisco Giants.