Padres Press Clips Tuesday, May 1, 2018

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Giants deny , Padres victory with ninth-inning SD Union Tribune Acee 2 comeback

Eric Hosmer, Padres show signs in past week that they will SD Union Tribune Acee 5

Padres Green says was 'best choice right there' SD Union Tribune Acee 9

Padres notes: Austin Hedges' elbow issue likely means return SD Union Tribune Acee 12 of Raffy Lopez

Chris Paddack stellar in return from Tommy John SD Union Tribune Sanders 15

Spiffy, subsidized ballpark is outperforming another bad Padres SD Union Tribune Krasovic 18 club

Hand falters, can't seal first win for Lauer MLB.com Cassavell 21

Hedges forced to leave early with ailing elbow MLB.com Cassavell 24

Paddack throws six scoreless in 2018 debut MLB.com Adler 25

Padres roll out Majors' speediest outfield MLB.com Cassavell 26

Padres look to Ross in Game 2 vs. Giants FOX Sports Stats 28

Takeaways from the Padres’ 6-5 loss to the Giants FOX Sports Stats 30

Stepdad shows gay daughter he accepts her by texting photo SB Nation Buzinski 31 from Padres Pride night

Where there’s smoke: A concession stand, and the Padres, The Athletic Lin 32 combust at AT&T Park

This Day in Padres History — May 1 FriarWire Center 35

#PadresOnDeck: RHP Allows No Runs in FriarWire Center 36 Debut; , Jankowski Honored

1

Giants deny Eric Lauer, Padres victory with ninth-inning comeback

Kevin Acee

Eric Lauer looked like a big-league Monday night, and the 22-year-old rookie came within an out of his first big-league victory.

He’ll have to wait on that, though, as Padres Brad Hand allowed three runs in the ninth inning, with Nick Hundley’s two-out, two- walk-off single giving the Giants a 6-5 victory.

“Brad’s been really good for us for a long time,” manager said. “That’s a tough one to give away today.”

After a three-run first inning that seemed like a continuation of his abbreviated debut six days earlier in Colorado, Lauer made it through the fifth inning without allowing another run to the Giants.

“Eric did a great job settling in, giving us five really strong innings, especially those last four,” A.J. Ellis said. “… That was a great bounceback game for him. He did everything he could to win the game. We just couldn’t get it done.”

The Padres trailed by a run when Lauer walked from the mound at the end of the fifth, but they scored three runs in the top of the sixth, putting Lauer in line for the traditional beer shower given following a maiden major league win.

“I was happy that I was able to grind through it,” Lauer said. “That was big for me mentally to be able to say, ‘Hey, I have to buckle down and get outs and just try to last as long as possible.’ After throwing so many pitches in the first, you’ve got to put your team in a place to win. So I was happy with how it went, two through five. The first inning, I shot myself in the foot.”

Moreover, the Giants hit some decent pitches in the first inning, starting with a single, and double before Lauer got the first out.

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Thereafter – and even throughout the first inning – the left-hander mixed his four pitches more and commanded them to a greater extent than he did in a three-inning, seven-run outing against the Rockies last Tuesday. He ended up striking out seven while allowing seven hits and walking two.

In doing so, he demonstrated the fortitude the Padres figured would help the 2016 first- round draft pick jumping to the majors after one full minor league season.

When he pitches against and the Dodgers on Sunday in Monterrey, Mexico, Lauer will be seeking his first victory because of what happened in the ninth.

Hand, who got the final two outs of the eighth, hit pinch-hitter Austin Slater to start the ninth inning. He struck out Gorkys Hernandez and Andrew McCutchen and then walked at the end of a 10-pitch at-bat.

With with Franchy Cordero playing deep to guard against the double, Evan Longoria brought home Slater with a bloop single into the left side of AT&T Park’s large outfield.

“It was the first time all season long we’ve moved our outfield back,” Green said. “Longoria has been swinging the bat well lately, been swinging it well against lefties. … It was one of those situations where you want to make them get more hits, you want to make them keep going. It was one of those balls that dropped in. It wasn’t Franchy’s fault. We had him back. It was my choice.”

A walk to Brandon Belt loaded the bases, and Hundley ended it with a hit up the middle that scored Posey and Longoria.

“Just one of those days, I didn’t have it clicking,” said Hand, who had not pitched in five days because the Padres three games since then had been blowouts one way or the other.

Denied the decision because of what the Giants did at the end, Lauer almost got the victory because of what the Padres did immediately after he departed.

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It was an unfortunate ending on a night in which Lauer and the Padres offense bounced back.

The Padres got a run in the fourth inning on a double by Franchy Cordero and single by . , who walked and went to third on ’s double, scored on Christian Villanueva’s grounder in the fourth.

They took a 5-3 lead in the sixth by putting the ball in play, something that has been a challenge for the team that entered the game having struck out more than any other in the majors.

With Reyes Moranta starting the sixth inning in relief of , Jose Pirela led off with a walk, went to second on an infield single by Freddy Galvis (a hard grounder that went off Alen Hanson’s glove and chest) and scored when another hard grounder by Margot went through Evan Longoria’s legs.

A.J. Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Galvis from third. , pinch-hitting for Lauer, singled to left field to bring home Margot.

“We haven’t had a ton of games where we fought back like that,” Green said. “That’s great to see, and then the Lauer stuff. His next outing, he should have a ton of confidence going into it because he handled a good lineup.”

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Eric Hosmer, Padres show signs in past week that they will hit

Kevin Acee

Eric Hosmer’s on-base percentage jumped 41 points in one game last week and 75 points over the four games he played from Monday to Monday.

That’s why it’s dangerous to get too worked up about a mediocre — or even abysmal — April.

