Padres Press Clips Tuesday, April 19, 2016

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Padres bridging their starting pitching gap UT San Diego Sanders 2

Finally, Padres fans can cut the cord UT San Diego Van Grove 4

Storm ‘out of box’ with Midway home run derby UT San Diego Sanders 7

Rodney embracing life as closer in San Diego MLB.com Cassavell 10

Margot among top prospect performers Monday MLB.com Rosenbaum 12

Myers, Upton get bats going Padres.com Center 15

Despite record, Padres have positives NBCSanDiego.com Togerson 16

Padres bridging their starting pitching gap Restocking depth of franchise a priority for G.M. A.J. Preller By Jeff Sanders | 6 a.m. April 19, 2016 As A.J. Preller delved into his homework upon taking over the Padres’ front office, major league starting pitching was the least of his concerns. Twenty-one months and one disappointing season later, trade targets Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross are both a year closer to free agency, James Shields remains an opt-out candidate after this season and the organization’s most intriguing long-term replacement prospects reside in the low minors.

Which is why the Padres’ second-year general manager spent a great deal of the offseason preparing to bridge that gap, with the emergence of left-hander Drew Pomeranz the payoff of that effort as an asset they’ll possess through the 2018 season. They’ll control rookie right- hander Colin Rea and 25-year-old left-hander Robbie Erlin even longer.

“It almost goes without saying how valuable that is because those are guys that you can build around,” Green said. “That's one of the reasons Drew Pomeranz got a real crack at the rotation because you have a couple more years of him in the rotation if it clicks.

“That was a really shrewd move by A.J.”

It was needed. Badly.

The 27-year-old Pomeranz earned the rotation’s first win of the season – in Colorado, no less – and followed it with an equally impressive quality start in a loss last week in Philadelphia, one of five straight quality starts turned in by the staff last week. Two others belonged to Rea and Erlin, rounding out a trio of hurlers in need of a long look as the Padres draw up long- term pitching plans.

The situation is quite fluid, too.

Especially with 28-year-old Ross – the Padres’ top trade piece as an asset under control through the 2017 season – landing on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation after a forgettable Opening Day outing

His status figures to impact both his value on the trade market as well as the viability of a potential long-term extension, both of which were part of the front office’s offseason discussions. Beyond Ross, the potential departures of both Cashner and Shields (if you don’t think he’s an opt-out candidate then you missed the news about Ian Kennedy’s $70 million deal) left Preller setting up dominoes well before pitchers and catcher’s reported in February.

He entertained moving reliever Brandon Maurer into the rotation, he traded for the underachieving Pomeranz and he auditioned a gaggle of minor league signees – from Brandon Morrow to Cesar Vargas to PCL Pitcher of the Year Carlos Pimentel – in hopes of stocking the upper rungs of a system that’s lost the likes of Joe Ross, Matt Wisler, Zach Eflin and Casey Kelly to Preller’s first trades. While he has since stockpiled high-ceiling arms at his two Single-A affiliates, only five of Baseball America’s top-30 Padres prospects entered the season as a pitcher who’d thrown a ball at Double-A or higher. Three are relievers. One – right-hander Justin Hancock (No. 25) – has been hit hard in a return to Triple-A El Paso. The other is No. 7 Rea, who is set for his third start of the season on Tuesday against the Pirates after rocketing from relative obscurity all the way to the majors via a 1.95 ERA in 101 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A last year.

Others could certainly follow in Rea’s path. Even more figure to enter the picture via the 2016 draft, the upcoming international free agent period and various minor league signings.

The more, the better.

Always.

“It’s big to develop your own depth there, especially when you look at free agency and the price of starting pitching,” Preller said. “The teams that can do it are at a big advantage.”

Finally, Padres fans can cut the cord Fox Sports San Diego now streaming games through Sling TV By Jennifer Van Grove | 2:41 p.m. April 18, 2016 | Updated, 6 p.m. Local cable television providers have long had a lock on baseball viewers’ attention — but not any longer.

Last week, Sling TV, an Internet-based television provider, announced a new streaming plan that includes content from Fox Networks Group. The offering comes with regional and national Fox sports channels, and means that, for the first time, San Diego Padres fans can watch all baseball games televised by Fox Sports San Diego without a cable subscription. “With Fox anchoring (the new plan), Sling TV brings a lot of new content to subscribers that otherwise wasn’t available, whether it’s the Yankees in New York or the Padres in San Diego,” said Roger Lynch, Sling TV chief executive.

