News
Young a big piece for Padres in '09
San Diego (0-1) vs. Los Angeles (1-0), Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. PTBy Corey Brock / MLB.com
04/07/09 12:19 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- That the San Diego Padres dropped their regular-season opener to the Dodgers on Monday at PETCO Park certainly wasn't something that manager Bud Black wanted to celebrate by any means.But Black was pleased that Opening Day starting pitcher Jake Peavy completed seven innings in the 4-1 loss before the largest crowd in PETCO Park history (45,496).
Black has said time and time again this spring that for the Padres to be successful and avoid another 99-loss year, the team needs Peavy and Chris Young, who gets the start on Tuesday against the Dodgers, to stay healthy and get a combined "60-65 starts" in 2009.
That wasn't the case a year ago when each pitcher found the disabled list on occasion. In order to escape the cellar in the National League West, the Padres need Peavy to resemble the pitcher who won the Cy Young Award in 2007 and Young to look like the All-Star pitcher that he was in 2007.
Keeping Peavy and Young healthy and working long into games will take pressure, Black said, off a bullpen that is mostly unproven. There's a new closer and four pitchers were added to the bullpen in the final three weeks of Spring Training.
Last season, Peavy and Young combined for 45 starts. Black would like to see that number closer to 65-70.
"That is critical for us, and critical for most teams, not just the Padres," Black said. "Every team in baseball, if you can have your top two starting pitchers make anywhere from 65-70 starts, that's big.
"That's something we, in Anaheim, wanted. And for me as a pitcher myself, that was my biggest responsibility to the team, to make my start every fifth day. I feel very strongly in what that responsibility means. That's what we need from those two guys."
As for the bullpen, newcomer Ed Mujica, who the Padres acquired last week from Cleveland, made his Padres debut on Monday in relief of Peavy. Mujica worked a scoreless eighth inning and struck out Manny Ramirez.
Another new pitcher, Luke Gregerson, acquired last month as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal with St. Louis, also pitched a scoreless inning. Gregerson allowed a hit and a walk in the ninth inning but got out of trouble with two strikeouts.
But because Peavy worked seven innings, the bullpen isn't taxed moving into Tuesday's game and beyond.
Pitching matchup
SD: RHP Chris Young (7-6, 3.96 ERA in 2008)
Like a lot of pitchers, Young struggled in Spring Training as he worked into his velocity, gaining more as the spring wore on. The Padres have no concerns about him heading into the regular season. Young, who missed significant time last season after being hit in the face by Albert Pujols' line drive in May, recovered nicely and finished strong, coming close to the first perfect game in franchise history in September against the Brewers. The Padres believe Young can regain his 2007 All-Star form this season. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, no Major League pitcher with at least 300 innings allowed a lower opposing batting average than Young has (.204). Consider the next-closest pitcher, Johan Santana, has a .224 average against him, followed by teammate Jake Peavy (.226). LAD: LHP Randy Wolf (12-12, 4.30 ERA in 2008)
He provides needed veteran leadership, and if he can replace Derek Lowe's 211 innings, even better. The Dodgers would settle for the 190 1/3 he logged last year for San Diego and Houston. Wolf is a battler. And as long as he's healthy, he should give the Dodgers a nice return on his bargain ($5 million) signing. His 12 wins were the most since 2003. Tidbits
The four runs (three earned) that Peavy allowed Monday against the Dodgers were the most he's allowed in any of his four Opening Day starts. From 2006-08, Peavy allowed one run in 20 innings with 15 strikeouts. The eight strikeouts were, however, a personal best for Opening Day for Peavy. ... With the addition of Drew Macias to the roster Monday, the Padres had 10 players on their 25-man roster who had never been on an Opening Day roster before. ... The Portland Beavers, the Padres' Triple-A affiliate, begin Pacific Coast League play on Thursday in Fresno, Calif. ... The Padres are 4-2 on Opening Day since moving to PETCO Park in 2004. ... Macias, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd (disabled list, strained shoulder) on Monday, popped out to Rafael Furcal in the ninth inning. Tickets
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• XPRS 1090, XEMO 860 (Español) Up next
• Wednesday: Padres (Walter Silva, 0-0, -.--) vs. Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 0-0, -.--), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Padres (Kevin Correia, 0-0, -.--) vs. Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 0-0, -.--), 12:35 p.m. PT
• Friday: Padres (Shawn Hill, 0-0, -.--) vs. Giants (Barry Zito, 0-0, -.--), 7:05 p.m. PT
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
