NewsFriars fall as D-backs work around Gonzalez
Arizona continues recent trend of walking home run leader
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
06/06/09 3:10 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- Remarkably, it has taken a one-third of the season for opposing pitchers to figure out there's no directive that states you have to give Adrian Gonzalez good pitches to hit. After clubbing his way to the Major League lead in home runs with 22, bombing through April, May and even the first two days of June, it is clear opposing pitchers are no longer willing to simply hand over pitches in the strike zone. Such was the case again on Friday, as Gonzalez took two walks in the Padres' 8-0 loss the Arizona Diamondbacks at PETCO Park, which gave him 13 free passes in the last seven games as opposing pitchers are taking their chances with everyone but No. 23. Why wouldn't they? Going into Friday's game, Gonzalez was the only player in the starting lineup who was hitting over .245. And with lefty-masher Scott Hairston (.327) stuck on the disabled list for the next two weeks, the slumping Padres, who have lost six of seven, need help fast. "We need our guys in front of Adrian to get on base and the guys behind him to knock him in. This isn't a one-person problem," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "For a team to score runs, we need guys swinging the bats." That didn't happen nearly enough for the Padres (25-29) on Friday, although a familiar nemesis, Arizona left-handed pitcher Doug Davis, didn't make things easy on them by any stretch. That Davis tamed certainly didn't qualify as a surprise, as he has a career record of 9-3 against the Padres with a 2.82 ERA in 16 career games. A year ago, on July 29, Brian Giles spoiled Davis' no-hit bid with a single with two outs in the seventh inning. There was no veritable no-hit drama on Friday, though Davis did his best to tie the team in knots by changing speeds and mixing pitches. He tossed six shutout innings with four walks and five strikeouts, allowing the bullpen to take care of the rest. The Padres managed four hits in the game, two by David Eckstein and Chase Headley, but nothing else as they were shut out for the fifth time this season. The Padres' batting average as a team has now dipped to .237. For a team that couldn't lose at home -- remember that nine-game homestand sweep of May? -- the Padres have now dropped the first four games of this homestand against the Phillies and D-backs. Gonzalez hit two home runs earlier this week against the Phillies, but even then, he's not getting much to hit. He was walked in the first inning Friday with a runner on first base and later in the sixth inning after an Eckstein single. "It hasn't been frustrating so far... just trying to stay focused on trying to swing at strikes. I'm trying not to get to a point where I feel like I have to swing, because then I'm going to start chasing pitches," Gonzalez said. "I mean, I just try not to swing at pitches out of the zone. I try to take my walks and let the guys behind me do their thing, because I don't want to start chasing pitches that I shouldn't be swinging at." San Diego pitcher Chad Gaudin, coming off his best start with the Padres five days ago when he allowed one earned run with no walks in 6 1/3 innings, didn't display that kind of command against the D-backs. He walked four on Friday. Gaudin allowed a home run in the second inning to Chris Young, a solo shot that sailed over the wall in center field. He wouldn't allow another run until the fifth inning, when the D-backs (24-31) struck for four runs. "I think I'm kind of crushing myself to make great pitches all of the time," Gaudin said. "With my last start in Colorado, I kind of took the approach to just put it in the strike zone and not worry about making the perfect pitch. "At times, I think it crept in my head, like, 'I have to make this perfect pitch.' I wasn't able to get myself back into attack mode. There's going to be times when I do walk guys, but I think the main thing is, that I just need to make sure that those walks don't score." Gerardo Parra sent an opposite-field double spinning down the left-field line that rolled into the corner to score a run. Three batters later, and after a walk, Mark Reynolds, who Gaudin has struck out twice to that point, singled to center to score a run. Chris Snyder then broke the game open by lining a two-run single to right field for a 5-0 lead. Gaudin finished six strikeouts and five earned runs. The Padres' bullpen didn't fare much better, allowing three runs the rest of the way.Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