Sling is a subsidiary of Dish Network, one of the largest pay-TV providers in the nation. But the all-streaming entity, run separately by Lynch, was specifically designed to appeal to cable-haters and cable-nevers, or youngsters who’ve grown up watching “TV” primarily on mobile devices. Like Sling TV’s other bundle, which debuted 14 months ago (and is still available), the new plan costs $20 a month. The primary distinction between the two packages boils down to Disney versus Fox. Pick the new bundle and you’ll get an assortment of Fox channels, plus FX and National Geographic. But you’ll sacrifice Disney content, which means ESPN, too. Stick with the original package, however, and you’ll get Disney and ESPN, but no Fox Networks brands. The latest subscription package, which the company is still referring to as experimental or “beta,” also allows customers to simultaneously stream programming on three separate devices (instead of just one). Sling has yet to negotiate multistream rights with Disney, hence the distinct subscriptions, but Lynch believes a deal could be reached at a future date. The company also expects additional programmers to come aboard its three-for-one streaming plan.

Otherwise, both the original and multistream subscriptions come with many of the same networks, including A&E, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TBS and TNT. As always, live and on-demand content is accessible through the Sling TV app on smartphones and streaming boxes or sticks, including Amazon Fire and Roku devices.

The Sling news represents an interesting shift in content licensing deals for streaming providers, which have typically struggled to acquire the rights to air live sporting events. Broadcast and cable owners, and content owners in general, have seized on sports as the last bastion of appointment TV, said Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer.

But that’s starting to change.

“What people want more than anything is sports,” he said. “I think more and more the industry is coming around to the fact that, one way or another, they have to figure out how to get sports into these live-streaming packages.”

Sling TV’s latest subscription plan, however, complicates a once-straightforward service. Fox regional, national and sports content varies by market, for instance. So San Diegans get the sports channels but not the local Fox broadcast affiliate, though they can stream Fox series on-demand. And now with two competing plans to consider, newcomers may need to mull their options longer before hitting the subscribe button.

“Any time you launch a service and there’s a big gaping hole in terms of content that you’re offering, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage, or putting your customers in a position to make a choice they don’t want to make,” Verna said. “I think the deal tells you that we’re at this point of tension between content owners and consumers, and the Sling TVs of the world.”

Lynch acknowledges the conflict, which he says is a product of complex licensing deals, but feels the $20 price must always come first.

“We would need to raise the price if we dumped Fox into the single-stream subscription,” he said. “And that $20 price point is very important to us.”

The offering arrives alongside a number of developments in the over-the-top arena, all designed to appeal to a growing population of people who are turning to streaming providers for their entertainment needs.

This year, U.S. consumers will spend an average of one hour and eight minutes a day watching digital video, which accounts for 21.6 percent of time spent with video overall, according to new data from eMarketer. While traditional television still captures the bulk of people’s video time, time spent with the old-fashioned medium is dropping on an annual basis among all adult demographics, the firm found. Even the National Football League is cognizant of the shift, having recently inked a deal with Twitter to stream Thursday night football games, live to digital viewers (for free), through the social network. And Amazon, whose Prime Video product is already a popular option with cord-cutters, is looking to hook even more online viewers. The company is now selling Prime Video subscriptions independent of its Prime two-day shipping program for $8.99 a month, directly challenging Netflix. The changes are a nod to the maturing streaming market, and with the sports industry seemingly more willing to cement digital deals, online viewers won’t always have to forfeit big games to go cable-less.

“We’re blazing the path, but I imagine that others will follow,” Lynch said.

Storm ‘out of box’ with Midway home run derby Cal/Carolina League All-Star Game to hold hitting contest on deck of USS Midway By Jeff Sanders | 2:35 p.m. April 18, 2016 | Updated, 6:02 p.m. It’s been more than 70 years since the USS Midway first began launching projectiles off its deck. Leave it to a zany minor league team to find a new way to put the retired naval vessel to work: a home run derby.

Anything goes, right?

