News
Marlins' homers spoil Tejada's debut
LeBlanc off his game as newest Padre goes 0-for-3
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
07/31/10 2:42 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- The kind of mistakes Padres pitcher Wade LeBlanc has allowed in recent weeks are hurting him -- more than the miscues he yielded earlier in the season that led to unenviable situations he often would wiggle out of."It seems like they're not going for doubles and singles but they're going for home runs," LeBlanc said. "I don't feel like I'm getting away with anything."
The Marlins tagged LeBlanc for two home runs Friday on their way to a 4-2 victory before a crowd of 30,478 at PETCO Park.
LeBlanc (5-9), who has won once since June 12, allowed a pair of solo home runs, first to Cody Ross in the fourth inning and then to Gaby Sanchez in the sixth inning.
"It was nice," Marlins interim manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We're facing the best pitching staff in the league. It was nice to see that we came out with some big runs and two of them were home runs."
LeBlanc has allowed a team-leading 16 home runs, including 11 over his past seven starts. This after allowing three home runs in his first seven starts.
"When Wade gets the ball out over the plate, it doesn't have the action it has when it's down in the zone," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The ball becomes a little flatter."
LeBlanc has a smaller margin for error because he isn't a pitcher who will overpower the opposing lineup. He has a plus-changeup, maybe one of the best in the National League, but he has to balance that against better-than-average fastball command.
When LeBlanc doesn't do this, the results can end up looking a lot like they did Friday.
"He doesn't have the luxury of someone throwing 95 mph with movement," Black said.
The loss to the Marlins (52-51) came on the heels of a series in which the Padres (60-41) took two of three games from the Dodgers in front of a loud, vibrant crowd. But Friday, even the addition of new infielder Miguel Tejada wasn't enough to sustain them.
Tejada, whom the Padres landed in a trade with the Orioles on Thursday, worked a 10-pitch walk against Chris Volstad (5-8) in his first San Diego plate appearance. He finished 0-for-3 and handled everything hit at him while playing his first game at shortstop this season.
Tejada, 36, played third base exclusively for the Orioles but welcomed a return to his natural position.
"It felt great out there," Tejada said. "I'm really comfortable out there. It would have been nice if we won. But there are a lot of games to come."
Tejada's walk in the first inning was part of an inning in which the Padres took a 1-0 lead on a single by Chase Headley to score Jerry Hairston, who began the game with a single and stole second base.
However, Headley rounded the first-base bag too far and was caught in a rundown. The Marlins got the final out of the inning by throwing home on the play to get Tejada in a rundown.
The Padres wouldn't score again until the sixth inning, when Adrian Gonzalez dumped a soft single into center field to score Chris Denorfia, who tripled to center field to start the inning.
"Momentum is a very iffy thing in this game, so I don't think that had anything to do with it," Padres center fielder Tony Gwynn said of the perceived lack of energy. "They beat us today. We had a couple miscues, but you're going to have games like that.
"We lost the first game to the Dodgers, too, and we came back and won the series. That's the best part about this game. ... We get to come back tomorrow and try to fix things."
Just like LeBlanc, who said he will continue looking for ways to gain better command of his fastball and avoid allowing as many home runs as he has.
"Everyone else is doing their job -- I just need to step it up a little bit," LeBlanc said.
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