It’s why Hosmer stood in the visitors’ clubhouse before a game in Colorado on April 23 and — without being defensive, but with a fair amount of incredulity — responded to questions about his early-season struggles with his new team.

“I’ve been through it too many times,” he said. “I realize how long the season is. I realize how the season goes. You feel like a majority of times you’re battling to tread water. Then there are times that you’re hot that you’re making the most of it.”

He went out a couple hours later and reached base all six times (two singles, four walks) he was up in the Padres’ 13-5 victory over the Rockies.

A week later, against the Giants, he continued his tear, hitting a single and double and walking in five plate appearances Monday night in a game the Padres would lose 6-5.

The entire team remained on an arc similar to that of its new star player, if not as pronounced and having not yet yielded very different results in the standings.

The had 10 hits Monday, their fourth time in double digits in the past seven games after reaching that threshold five times in their first 23 games. They also struck out just six times,

In the week leading up to Monday, while they won just twice, there were signs in the Padres’ offensive production that perhaps the preaching about patience is starting to pay off.

They have had their best week at the plate. 5

Foremost, the Padres in the week leading into Monday’s game ranked fifth in the majors in pitches per (4.09), compared with ranking 22nd in the season’s first 3½ weeks at 3.85.

The results of increased patience at the plate could be seen in other numbers as well.

Their collective hitting line of .262/.335/.393 was by far their best of any six-game stretch this season and a vast improvement over the previous week’s .176/.239/.270.

“I’ve seen a lot of positive signs over the past week, things I like in the nature of at-bats,” manager Andy Green said.

The reason the Padres went 2-4 could be seen in their peaks and valleys. They had games with 16, 13 and 11 hits, and also had just four hits twice and six hits in another game.

“We’ve had a lot of the feast-or-famine variety,” Green said. “… I’d love to see a greater consistency day-to-day.”

Hosmer, 28, is the perfect example of that.

He will have more nights similar to that April 23 game at Coors Field. But he won’t have too many, because no one does.

“That’s the beauty of this game,” he said. “It’s hard. You’re facing the best of the best, and it continue to get tougher. So it’s adjustments you’ve continually got to make.”

Hosmer makes enough of them, every year, to have entered this (his eighth) season with a career .284/.342/.439 hitting line. From 2015-17, that line was .294/.359/.463.

Of the 47 in-season days he has spent since the beginning of the 2015 season with an on-base percentage lower than .330, 33 of those days have come in March or April. Of the 44 days in that span he has had a lower than .400, 36 have come in March or April.

After Monday’s game, on the last day of April, he is hitting .290 with a .398 on-base percentage and .450 slugging percentage. A week earlier, he sat at .241/.323/.398.

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And the $144 million man wasn’t worried.

”If we’re having this conversation in September, I’d be pretty disappointed in myself and feeling like I didn’t do my job for the team,” said Hosmer, who has 10 doubles and two home runs. “But we’ve got a good amount of time. ... It’s easier for me to be scuffling in the beginning, because I realize how much time is left in the season. If we’re in this situation in August, it’s different. This is so early.”

One anomaly this April is that Hosmer’s are way up versus his usual rate even for April (24.8 percent vs. an average of 15.3 percent over his previous Aprils).

“It’s not characteristic of me to be striking out this much,” he said with a shrug. “But each season brings its own story line. Maybe that’s the beginning of mine for this year.”

Hosmer batted .225/.281/.364 with one last April and finished the season with career highs in all four categories (.318/.385/.498 and 25 homers).

So Andy Green wasn’t concerned, either.

In fact, as there often is in this season of extended learning for a team with only a handful of veteran position players who fit into the long-term plan, there was a blessing seen in Hosmer working through his slump.

“I think it’s a great model to give,” Green said the afternoon before Hosmer’s two-hit, four-walk game. “He’s been through plenty of rough stretches in his career. He’ll get out of it. You’re just waiting for the when. You know it’s going to come.”

Hosmer’s inevitable offensive awakening — partly due to an adjustment in the way he handled inside pitches, of which he is seeing an abundance — affirmed the professed patience.

“What I’ve learned in my career,” Hosmer said, “is whether or not you’re hot right now or cold, you believe in your approach over the course of 600 at-bats, not two weeks or three weeks.”

He is a rarity on the Padres that can apply that first-hand perspective.

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Three quarters of the starting position players in Monday’s lineup had fewer than 700 career plate appearances. Only Hosmer and Freddy Galvis have more than two years of major league service time.

Hosmer, Galvis and role players Chase Headley and A.J. Ellis have been constant teachers, echoing the message of hitting Matt Stairs and the rest of the staff, as well as trying to help players understand the subtleties of in-game and game-to-game .

The best teacher for young hitters, however, is going through seeing different day-to-day and pitchers seeing them multiple times.

The chess match that ensues helps explain how the Padres can have 15 hits one night and just a handful the next.

“They’re sticking with their game plan and trying to stick to that approach,” Hosmer said of the improvement. “… That’s what everyone is learning right now. That’s the hard part of this game. It’s a constant adjustment. You’ve got to put the work in to identify what you’re going up against and work off of that.

“That’s something a lot of these guys are learning first-hand right now for themselves. It’s hard. I’ve experienced it first-hand. It’s the same thing I’ve been though. A lot of guys are new to this and have no idea, and that’s what makes it extremely difficult.”

8

Padres manager Green says Brad Hand was 'best choice right there'

Kevin Acee

Andy Green went to Brad Hand early and stayed with him until it was too late.

“There’s not a ton of options that are going to be better than Brad,” Green said late Monday night after the Giants scored three ninth-inning runs off Hand in a 6-5 victory. “We’ve gone through (Kirby) Yates, we’ve gone through (Craig) Stammen, we’ve gone through (Adam) Cimber. Brad is our best choice right there in my estimation. Even just with the , you trust that he could locate it. It just wasn’t tonight. To me, it was one of those situations where you’re living with him or you’re dying with him.”