“This is probably one of those things,” Dave Oster, Minor League Baseball’s reigning executive of the year, said with a chuckle as the Lake Elsinore Storm announced the locale for the California/Carolina League All-Star Game event on June 20. “Out-of- the-box, try-anything thinking.”

This is certainly out there.

MIDWAY CLASSIC The annual California/Carolina League All-Star Game will hold its home run derby on the deck of the USS Midway on June 20, a day before the All-Star Game in Lake Elsinore. Here’s what you need to know:  How it works: Four sluggers from the California League All-Star team and four from the Carolina League will compete in single-elimination, head-to-head matchups in which the player with the most home runs/points advances through three rounds of the competition. Each player gets 15 swings per round.  Not to worry: Event officials are teaming a local rental agency to deploy paddle boards, kayaks and jet skis to collect balls hit into the ocean (they have two minutes before they sink). The Coast Guard will also be involve in ensuring the safe passage of vessels during the derby.  Not a first: The Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League held their home run derby on the USS Yorktown in June 2012.  Go: VIP tickets cost $99 and include entrance into the USS Midway Museum (until it closes at 5 p.m.) and all you-can-eat food and drinks (yes, alcohol, too), Oster said. Spectators can watch the derby from behind the cage or along perimeter fencing that

jets out to the bow of the carrier. General admission details will be announced at a later date. Visitstormbaseball.comfor more information. A day before heading up Interstate 15 for the two-league exhibition game, four sluggers from both of the Single-A circuits will step into a batting cage dropped 243 feet from the bow of the carrier in what has been dubbed the Midway Classic. From there, they’ll take aim at to-be-determined markers in the harbor until a home run champ is crowned in the latest event on the Midway deck since it was permanently moored in San Diego in 2004.

“We’re really looking forward to (the players) coming on board trying to hit those aircraft carriers out there,” said USS Midway Museum President John McLaughlin, who landed helicopters on the Midway during a previous career as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy. “I’m often told, ‘Boy, the Midway seems to get so involved with so many different events.’ The truth of the matter is we just sit here as a big, ugly, gray ship. …

“We’re here so America can come on board.”

To date, the signature event held on the Midway deck was San Diego State’s nationally televised game against Syracuse to open the 2012-13 men’s basketball season. In a year in which the California League is celebrating its 75th anniversary, league officials sought the Storm — a Padres affiliate and one of Minor League Baseball’s best-selling brands — to spice up midseason festivities that include the induction of its inaugural hall of fame class, the derby and an accompanying skills competition.

The Padres hosting their own All-Star Game and home run derby a month later at Petco Park spurred Oster to put a unique spin on the event. The 27-year minor league baseball veteran has conjured up a Salem séance, a Michael Jackson sleepover night and an Ariana Grande donut-licking mockery among a long list of shenanigans aimed at drumming up interest in the game.

“We knew we needed to do something special,” said Oster, who is consulting on this event after working more than 15 years with the Storm as their general manager, president and co-owner (he still owns a minority share). “We knew we needed to go above and beyond.” 8

And out to sea, apparently.

Rodney embracing life as closer in San Diego By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | April 18th, 2016 SAN DIEGO -- It didn't take long for San Diego to embrace Fernando Rodney's archery routine. Already, the Padres' closer says he has been greeted on the streets of his new city by fans who nock imaginary arrows and pull on imaginary bowstrings.

The bow-and-arrow celebration has long been a staple for Rodney, who signed with the Padres during the offseason. He began the routine in 2012 and said fans have mimicked it as form of greeting him ever since.

For Rodney, that's the whole point. Shooting an imaginary arrow -- like so many other things he does in the clubhouse, in the bullpen and on the field -- is simply a way of sharing his frivolity with the people around him. He may be 39, but nobody has as much fun playing baseball.

"The key is: Have fun and love it," Rodney said. "If you don't love baseball, you're not going to have fun, you're probably not going to play very long. Sometimes you see [players act like], 'I don't want to do this today, I don't want to do that today.' No! Have fun. Love it. You have to feel like a kid playing with your toys."

If there's anyone who exemplifies that mindset, it's Rodney, who still plays winter ball in his native Dominican Republic -- mostly because there's nowhere he'd rather be than on a pitching rubber.

Rodney grew up playing the sport year-round, and he sees no reason to stop now.

