News
Padres head home to close season
San Diego (72-85) vs. Los Angeles (93-63), 7:05 p.m. PT
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com
09/27/09 9:05 PM EST
PHOENIX -- The Padres head to San Diego for a five-game homestand, which opens on Tuesday night against the playoff-bound Dodgers, who are in town for only a pair of games. The Giants then come in on Friday for a three-gamer to end the season. Padres manager Bud Black said on Sunday that he just wants to maintain the consistency and good feelings that have been the mark of the club since July 28. San Diego is 34-23 since that date. "We've played very well over the last two months," Black said before the Padres dropped the series finale, 7-4, to the D-backs at Chase Field on Sunday. "We'd like to continue playing that type of baseball this coming week [and] have everybody finish on a high note statistically. Obviously we hope to avoid any significant injuries. We just want our guys to be in good shape physically and emotionally as they go into the offseason." It's been a tale of two seasons for the Padres, who had a 36-52 mark at the July 13 All-Star break. Since then, they're 36-32. Many in the Padres' camp have noted that the mood seemed to change in the clubhouse on July 31 when pitcher Jake Peavy agreed to be traded to the White Sox. The on-and-off Peavy deal had been an issue for months, dating back to the Winter Meetings this past December. The deal helped the Padres move forward financially and artistically. "As much as we all tried to downplay Jake's situation, I think it was more of a distraction than we were willing to admit," Black said. "Once that was alleviated, that helped. But a lot of things coincided. Things didn't come together all at once, but the Peavy deal was a big thing as far as the mindset of the organization moving forward." Pitching matchupSD: LHP Cesar Ramos (0-1, 1.69 ERA)
Ramos will be make the first big league start of his career. He has made three relief appearances for the Padres since he was recalled from Triple-A Portland on Sept. 8, allowing an earned run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He's whiffed five and walked none. Ramos' loss came this past Tuesday at Colorado. He made 14 starts for Portland this season and was 4-6 with a 4.33 ERA. His inaugural Major League appearance was on Sept. 16 in San Diego against the D-backs, working one shutout inning. The left-hander missed most of the season with left shoulder impingement. LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (12-10, 4.07 ERA)
Billingsley rebounded from an abysmal September, in which he'd gone 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA, by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning and certainly turning in the performance the club had hoped he would have to put in his claim on one of the postseason starting slots. Though he left Wednesday's eventual 5-4 loss to Washington with a no-decision and gave up three runs on a homer to Ryan Zimmerman, it was the only hit he allowed in his six innings. Billingsley walked four and struck out nine. He didn't allow a ball out of the infield until the fourth inning. Tidbits
Black said it's probable his rotation is set for the remainder of the season, with Clayton Richard going on Wednesday, Kevin Correia on Friday, Wade LeBlanc on Saturday and Edward Mujica on Sunday. ... Kevin Kouzmanoff (calf and back injuries) had a vigorous workout hours before Sunday's game at Chase Field and is probable to start at third base on Tuesday night vs. the Dodgers, Black said. Edgar Gonzalez (sore left shoulder) is getting better and could be available for pinch-hitting duty on the homestand. ... The Padres finished their final 10-game road swing through Pittsburgh, Colorado and Arizona with a 6-4 mark. Their final road record was 33-48. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• 4 San Diego On radio
• XPRS 1090, XEMO 860 (Español) Up next
• Wednesday: Padres (Clayton Richard, 4-2, 4.58) vs. Dodgers (Vicente Padilla, 11-6, 4.62), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Padres (Kevin Correia, 12-10, 3.89) vs. Giants (Barry Zito, 10-13, 4.10), 7:05 p.m. PT
Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
