Padres Inch Closer to .500 by Blanking Guardians
Photo by: Orlando Ramirez (USA Today Sports)
By taking the second game of a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians, the San Diego Padres guaranteed another series win last night. So far in the month of June, they are chugging along with an 8-4 record. Now they are one game under .500, 33-34 on the year, and hungry to pose a larger threat to the teams above them in the NL West standings: the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Giants.
Backed by an impressive, head-turning performance turned in by Fernando Tatis Jr. on Wednesday night, the Padres blanked the Guardians 5-0. He set the tone with his 11th career lead-off home run, becoming the franchise leader in the category, surpassing Will Venable’s 10. Offensively, Tatis ended the night three for four, adding two doubles and tallying two stolen bases. He flashed the leather with a sliding catch and an outfield assist late in the game to catch a runner rounding first base a bit too far. This adds to his stellar June campaign thus far, sporting a .417 batting average, to go along with five home runs, and 15 runs batted in.
Photo by: Orlando Ramirez (USA Today Sports)
A large contribution came from starting pitcher Michael Wacha, who earned the win by pitching a scoreless six and two-thirds. He allowed a measly four hits, walked one, and had five punchouts in the process, improving his record to 8-2 on the year. The combination of Steven Wilson and Tim Hill out of the Padres bullpen took it the rest of the way.
Photo by: Gregory Bull (Associated Press)
Tonight, the Padres will aim to sweep the Guardians and keep the offense rolling. Then, they will have the tall task of taking on the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays, on Friday through Sunday at home before making a short four-game trip up to San Francisco to square off against the Giants for an important series.