"Where I live in the Dominican, it's baseball, baseball, baseball, everywhere you go," Rodney said. "Growing up, I loved it, and I take that feeling when I play now."

If the arrow routine is Rodney's claim to fame, his crooked cap is a close second. For almost 15 years, Rodney has worn his hat skewed to the left at nearly a quarter turn.

But the sideways cap is not merely a Rodney-like quirk; there's a story behind it. Rodney's father, Ulise, was a fisherman, who blocked out the sun by similarly turning his cap. Ulise died in 2002, Rodney's first year in the Majors. To honor his father, Rodney turned his own hat, recreating those afternoons the two spent fishing in the Dominican sun.

Fifteen years later, Rodney's cap is still askew. In that time, he has amassed 237 career saves, fourth most among active players.

"He's got the personality to be who he is -- to be the closer, to be in the big leagues for 15 years," said fellow Padres reliever Carlos Villanueva. "Everybody loves him. When he comes in a room -- it feels like there's a fog machine, and he just glides in."

Despite Rodney's larger-than-life persona, he mostly keeps to himself when he's working. Teammates describe him as quiet during meetings and intensely focused during workouts.

In the eyes of manager Andy Green, Rodney's longevity is a direct result of that.

"The fun and the work ethic," Green said. "If you want to play deep into your 30s -- all those guys, they love it, they're passionate about it, and they work their tails off."

Added Villanueva: "I think I'm a hard worker, but watching him, you think, 'How old is this guy? He's been around how long? This guy can't be outworking me.' He motivates you to give it a little more."

In February, the Padres signed Rodney to a one-year deal with an option for 2017. Thus far, he hasn't disappointed, tossing 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Rodney's clubhouse presence has been equally positive. Most notably, he has taken 22-year-old Dominican pitcher Luis Perdomo under his wing to great success.

"He's a great teammate and an off-the-charts person," said Green, who, like Rodney, was born in 1977. "I felt a little convicted today, because I'm a couple months younger than him, and he was in there with fruits and eggs and I was eating a doughnut. This is why I'm managing and you're playing. He gets after it."

Rodney is well aware that he's in the twilight of his career. That doesn't necessarily mean he's mulling retirement. Rodney says he'd like to play for a "couple more years."

And -- given the way his eyes light up when he talks about pitching -- it's easy to believe him.

"Every morning I prepare myself, I say, 'Thank you, God, for my chance, my opportunity,'" Rodney said. "I feel great. I want to keep going as long as I can. When my body feels like I can go no more, then I'll stop. ... But right now, I'll keep working hard, like it's my first day."

Margot among top prospect performers Monday Angels' No. 16 throws one-hit shutout, Cubs' No. 3 notches first multi-homer game By Mike Rosenbaum / MLB.com | 10:36 AM ET Kyle McGowin came within three outs of a seven-inning no-hitter before settling for a one-hit shutout in Game 2 of Double-A Arkansas' doubleheader against Frisco on Monday. He walked one and struck out nine. The right-hander tossed 63 of his 86 pitches for strikes.

The Angels' No. 16 prospect, turned in six hitless innings before surrendering a leadoff single in the seventh inning, though he quickly erased that baserunner by inducing a ground-ball double play. He ultimately generated nine ground-ball outs and faced a total of 22 hitters, one over the minimum.

"I mean, no matter what it was a great outing," McGowin told MiLB.com. "I was happy with what I had done. He put a swing on a good pitch and he beat me on that one."

After allowing five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings in his season debut for the Travelers, McGowin has rattled off back-to-back seven-inning starts, during which he's combined to allow one run on five hits, with 16 strikeouts.

McGowin, a fifth-round Draft pick in 2013 out of Savannah State, scuffled over a full season in the Texas League in '15, when he recorded a 4.38 ERA in 154 innings across 27 starts. The 24-year-old righty, who lowered his ERA to 3.52 with Monday's gem, is off to a much better start this year in his second tour of the Texas League, having held opposing hitters to a paltry .170 average while posting a 20/5 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 frames.