Indeed. If there was a mistake by the Padres manager, perhaps it was in not getting his work-loving closer some work in the previous five days.

That would have been work for the sake of work, since the three games against the Mets over the weekend were not close late. Using Hand in Sunday’s 14-2 loss certainly would have been an unorthodox move.

But Green and Hand have both acknowledged in the past that Hand’s is better the more he pitches.

And after the Giants won Monday on Nick Hundley’s two-out, two-run walk-off single, with Hand blowing the and taking the loss in his first game in five days and second game in 10 days, this is what Hand said:

“I felt good. I just had a tough time getting a feel for the slider. I wasn’t able to throw it for strikes when I needed to. I fell behind in quite a few (at-bats). Just one of those days. I didn’t have it clicking. It was there at times. I don’t know what it was, it just didn’t feel normal. I just had a tough time getting comfortable with it, and I wasn’t able to throw it for strikes.”

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Hand was called on with one out in the eighth inning and a runner on second. Stammen had allowed Pablo Sandoval a one-out double, and left-hander Brandon Belt came in to pinch-hit.

“I thought it was clearly the best matchup,” Green said. “Crawford has swung the bat well against . … Brad has had a ton of success against .

Crawford is 4-for-8 against Stammen. And when Hand got Crawford on a line drive to right fielder Matt Szczur, it dropped Crawford to 1-for-10 off the lefty.

Hand would end the eighth by getting Alen Hanson to ground out.

Hand’s first pitch of the ninth was a slider that hit pinch-hitter Austin Slater on the foot. Hand then struck out Gorkys Hernandez and Andrew McCutchen and was 2-2 against Buster Posey before the Giants’ All-Star catcher fouled off four straight pitches and drew two balls at the end of a 10-pitch walk.

“That Buster Posey at-bat showed why he’s Buster Posey,” Padres catcher A.J. Ellis said.

With left fielder Franchy Cordero playing back at Green’s behest to guard against a double, Evan Longoria flared a single into shallow left field to score Slater. Brandon Belt followed with a walk, which brought up Hundley.

Hand offered no excuse for what came after that difficult exchange with Posey.

“I don’t care if it takes two pitches, 20 pitches, my job is to shut it down, get the win,” he said. “I didn’t do it today. That’s the good thing about baseball. Do it again tomorrow.”

Hand, especially, would like that.

He is, by some measures, better pitching on a second successive day.

Since the start of last season, Hand has a slightly lower ERA and a much higher -to-walk ratio when pitching on the second day (1.65 and 13-to-1) successive day than on the first (1.84 and 2.75-to-1).

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Pitching six times from April 6 to 20, he allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 12 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings.

“He’s always thrived when he’s been out there a lot,” Green said. “… There was a never circumstance where it called for Brad (against the Mets), so we let him sit for those three days. Thought it was a good opportunity to come in for the five outs today and close the game out. That was the best way to go. It didn’t work out.”

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Padres notes: Austin Hedges' elbow issue likely means return of Raffy Lopez

Kevin Acee

Catcher Raffy Lopez has homered in four straight games for Triple-A El Paso.

If he advances that home run streak, it will almost certainly be for the Padres here in their series against the Giants.

Starting catcher Austin Hedges left Monday’s 6-5 loss in the middle of the second inning with what was later described as tendinitis in his right elbow.

“It was just really tight today when I got to the yard,” Hedges said.

“It wasn’t something that I was aware of at all prior to the game today and most people weren’t aware of,” manager Andy Green said. “You’ve got guys who try to play through things, and they don’t always talk about things.”

Hedges indicated it wasn’t an entirely new injury but was a heightened severity on Monday.

“It hadn’t been that tight,” he said. “I’d been dealing with it for a while now, but nothing that I couldn’t play through. Today was just a different story. … I just showed up today and it felt different. I just woke up, and the second I got to the field it was different.

“Hopefully, I wake up tomorrow and feel better. That’s about all I know now.”

Even if Hedges is not out long, the Padres can’t go with 37-year-old backup A.J. Ellis for many more games without a rest. Ellis started Sunday against the Mets, his eighth start of the season. He made 36 starts last year for the , never on consecutive days.

“I think we’re probably going to have to get a catcher going,” Green said. “Even if Austin is down for a day or two, we have to make another roster move. To ask one guy with no real backup … we’ll have to do something here soon.”

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The Padres will likely call up Lopez, who is already on the 40-man roster.

Lopez was on the opening day roster and was intentionally walked as a pinch-hitter that day. So he has a 1.000 on-base percentage without actually seeing a pitch.

Lopez was sent down the next day, as the Padres made room on the roster for .

Lost in delivery

Kazuhisa Makita’s effectiveness is largely in his ability to keep hitters off-balance with an array of pitches delivered from a submarine angle. He hasn’t been fooling many batters of late.

After allowing one run on five hits and three walks over his first six appearances (5 1/3 innings), the Japanese import has allowed 11 runs on 11 hits and four walks over his past seven games (8 2/3 innings). He has given up three home runs in those seven games, and opponents are batting .297 against him in that span.

The challenge for the Padres in helping him make adjustments is not in the translation, but in Makita’s pitching motion.

“It’s definitely, from our perspective, a little more difficult to know what exact advice to give – both because of his history in another league and his unique style of pitching,” Green said. “So it’s not the cleanest, ‘Hey, this is the path. …’

“We have some things we think he does well and some things we want to encourage him to continue to do, and he’s been very receptive to those things. At the same time, he’s in his 30s, he’s pitched for a long time. He knows himself better than we know him. So we’re going to listen to him as he tries to work through things to (be better) than the past couple times out.”

