Padres Press Clips Wednesday, June 17, 2015
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Padres Press Clips Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Article Source Author Page Padres lose in Pat Murphy’s debut UT San Diego Sanders 2 Josh Johnson going for tests UT San Diego Kenney 5 Austin Hedges hits first career homer UT San Diego Kenney 6 Minors: Luebke efficient again for Storm UT San Diego Sanders 7 Friar Talk: ‘Going to be a lot of excitement’ UT San Diego Sanders 8 ‘Different’ Pat Murphy is the way to go UT San Diego Sanders 9 On deck: Despaigne gets first look at A’s UT San Diego Sanders 11 Murphy brings own approach to Padres in debut MLB.com Paris 12 Padres fall despite HRs from Kemp, Hedges MLB.com Lee/Paris 14 Murphy brings carrot and stick to San Diego MLB.com Justice 16 Hancock, Rondon lead San Antonio to big win Padres.com Center 19 Upton remains in contention for All-Star spot MLB.com Collier 21 Despaigne, Padres travel up coast to take on A’s MLB.com Paris 23 Tony Gwynn honored with baseball tournament bearing his name Associated Press AP 24 Padres tap Pat Murphy as interim manager for rest of season Associated Press AP 25 Tony Gwynn Classic to honor “Mr. Padre” NBCSanDiego.com McVicker 26 It’s not him, it’s them: Manager Bud Black’s dismissal and the Padres’ itchy trigger finger Grantland.com Lindbergh 27 Padres join other winter winners in failing to succeed during the season SI.com Verducci 31 Padres look to end three-game losing streak in Oakland Associated Press Stats, Inc. 34 1 Padres lose in Pat Murphy's debut A's score in ninth to waste Matt Kemp's attempts at heroics By Jeff Sanders3:38 P.M.JUNE 16, 2015Updated5:25 P.M. His predecessor disposed after 11 weeks of wheel-spinning with A.J. Preller’s improved yet disjointed roster, Padres interim manager Pat Murphy’s arrival comes with the hope that a different voice might trigger change throughout the Padres’ clubhouse. The 56-year-old Murphy, of course, will need practical solutions, too, to get to the root of the imperfections – some of them rearing their heads in a 6-5 loss to Oakland on Tuesday – that have the Padres sitting in fourth place in the NL West with just six weeks left until the trade deadline. There was the starting pitching, this time Andrew Cashner, again faltering down the stretch. There was the outfield defense again proving unreliable when needed most and the bullpen, again, surrendering momentum even after Matt Kemp had given the Padres new life. “This game can send you home on a sour note,” Murphy lamented in his first post-game press conference. “It hurts a little bit, to be honest with you. I don't take this very well. Yes, I'm encouraged by a lot of positive things, but this is the way that a lot of us are built. “It stings and it hurts. You want to sit and dwell on it sometimes, maybe too much. It's all part of it. It's going to build some resiliency, hopefully, catch fire, and then it happens.” It appeared to have happened in the eighth. Down to their final four outs, Kemp’s third homer of the season – yes, just his third – tied the game at 5-5 and provided a measure of redemption for failing to cut off Billy Burns’ two-run triple in the fifth. Playing the part of the hero exactly one pitch after Justin Upton grounded into a run-scoring double play, Kemp pointed toward Padres president Mike Dee’s seat near the visiting dugout as he rounded third base with his first Petco Park homer of the year. Momentum, it appeared, was squarely within the Padres’ grasp. 2 Until it wasn’t. His first walk of the ninth erased on the bases by rookie catcher Austin Hedges, closer Craig Kimbrel walked Burns with two outs and paid for it dearly. The speedy center fielder who scaled the wall in the first inning to rob Upton of a homer, Burns promptly swiped second base and scored the go-ahead run on Eric Sogard’s single up the middle. A half inning later, Oakland’s Tyler Clippard struck out the side to send the Padres (32-35) to their third straight loss, each of them under a different manager: the fired Bud Black, bench coach Dave Roberts and now Murphy “I think at any point when you tie the game that late in the game, you think you have the momentum,” Kemp said. “You think you're going to win that game. … We have to play better baseball. We have to win these close games. “We've struggled a little bit in some