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Monday • Fresh off a three-steal performance on Sunday, No. 5 overall prospect Yoan Moncada swiped two more bags and reached base four times (2-for-3, 2 BB) in Class A Advanced Salem's win over Carolina. The Red Sox's No. 1 prospect is a perfect 12-for-12 on the basepaths to begin the season, while the multi-hit performance raised his average to .359 through 12 games. • No. 37 overall prospect Anderson Espinoza (Red Sox's No. 4) picked up his first win for Class A Greenville with five innings of one-run ball against Hickory. The 18-year-old right-hander allowed three hits, walked a pair and struck out seven, giving him a 15/2 K/BB ratio through his first 15 frames (three starts). Red Sox No. 10 prospect Michael Chavis provided plenty of offense in the win, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and his second home run of the season.

• No. 43 overall prospect Manny Margot (Padres' No. 1) went 2-for-5 with his first home run and triple as a member of the Padres' organization as Triple-A El Paso rolled past Reno, 14-4. • No. 49 overall prospect Dominic Smith (Mets' No. 2 prospect) hit a game-tying solo homer off of Adam Plutko with two outs in the top of the seventh for his first long ball of the season. The homer accounted for Double-A Binghamton's lone run in a loss to Akron. • No. 59 overall prospect Josh Hader fired four no-hit innings in a no-decision for Biloxi, but his three walks and seven strikeouts resulted in an elevated pitch count and his early departure. The Brewers' No. 4 prospect has been outstanding in his first three starts, with a 0.69 ERA, .136 opponents' batting average and 19 strikeouts through 13 innings.

"All my stuff was working and it was nice to bring all my pitches together," Hader told MiLB.com. "But one thing as a starter is, you have to go deep through the game so you save the bullpen a little bit. So one of my main goals is to get contact early and save that pitch count." • No. 74 overall prospect Ian Happ (Cubs' No. 3) set career highs with four hits and a pair of home runs in Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach's win over Winston-Salem. The 21-year-old second baseman drove in four runs and has 11 RBIs through his first 12 games to go along with a .313 average

"I'm feeling comfortable at the plate," Happ told MiLB.com. "Settling into the rhythm of the season and even into the first road trip is helping a lot. I'm just trying to stick with the process and trust in what I have to do every day to be successful." • No. 96 overall prospect Reese McGuire hit a three-run homer, his first of the season, as part Double-A Altoona's eight-run second inning in a win over Harrisburg. The Pirates' No. 5 prospect is off to a solid start in his first taste of the Double-A level, hitting .308 with seven walks against just one strikeout through eight games. • Athletics No. 25 prospect Daniel Gossett allowed one run on three hits and struck out a career- high nine hitters in a no decision for Class A Advanced Stockton. The 23-year-old righty has been sharp in his first three starts for the Ports, pitching to a 2.12 ERA and 22/5 K/BB in 17 innings. • Indians No. 23 prospect Greg Allen went 2-for-3 with two doubles and four runs scored in Class A Advanced Lynchburg's win over Potomac, while his three stolen bases pushed his season total to 13, helping him reclaim the lead from Boston's Moncada. A sixth-round Draft pick in 2013 out of San Diego State, Allen, 23, is hitting .325 with a .518 on-base percentage and 14 runs scored through 11 games for the Hillcats. • Mariners No. 2 prospect Edwin Diaz dominated for his third straight turn for Double-A Jackson, firing five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in a win over Birmingham. The 22-year-old,

13 who allowed just two hits, owns a sparkling 1.69 ERA and 24/2 K/BB ratio through his first 16 innings for the Generals. Tyler O'Neill (Mariners' No. 4) went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season -- a long two-run homer off of White Sox' No. 1 prospect Carson Fulmer -- while D.J. Peterson (Mariners' No. 6) cranked his first dinger of the season in a 3-for-4 performance. • Pirates No. 7 prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes went 4-for-6 with his first professional home run and five RBIs as Class A West Virginia edged Kannapolis in 16 innings, 8-7. The No. 32 overall Draft pick in the 2015 gave the Power an early lead with a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning and later tied the game with a two-run single in in the 10th. He's hitting .415 with 10 RBIs through 10 games. • Reds No. 11 prospect Tyler Mahle allowed one earned run in seven innings and matched his career-high with nine strikeouts in Class A Advanced Daytona's win over Fort Myers. The 21- year-old righty yielded three hits and did not issue a walk, throwing 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes.