Makita’s seven walks (one intentional) are two more than he had in 62 2/3 innings last season for the Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League.

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Extra bases

• Right fielder is on the mend and on Monday began a stay at the team’s complex in Peoria, Ariz., where he will begin field work and batting practice. Renfroe will at some point participate in minor-league games there, where he can get an abundance of at-bats, before moving on to an official rehab assignment. • Manuel Margot extended his hitting streak to five games with an RBI single in Monday’s fourth inning. In the previous four games he had three doubles and a triple among his six hits in 17 at-bats, raising his 53 points to .188 in that stretch. Said Green: “He’s done a lot of work with his swing trying to put his body in a better position to hit. You’re seeing some of that stuff starting to bear fruit finally.” • Eric Hosmer, who received his fourth Gold Glove in a pregame ceremony Friday, committed his first as a Padre on Monday on a hard grounder by Brandon Belt. • Monday was the first time in five road series this season that the Padres did not win the opening game.

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Chris Paddack stellar in return from Tommy John

Jeff Sanders

Chris Paddack returned to the mound for the time since July 2016. It was as if he’d never left.

The Padres’ pitching prospect struck out seven over six dominant innings in high Single- A Lake Elsinore’s 6-1 win over host Inland Empire on Monday, Paddack’s first post- Tommy John outing.

It was efficient to say the least.

Paddack threw 55 of his 75 pitches for strikes, scattered three hits and didn’t walk anyone. The lone runner to reach third base – Jack Kruger after a one-out double in the fourth – was stranded when Paddack struck out Brandon Sandoval looking to end the inning, one of eight straight outs to close his evening.

The 22-year-old right-hander opened the season ranked No. 21 in the Padres system by .

Miami’s eighth-round pick in 2015, Paddack joined the Padres via the trade for the following summer. He was in the middle of a breakthrough campaign in which he went 2-0 with an 0.85 ERA, 71 strikeouts and an 0.59 WHIP over 42 1/3 innings with two low-A teams before requiring Tommy John surgery.

After missing all of 2017, Paddack stayed back in extended to start the year to build stamina to continue his climb as a starting pitching prospect.

Pre-surgery, the 6-foot-4 Paddack paired a fastball that touched 95 mph with an advanced change-up and a mid-70s curve.

The Storm offense made sure he won in his return.

Buddy Reed (.366) hit his fifth homer and went 3-for-4 with a walk, his 13th steal and two runs scored.

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Jorge Ona (.293) finished a home run shy of the cycle, drove in two runs and scored twice and Eguy Rosario (.284) drove in two runs on two hits for the Storm (10-15). Rosario also scored two runs.

Awards

Promoted to San Diego, Travis Jankowski was named the ’s player of the week after reaching base in 18 of his 23 plate appearances. Jankowski’s batting average (.706), on-base percentage (.783), OPS (1.724) and hits (12) led the league.

Meanwhile, left-hander Logan Allen went 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA and a 12-to-4 strikeout- to-walk ratio to earn pitcher of the week honors. He tied for the league lead in innings (13), ranked third in strikeouts, seventh in opponent average (.163) and ninth in ERA.

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (16-9)

• Reno 8, Chihuahuas 6: C Raffy Lopez (.300) homered in his fourth straight game, giving him seven on the season. 1B Brett Nicholas (.329) drove in three runs on his eighth homer and 3B Diego Goris (.390) went 4-for-5 with a triple and a steal. LF (.267) went 2-for-6 with a triple and a run scored and 2B Luis Urias (.307) went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored. RHP Robert Stock debuted with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth. RHP Chris Huffman (3.90) started the game with six runs allowed on 10 hits and a walk in five innings.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (14-10)

• Midland 4, Missions 3: 1B Kyle Overstreet (.273) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and his fourth homer and C Austin Allen (.364) went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored. DH (.379) went 2-for-4 and SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (.177) went 0-for-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts. LHP Jerry Keel (3.95) struck out five and allowed a run on two hits in seven innings in the start. 16

Transactions

• Stock was transferred from San Antonio to El Paso as RHP Gerardo Reyes was moved from Lake Elsinore to San Antonio to make room for Paddack’s debut.

17

Spiffy, subsidized ballpark is outperforming another bad Padres club

Tom Krasovic

Fresh eyes from Wisconsin took in the San Diego ballpark last month, feasting on the East Village gem and bay scene where the opened their season.

The hometown star to the three games was not anyone who plays for the Padres, said the Cheese Heads, but the place where the Pads play.

Why, it feels so new.

Told that it opened in 2004, the Wisconsin folks were agog.

Can’t be so, they said.

Tis, as sure as cheese goes on pizza.

The Pads are slogging through another bad start to the season.

The ballpark, once again, is something to brag about.

Give the Pads high marks for house-keeping, if not ball-playing. They’ve kept the place spiffy through 14 seasons and running.

It still feels fresh.

A Wisconsin hat tip went as well to the ushers and vendors who work Pads games.

Though the ballclub on Monday will wrap up a losing April for the eighth year in a row and sixth under current ownership, the ballpark and the bayside views it affords seems to be helping to effect decent success at the turnstiles.

San Diego’s baseball club is chugging along at 12th of 30 in attendance and outpacing its 2017 averages for both April and the season.

Imagine the turnouts if the Pads were coming off a playoff series, not a seventh consecutive losing season. 18

Along with maintaining the park with the zeal of Disneyland staffers, the Pads have served up promotions that resonate with fans.

I’d suggest another one: Taxpayer Appreciation Night.

The ballpark was largely funded by voter approval to spend about $300 million in public money, a sum that exceeds $400 million in today’s dollars.

Make no mistake: San Diegans are good to the Pads. When state money dried up, an additional IOU of about $14 million yearly fell on the City of San Diego, reported Voice of San Diego.

