3 Things: Padres win their first series of the season vs. Diamondbacks
The San Diego Padres won their third straight game, and their first series of the season, with a 10-5 drubbing of the Diamondbacks on Sunday.
The San Diego Padres are 3-1, having won three straight games against the hapless Arizona Diamondbacks, and have won their first series of the season. A lot went right in this series and not a ton went wrong, so let’s recap some of it before doing a quick preview of the next series.
Starting Pitching
In four games, here’s what the Padres got from their starting pitching:
22 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 22 K
And (AND!) that is without Blake Snell, who was a late scratch for his start yesterday (replaced with three scoreless innings of Nabil Crismatt).
At the moment, I am chalking up this performance to the Diamondbacks being just that bad, but heading into the season we talked about how the starting pitching was going to be the strength of the Padres (at least until Fernando Tatis Jr. got healthy) and it’s fantastic to see them get off to such a strong start.
Jurickson Profar
If you’ve been paying attention, it won’t surprise you to find out that Jurickson Profar is currently leading the 2022 Padres in WAR. He started in three of the four games in Arizona and posted an otherworldly OPS+ of 358, including yesterday’s grand slam.
At this point, we know who Profar is and it’s not really this, but we’ve also seen that he has the ability to get hot for weeks or months at a time. Right now, he’s on fire.
The Padres have needed his offense, too. Guys like Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado, Trent Grisham and Luke Voit have gotten off to slow starts, but as long as Profar is hitting a HR every other game and knocking in 2 RBIs per game, I think they’ll be fine.
Bob Melvin
The last time the Padres hired a manager that had previous MLB managerial experience was, I believe, Jack McKeon. Usually, in the first week of the season, we’re just getting to know whoever the new manager is and getting used to their idiosyncrasies. They’re also getting used to being in the dugout, interacting with unpires, and making big decisions. It’s a lot, and it can be overwhelming for both sides.
Bob Melvin, on the other hand, has been the opposite. In Arizona, he was managing in a ballpark that he had won Manager of the Year in previously. And, while it’s just four games, the Padres already seem to carry their manager’s air of confidence and tranquility.
We all predicted that the biggest offseason pickup for the Padres would be Melvin, but I don’t know that anyone predicted that it would translate into wins so quickly. Our bar is a low one, having dealt with years of bargain basement managers (apologies to Andy Green and Jayce Tingler, but it’s an accurate description), but I remain continually impressed.
Next Series: Padres at San Francisco Giants
Monday: Nick Martinez vs. Alex Wood
Tuesday: Yu Darvish vs. Alex Cobb
Wednesday: Sean Manaea vs. Logan Webb
The Giants have started the season similarly to the Padres. They’re 2-1, kicking off their season with a series win over the Miami Marlins, but did it mostly with pitching and defense. Most of the guys in their lineup are hitting well below expectations, so far.
It’ll be interesting to see if Melvin gives Eric Hosmer another day off, this would make it back-to-back days, with the team facing another LHP this evening.
More importantly, it’ll be interesting to see how the Padres look against a team that has a bit more talent (and a larger home crowd) than they saw in Arizona.