Myers, Upton get bats going Perdomo records win, lowers ERA by 41.40 By Bill Center / San Diego Padres | April 18th, 2016 It appears that two key Padres hitters -- Wil Myers and Melvin Upton Jr. -- are getting warm.

First baseman Myers had two hits and a walk in four plate appearances Sunday while left fielder Upton followed Saturday night's 14th-inning, two-run, walk-off homer with a triple in four at-bats Sunday.

Upton was 5-for-15 in the three-game series against Arizona with a triple, a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games (13-for-36) with a double, a triple, two home runs, five RBIs and seven runs scored. Upton is hitting .289 for the season.

Myers' batting average stands at .288. He is 7-for-11 with a walk since ending an 18 at-bat hitless streak. Myers has also struck out 19 times in 52 at-bats and has struck out at least once in every game he's played this season.

Other Padres continue to struggle with the bat. Center fielder Jon Jay singled Saturday to end an 18 at-bat hitless streak before getting Sunday off. Right fielder Matt Kemp is in a 4-for-27 drought. Catcher Derek Norris is 2-for-18. And second baseman Cory Spangenberg is in a 4-for-23 slump, although he is riding a three-game hitting streak.

As a team, the Padres are hitting .226. Their 128 strikeouts is the second-highest total in the Major Leagues, while they rank near the bottom in walks (34), on-base percentage (.281) and slugging percentage (.329). Notes from the scorebook • Left-handed starter Robbie Erlin entered Sunday's game with a 0.93 earned run average after his first two outings. But he gave up six runs on eight hits, including three homers, in six innings Sunday to see his ERA shoot up to 4.02. Erlin probably pitched an inning or two longer than expected to save the bullpen, which worked eight innings in Saturday night's marathon. • After giving up seven runs on eight hits and two walks in his first two Major League innings, Rule 5 right-hander Luis Perdomo worked a third straight scoreless inning Sunday to lower his ERA from 54.00 to 12.60. Perdomo picked up his first Major League win with a scoreless inning in Saturday night's 14- inning marathon. • Reserve outfielder Jabari Blash is 2-for-15 eight strikeouts, including seven in his last nine plate appearances.

Despite Record, Padres Have Positives A couple of players who were question marks are off to good starts By Derek Togerson

Even since the Padres took on his rather large contract fans have been scared about having outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. on the roster. In two years with the Braves, Upton hit a combined .198, not the kind of production you want from a man making $15.45 million in 2016.

But so far Upton has not just avoided disappointment; he’s been one of the best players on the team. Melvin has a pair of homers and has scored seven runs with a .822 OPS while appearing in all 13 games.

“Yeah, it’s cool, but I’d rather win,” said Upton. “If I wasn’t this hot and we were winning, that would be one thing. But obviously I like where I’m at and I’m going to continue to work but the main thing is winning ballgames.”

Upton showed an uptick in his game in the second half of last season. He told NBC 7 during Spring Training the Padres have allowed him to be more like himself and that freedom of personality is carrying over to the field.

“Definitely,” said Upton. “It’s allowed me to keep focus and just go out there and be myself and be the player I know how to be.”

First baseman Wil Myers is another guy who had question marks entering the regular season, but for very different reasons. Myers is coming off wrist surgery and had been struggling (aside from a couple of monster games in Colorado) until the series against the Diamondbacks. Over the weekend Myers finished 7-17, including a 4-hit game in Saturday night’s 14-inning win.

He had been swinging through a lot of fastballs he normally hits hard. All of a sudden he started lining those balls in to the outfield, and Myers thinks he could have done even more damage.

“I missed a lot of pitches this series, as well,” said Myers. “Just putting good swings on good pitches, that’s the biggest thing. You’re only as good as the pitch you swing at. I’ve worked on some things and I’ve seen them carry over in the game.”

The Padres have had trouble stringing hits together in 2016 (again, aside from the explosion at Coors Field). Take out the two days they scored 13 and 16 runs and the Friars are averaging 1.6 runs per game. They simply cannot sustain innings to stress a pitcher and create more run-scoring chances. But, if Upton and Myers stay hot, and a couple of other players start to click, the guys in the clubhouse think the merry-go-round will start turning.

“Yeah, I think you can see it,” said Upton. “Things will start going our way here shortly. We’ve just gotta keep playing good baseball and we’ll be fine.”