Ballpark maintenance is a relentless task, perhaps more expensive than the team first thought, said then-Padres CEO Dick Freeman a year after the place opened in 2004.

Adding to the upkeep incentive, the club rents the place out for non-baseball events.

The people who wash, tidy up and manicure the ballpark can do only so much, however.

It’s up to the ballplayers to imbue a ballpark with October flair.

Although the East Village was home to a playoff game in 2005 and two more in 2006, the Pads have yet to win a playoff game on downtown soil.

For now, competency would be an improvement.

The Pads are off to a 5-12 start at home. They’ve allowed way too many runs alongside 19 Drive.

As the ballpark has played smaller since a giant video board was installed and the outfield was shrunk to increase scoring, Pads pitchers have struggled to keep up.

The home ERA is 4.87. Fueled by the most doubles allowed to visitors, the run allowance is a yellow light flashing considering that pitching coach Darren Balsley is admired by scouts and executives of other teams.

One more set of statistics to chew on:

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The last time the Pads went into May with a winning record, at 15-8 in 2010, they leaned on the excellent Adrian Gonzalez to anchor a modest offense but won largely through run prevention. The pitching staff would finish with a 2.92 ERA at home.

Five Pads pitchers started 25 games or more for the first time in club history.

Do you remember the five?

Start with 1.0. The lefty was acquired in the trade with the White Sox that jettisoned before one dollar of his much ballyhooed $52-million extension came due.

Rounding out the rotation were , also a Chisox alum; reclamation project Kevin Correia, formerly of Grossmont High; Mat Latos, who hasn’t since matched that rookie season; and Wade LeBlanc, a change-up artist and Pads draftee.

Behind the consistent if limited rotation was a dominant headed by , and .

A sum-is-greater-than-the-parts team like few others, the 2010 Pads would win 90 games. Even if the season was something of a fluke, in comparison to the modestly talented Pads then, the seven successors have looked rather inept while never so much as threatening to join a playoff race.

As for this team, it’s on pace to 100 defeats.

I doubt these Pads will crack triple digits, but the .294 win rate at home, at the least, deserves a power-wash.

20

Hand falters, can't seal first win for Lauer

AJ Cassavell MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- On most nights, Brad Hand's slider is one of baseball's most unhittable offerings, a perfect combination of late action and pinpoint accuracy from the left-hander throwing it.

On Monday night, it was nowhere to be found.

Hand's signature weapon deserted him when he needed it most, and the Giants walked off with a 6-5 victory as a result. The Padres' closer had thrown a season-high 36 pitches when Nick Hundley swatted his game-winning, two-run single to send AT&T Park into a frenzy. Fifteen of those pitches were sliders, only six for strikes.

"I don't know what it was, it just didn't feel normal," Hand said. "I just had a tough time getting comfortable with it, and I wasn't able to throw it for strikes."30th, 2018

Hand entered the game with one out in the eighth, and he quickly escaped a jam, keeping the Padres' two-run advantage intact. He wasn't so fortunate in the ninth.

Hand opened the frame by plunking leadoff man Austin Slater with an errant slider, but he struck out the next two hitters, putting left-hander Eric Lauer on the precipice of his first big league win. Lauer had rebounded from a three-run first inning to blank the Giants over the next four. It wasn't to be.

An epic 10-pitch battle with Buster Posey ensued, ending when Hand left yet another slider outside the . From there, he practically deserted the pitch.

The Padres bullpen remained quiet. Having already used his top three setup men, manager Andy Green was going to ride Hand through the ninth.

"Brad's our best choice right there in my estimation, even just with the fastball," Green said. "You trust that he could locate it. … It was one of those situations where you're living with him or you're dying with him, and it didn't work."

Hand came within a few feet of securing the save anyway. Following Posey's walk, Evan Longoria skyed a popup into shallow left field. In almost any other scenario it would've been a routine end to the ballgame.

But in a twist of fate, the Padres decided to play no-doubles defense for the first time all season. (Green cited Longoria's recent success driving the ball against left-handed pitching.) Franchy Cordero sprinted helplessly from the warning track as the ball dropped and the first run scored.30th, 2018

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"You want to make them get more hits, you want to make them keep going," Green said. "It was one of those balls that just dropped in. It wasn't Franchy's fault. We had him back. It was my choice, if it's anybody's fault."

Hand walked Brandon Belt, putting the winning run in scoring position, and Hundley made him pay.

Hand has been vocal about his desire to be used as often as possible. But the Padres haven't found much work for him lately. He had pitched only once in the past 10 days before his 37-pitch effort Monday. Hand wasn't about to use rust as an excuse.

"My job is to shut it down, get the win," Hand said. "I didn't do it today. That's the good thing about baseball. Do it again tomorrow."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Hour of Lauer: Lauer found himself squarely on the ropes in the bottom of the first after a woeful debut in Colorado last week. He bent early, but he didn't break. Lauer held the Giants in check over five frames, striking out seven and allowing seven hits -- only three of which came after the first.

"His next outing, he should have a ton of confidence going into it," Green said. "Because he handled a good lineup."30th, 2018

Workingman's rally: After falling behind, 3-0, the Padres had cut their deficit to one entering the top of the sixth. From there, they pieced together a gritty rally -- the type they haven't found frequently enough this season. It started with a walk and an infield single, before Manuel Margot tied the game with a one-hopper through Longoria's legs. A.J. Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly, and Chase Headley -- pinch-hitting for Lauer -- plated Margot with a broken-bat single through a drawn-in infield. The Padres led, 5-3, and they held that lead until the ninth. r. 30th, 2018 HEDGES EXITS Padres catcher Austin Hedges struck out swinging in the top of the second, before Ellis took his place in the bottom of the frame. Hedges was removed from the game because of right elbow tendinitis, and he could be destined for a stint on the disabled list. The 25-year-old backstop had been nursing a somewhat balky elbow, but it tightened on him before Thursday's game.

