| Bob Souza. 21st May, 2005 - 12:27 am
 Now that the Sonics have been banished from the playoffs, maybe that town can turn its undivided attention to baseball. And well they should, considering the hottest team around is dropping in for a chat. With seven straight wins tucked neatly in their back pockets, San Diego is itching for more.
June is nearly here, and things are starting to shake out a bit in the National League West. The Padres are beginning to live up to pre-season expectations, elbowing and shoving their way up through the competition. Apparently first place was calling.
With Jake Peavy (3-0, 2.57) opening the series against the Mariners, you have to like the prospects of eight consecutive victories. The young right-hander is out to show last year was no fluke, when he led the majors in ERA.
The Padres have just completed sweeps of the Braves and Marlins – top teams both – and have now won 16 of their last 19. That is a blistering pace, to say the least. They have also won 9 straight at Petco Park, and have the best home record in the majors at 16-4.
“This type of run we're on, I don't know if anybody could see it going this well,” said Bruce Bochy, who dutifully ripped his players following an embarrassing 10-3 loss to San Francisco. Guess they got the message.
Khalil Greene stumbled around and discovered the power-on button at Petco. Then he used it to wallop two three-run homers against Atlanta, one a 404-foot shot.
“He's got some pop,” Bochy said. “He's not a Judy up there.”
And remember, this is coming from a guy who’s seen him in the shower.
Adam Eaton has suddenly won 5 games in a row, and finds himself with a tidy little record of 6-1, and an ERA of 3.35. Maybe he’s all the way back from his Tommy John surgery. Certainly looks like it.
The Padres have outscored their opponents 86-31 after the 6th inning, and with Trevor Hoffman (2.76 and 13 saves) lurking, late game comebacks and pressure have not been a concern. The entire team seems to be melding together, and production has come from everywhere.
Brian Giles, batting only .175 on May 5th, has moved his average up to .284, hitting .523 in the 12 games since. Ramon Hernandez has an 8-game streak and is .353 since May 3rd.
Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko, and Sean Burroughs have also contributed numerous clutch hits, all made possible by the top order guys like Mark Loretta and Dave Roberts doing their jobs to get on base.
The Padre batters have had loads of problems at Safeco Field in the past. But this is a new day. To prove it, they picked off 3 of 4 at St. Louis and 2 of 3 at Cincinnati, demonstrating they can win on the road.
Hernandez has had experience with American League parks. He’s not worried.
“I liked playing at all those parks,” he said, grinning. “Baseball's baseball. I like to play anywhere. The Seattle park is kind of like ours, so it shouldn't be bad.”
No. So far, so good. |