of these games. We just have to get better – that’s point blank.” At the very least, Cashner seemed to be on his way to a better day when he opened the game with four no-hit innings. Hedges propped that start up with his first career homer in the third and Clint Barmes even pushed the Padres’ lead to 2-0 with safety squeeze the next inning only to see Oakland flip the script in the fifth. The damage came swiftly. A one-out double off the base of the right field wall, a two-out walk and pitcher Scott Kazmir’s run-scoring single down the third-base line set the stage for Burns. Ever the pest, Burns slashed a line drive toward the right-field alley, where it rolled to the wall when Kemp couldn’t cut it off. Two runs scored on that drive and – after Melvin Upton scored on a balk in the fifth – two more in the sixth on Ben Zobrist’s homer to right. 3 A walk to the ensuing batter lured Murphy out of the dugout for his first pitching change, his team in a 5-3 hole after Cashner allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in five-plus innings. “I don't think (the game) really got away from me,” said Cashner, who has allowed 21 earned runs in his last 22 innings. “I made a good pitch to Kazmir on a ball down the line and then the next slider I threw to (Burns), I thought that was a good pitch. He just went down and scooped it out. “I just thought the biggest mistake was the hanging change-up (to Zobrist).” 4 Josh Johnson going for tests Padres right-hander felt tingling in fingers during Monday's simulated game By Kirk Kenney5:14 P.M.JUNE 16, 2015 Padres right-hander Josh Johnson is scheduled to have tests on Wednesday after experiencing tingling in his fingers during Monday’s simulated game. Johnson threw 25 warmup pitches in the bullpen, then took the Petco Park mound and threw just three pitches when he stopped because of the tingling. “It’s not fun to go through, that’s for sure,” said Johnson, who had Tommy John surgery 14 months ago. “I woke up today and I’m not even that sore. That’s the thing with nerves — you’re not really going to get that sore, but it’s whenever you’re throwing and it’s not a real comfortable feeling. We’ll figure it out tomorrow and knock it out.” RONDON PROMOTED Shortstop Jose Rondon has been promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore to Double-A San Antonio. He slips into the roster spot left vacant by Trea Turner, who was sent to the Washington Nationals as the player to be named later in the Wil Myers trade. Rondon had batted .300 (71-for-237) for the Storm with 12 doubles, three homers and 22 RBIs, 50 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. ALL-STAR UPDATE Catcher Derek Norris and left fielder Justin Upton remained the team’s two highest vote-getters in updated All-Star balloting, although both were well behind the leaders in their categories. Norris has 1,014,286 votes, fourth among NL catchers. The Giants’ Buster Posey leads with 4,345,579 votes. Upton is sixth among outfielders with 1,772,347 votes. The Nationals Bryce Harper leads outfielders — and all players, for that matter — with 6,059,827 votes. Online voting continues through July 2 for the game to be played July 14 in Cincinnati. 5 Austin Hedges hits first career homer Padres catcher blasts HR off Oakand's Scott Kazmir, then gets souvenir back for his trophy case By Kirk Kenney4:46 P.M.JUNE 16, 2015 Gary Williamson didn’t know Austin Hedges from Austin Powers before Tuesday’s Padres game. “I saw him warming up (Andrew) Cashner earlier, but I’d never heard of him,” said Williamson, who was in town from Lakewood and figured he would take in a ballgame while his wife attended a meeting in La Jolla. The paths of Williamson and Hedges crossed in the third inning when Hedges hit his first career home run off Oakland starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. Williamson caught the ball while sitting in the front row of the seats in left- center field. “I got two strikes on me and was just trying to battle,” Hedges said. “I was trying to stay short, put the ball in play and lucky enough ran into it. I was just happy to get a hit.” A couple of Padres relievers in the bullpen quickly tracked down Williamson to get the ball for their teammate. “They gave me a couple of bullpen balls,” Willamson said. “I asked for a jersey from the bullpen guys, but those guys are stingy.