"It hadn't been that tight," Hedges said. "I'd been dealing with it for a while now, but nothing that I couldn't play through. Today was just a different story."

Even if Hedges avoids the DL, it's a near certainty the Padres call up a catcher for some insurance before Tuesday's game. Raffy Lopez is the likeliest candidate.

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HE SAID IT "Gotta give the Giants credit. They battled to the end against one of the best closers in our game. That Buster Posey at-bat showed why he's Buster Posey." -- Ellis

UP NEXT ' return to the Padres has been a triumphant one. After missing 2016 with shoulder injuries and struggling for Texas in '17, he's regained his near-unhittable slider of old. He gets the ball Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. PT in San Francisco. The Giants counter with left-hander Andrew Suarez.

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Hedges forced to leave early with ailing elbow

AJ Cassavell MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Padres catcher Austin Hedges could be bound for the disabled list after he exited Monday's 6-5 loss to the Giants with tendinitis in his right elbow.

Following the game, the 25-year-old backstop said he had been dealing with a balky elbow for a short while. But it tightened on him Monday, forcing his exit in the bottom of the second inning.

"It hadn't been that tight," Hedges said. "I'd been dealing with it for a while now, but nothing that I couldn't play through. Today was just a different story."

Even if Hedges manages to avoid a DL stint, the Padres are likely to recall lefty-hitting catcher Raffy Lopezfor some insurance behind the plate. Lopez made the Opening Day roster but was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on the second day of the season. An offseason free-agent signing, Lopez is hitting .300/.372/.657 for the Chihuahuas this season.

As for Hedges, the 2018 campaign has been a grind from the start. Early in the year, he missed two games with tightness in his upper back. He's posted a .173/.235/.293 slash line.

Hedges didn't play Sunday, but he appeared to be turning a corner offensively with a promising three-hit night Saturday against the Mets. Despite his struggles at the plate, Hedges' defense has been stellar as usual.

"You couldn't watch a single Austin Hedges throw all year and discern there was anything wrong with his elbow," said Padres skipper Andy Green, who noted that Hedges hadn't informed the training staff of his ailment until Monday.

In Hedges' absence, the Padres are likely to turn to A.J. Ellis, who singled and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly Monday night. He's hitting .231 this season.. 30th, 2018

Ellis will almost certainly start Tuesday against the Giants, but Hedges noted the possibility that he could avoid a trip to the DL.

"I hope so," Hedges said. "Hopefully I wake up tomorrow and feel better. But that's about all I know right now."

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Paddack throws six scoreless in 2018 debut

In first start since July 2016, Padres' No. 22 prospect fires six scoreless

David Adler MLB.com

Chris Paddack had to wait a long time for this game -- and once he finally returned to the mound, he made the most of it.

The 22-year-old Padres right-hander, ranked the organization's No. 22 prospect by MLB Pipeline, had missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. On Monday, he took the field for his first start of 2018 with Advanced Lake Elsinore.

Paddack was lights-out. He threw six shutout innings to earn his first win of the year, allowing only three hits and striking out seven against Inland Empire, an Angels' affiliate. He threw 55 of his 75 pitches for strikes.

Paddack picked up right where he left off in 2016, when he was dominating in his first full professional season before suffering the forearm strain that led to his season-ending surgery.

At the time of his injury, Paddack had a 0.64 ERA in three starts with Class A Fort Wayne -- his first three starts in the San Diego organization, after the Padres acquired him from the Marlins for Fernando Rodneyat the end of June. He had been dominant with Miami to start the season, too, with a 0.95 ERA in six starts for its Class A team, Greensboro.

After his encouraging 2018 debut, Paddack's future continues to look bright. He can throw his fastball in the 92-95 mph range, and his is excellent, a plus-plus secondary pitch according to scouting reports. And his had been improving before his surgery, although there is still work to be done.

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Padres roll out Majors' speediest outfield

Margot, Cordero, Jankowski start together in opener vs. Giants

AJ Cassavell MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Manuel Margot, Franchy Cordero and Travis Jankowski are all center fielders. On top of that, they're all good defensive center fielders with elite range and elite speed.

On Monday night, in one of the Majors' most spacious outfields, all three were in the Padres' starting lineup. Jankowski played right and Cordero played left as the Padres opened a three-game series against the Giants. Along with Margot, they combined to make up one of the speediest outfields in the sport's history.

"It's pretty exciting to know we can be wrong on a scouting report, and they can make up the ground; they can make the scouting report or me, the positioner, look really good," said Padres outfield coach . "I haven't ever seen an outfield with this speed."

Consider sprint speed, a ™ metric designed to capture a player's top speed in his fastest one-second window during an all-out sprint -- whether on the bases or in the field.

Only 17 players have recorded an average sprint speed of 29.3 feet per second or better this year. Cordero (29.4) and Margot (29.3) are among them. Jankowski was recalled before Sunday's game and is making his first start, but in 2016, the last time he qualified, he posted a 29.6 mark.n. 18th, 2017

Should Jankowski remain constant, no other outfield in baseball boasts three players with so much speed. The Indians -- and -- have two at 29.3. But no team even has three averaging 28.3 ft/sec -- a full second slower than Margot's average. (The Marlins and White Sox are closest, with three players recording minimum sprint speeds of 28.2 ft/sec.)

All three Padres can tap the afterburners, too. Only the most elite speedsters have cracked 30 ft/sec at any point. The three San Diego outfielders have all done so on various occasions.

Margot was asked to rank the speed of the three starting outfielders Monday. Perhaps it was modesty (or maybe he's been checking the Statcast™ leaderboards), but he placed himself third, with Jankowski at No. 1.

"We've got a group of superstars out there," Margot said. "It's fun to play with these guys."

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Said manager Andy Green: "That's a good group to be the bronze medalist in."

So what does all of that speed mean for the Padres' outfield? It's obviously a boon to their team defense. But only Jankowski has reached the full defensive potential that his speed would suggest.Apr. 16th, 2017

Margot has made significant strides, but has work to do on balls at the wall and when he charges to make a throw. Cordero can improve in a handful of areas, most notably with his first step.

Still, given the speed, they're almost certain to have the gaps covered like no other outfield in baseball. That, of course, puts communication at a premium.

"Before each play, I'm looking where they are, so I understand how much distance they can cover, where I am in relation to where they are, what the gaps are looking like," Margot said. "I know the gaps are going to be covered."

With and Hunter Renfroe on the disabled list, the trio of Jankowski, Margot and Cordero will start together about half the time. (Jose Pirela is expected to shift between second and left).

Even though it's the first time they've graced the same lineup in the Majors, they have plenty of experience together.

"They have a really good feel for each other, whether it's the Minors, up and down [in the Majors] or Spring Training," Schumaker said. "That familiarity is going to help."

The speed will, too.

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Padres look to Ross in Game 2 vs. Giants

FOX Sports

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Bay Area native Tyson Ross hopes to beat the for the second time this season Tuesday night when he attempts to help the rebound from a tough loss in the opener of their three-game road series.

Padres rookie left-hander Eric Lauer was one out from celebrating his first major league win Monday night before the Giants rallied off San Diego closer Brad Hand for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a stunning, 6-5 victory.

Pinch-hitter Nick Hundley produced the seventh walk-off hit of his career when he smacked a two-out, two-run single off Hand to cap the rally and hand Giants reliever , who had pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, with his first big- league win.

Lauer, who was lifted for a in the sixth inning, did not get a decision.

The win was the Giants’ seventh in their last nine games and helped take some of the sting out of losing three of four to the Padres in San Diego earlier this season.

The Padres also tormented the Giants last season, winning the season series 12-7.

“They beat us up pretty good at their place,” Hundley said of the games in San Diego. “It’s good to beat them. We haven’t played well against them. We’re playing a lot better now.”

The win gave a positive ending to a day that began with news that Giants second baseman had undergone surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. He’s expected to be out at least six weeks.

The injury occurred while applying a tag Friday night at second base.

The Padres also got some bad news Monday when catcher Austin Hedges had to leave the game with tendinitis in his right elbow.

San Diego will turn to Ross (2-2, 3.64) in hopes of reversing their fortunes.

The native of Berkeley, about 20 miles east of San Francisco, was tough on the Giants when he faced them in San Diego in the earlier series. He allowed just one unearned run in six innings of a 5-1 win.

Winning in San Francisco has been more difficult for the 31-year-old, who has gone just 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA in six games (four starts) at AT&T Park.

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Overall, Ross has a 4-4 record and 3.24 ERA against the Giants in 11 games (nine starts).

The Giants will counter with left-hander Andrew Suarez (0-1, 6.75), who is being thrust into the role of sixth starter because San Francisco had to use two in a double-header against the Dodgers on Saturday.

Suarez will be making his second major league start, having allowed four runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings in a losing debut April 11 against Arizona.

He has never faced San Diego.

The Padres have struggled against left-handed starters this season, hitting just .217.

That figure would be a whole lot worse without rookie hotshot Christian Villanueva, who has bombed lefties for seven home runs with a .481 batting average in just 27 at-bats this season.

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Takeaways from the Padres’ 6-5 loss to the Giants

FOX Sports

SAN FRANCISCO– Nick Hundley lined a walk-off two run single off Brad Hand in the ninth inning, propelling the Giants to a 6-5 comeback win over the Padres.

The Giants improved to 15-14 while the Padres fell to 10-20.

Takeaways

Hand falters in the ninth

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Brad Hand was brought on to attempt a five out save.

He could only record four.

With two outs, Nick Hundley lined a walk-off two-run single in the ninth, capping a three- run inning from the Giants to secure the victory.

Hand was clearly struggling with his command from the start of his outing, leaving many pitches up in the strike zone. He got away with a few of them but it eventually caught up with the closer.

The result was a difficult loss for the visitors.

Eric Lauer rebounds from tough first inning

Six batters in to Eric Lauer’s outing, four batters had recorded hits and three runs had been pushed across. At the time, it certainly did not seem like the 22-year-old would last too long in his second MLB start.

However, the man who has a “low pulse” did not panic and allow the early damage to effect him. Following the rough first inning, Lauer threw four scoreless frames. He ended up throwing five innings in total, giving up seven hits and the aforementioned three runs. He also struck out seven and nearly recorded his first big league win.

Lauer still did not have his “best” stuff per say, but tonight was definitely a step in the right direction. His next start is scheduled to be against the in Mexico this weekend.

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Stepdad shows gay daughter he accepts her by texting photo from San Diego Padres Pride night

Teenager glad that her parents came around.

By Jim Buzinski

At one time in her teenage years, Alexys Mergy of San Diego broke off a relationship with a girl because her parents disapproved of her being a lesbian.

Those days are long in the past as Mergy, 19, learned Friday when her stepdad texted her a photo from the San Diego Padres vs. Mets game, which happened to be the Padres’ Pride night. Her stepdad even used a rainbow flag emoji in his text.

Mergy was thrilled and took to Twitter to express her delight.

Stepdad just sent me a picture of a pride flag at the padres baseball game. Feels good to know my parents finally accept that I'm gay.

Mergy told me that her parents “found a note that I was passing in class to my friends sophomore year of high school that was talking about my girlfriend at the time” and forbade her from seeing the girl.

She cut off the relationship and kept others secret through high school. But starting late last year, after she moved in with her current girlfriend, Annais, her parents came around and now lovingly accept their daughter for who she is. Her girlfriend is now considered a part of the family and it was cool that her stepdad joked that he wished the two young women were at the game instead of her brothers (“the dumb boys”).

Mergy has an interest in architectural engineering and is considering joining the Navy or Air Force, something she now can do as an openly gay person.

Baseball has long been a way to unite families and the Padres Pride night showed that once again.

“Annais and I felt that [my stepdad’s text] makes us feel truly apart of the family and that we’re loved for who we are and it feels good to know that,” Mergy said.

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Where there’s smoke: A concession stand, and the Padres, combust at AT&T Park

Dennis Lin

SAN FRANCISCO — The first pitch of Monday’s game here was less than three hours away when the warnings began. Lights flashed. An alarm blared. A message, played on loop, instructed those present to vacate the premises. Inside the visitors’ clubhouse, eyebrows were raised. Looks were exchanged. Yet no one bolted for an exit. The Padres carried on as if there were no fire at AT&T Park. (For that matter, so did the San Francisco Giants.) Within minutes, the warnings vanished. The problem — a smoky mishap at a concession stand — had been rectified. Six hours later, the Padres’ opening month of the season ended with a combustion on the mound. Old friend Nick Hundley cranked a bases-loaded single through the left side of the infield. The Giants vacated their dugout to celebrate a 6-5, walk-off victory. Brad Hand trudged off the field after 37 pitches. Aside from the eight defenders who joined him, it was a lonely walk. No one had been up in the bullpen. Hand’s attempt at a five-out save had gone up in smoke. “It was one of those situations where you’re living with him or you’re dying with him,” Andy Green said. “It didn’t work tonight.” The Padres manager’s decisions these last few weeks have invited greater scrutiny than before. This is Green’s third season in charge. The roster no longer includes three Rule 5 draftees. No one is anticipating a playoff berth, but the club is fielding more accomplished baseball players than it had the last two years. Improvement is a fair expectation. After one month, the Padres are 10-20, on pace for more than 100 losses. And yet, there continue to be extenuating circumstances. In August, the Padres gave a manager with a 119-159 record a three-year extension. It was both an endorsement of his capabilities and an acknowledgment that this franchise remained a long way from relevance. That reality still applies. To date this year, Green has not enjoyed the benefit of a full complement of pieces. He has contended with a MASH unit. On Sunday, the Padres placed right fielder Wil Myers on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. On Monday, they saw another key regular succumb to injury. Starting catcher Austin Hedges exited after a second-inning at-bat with right elbow tendinitis. After the game, he spoke in somber tones.

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Unbeknownst to Green, Hedges had been playing with what he characterized as mild elbow tightness. He awoke with a more severe feeling. “It was just really tight today when I got to the yard,” Hedges said. “…It hadn’t been that tight [before Monday]. I’d been dealing with it for a while now, but nothing that I couldn’t play through. Today was just a different story.” Hedges will be re-evaluated Tuesday. A.J. Ellis replaced him Monday and ushered rookie Eric Lauer, after a three-run first, through four scoreless innings. It was a fine job, but Ellis is 37. Late Monday, the Padres were set to recall a catcher from Triple A. Raffy Lopez, who has homered in four consecutive games, is the top candidate. Whether he winds up on the DL or not, Hedges will be examined and sidelined Tuesday; his right arm is a prized weapon. Hand, who continues to be a trade asset, also should be unavailable. A thrashing precipitated Monday’s meltdown. In Sunday’s 14-2 loss to the , newcomer Bryan Mitchell posted the kind of line that already has become old. After 4 2/3 innings, Green called on what had been a mostly reliable bullpen. wound up throwing 45 pitches. threw 25. Kazuhisa Makita threw 38. was summoned for garbage time. The quartet combined to allow 10 runs. Against the Giants, the dominos aligned more favorably. Lauer recovered from a strenuous beginning to keep San Francisco off balance. The Padres shook a 3-0 deficit and took a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Lauer, making his second career start, was in line for a win. preserved the lead with a scoreless inning. Yates preserved the lead with a scoreless inning. Craig Stammen took the hill in the eighth, induced a fly out and allowed a double, bringing a left-handed hitter to the plate. Brandon Crawford was 4-for-7 lifetime against Stammen. Green countered by bringing a rested Hand into the game. The closer recorded two outs on four pitches, ending the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, however, his typically dastardly slider deserted him. He could not throw it for a strike. He clipped Austin Slater in the foot. He managed to strike out a pair of batters, even as pitch count soared. Buster Posey worked a 10-pitch walk. Evan Longoria dumped a single into left field against a no-doubles defense. Hand walked the bases loaded. The bullpen did not so much as stir; there was no one in it. Robbie Erlin was the only reliever who hadn’t thrown in 36 hours, and the long man had supplied two innings on Saturday. Hand looked gassed, but several of his fellow teammates already had been exhausted. “There’s not a ton of options that are even going to be better than Brad with his fastball,” Green said. “We’ve gone through Yates, we’ve gone through Stammen, we’ve gone through Cimber. Brad’s our best choice right there, in my estimation. Even just with the fastball, you trust that he could locate it.”

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That did not work particularly well, either. Hand, who seems to grow more effective with more work, looked affected by rust. “I felt good. I just had a tough time getting a feel for the slider,” Hand said. “I wasn’t able to throw it for strikes when I needed to, I fell behind in quite a few [at-bats]. “It’s baseball. You’re going to go through long stretches where you don’t pitch for a while, and you’re going to go through stretches where you’re out there all the time. It’s nice to get those days off when you can. I just didn’t have it today.” Through one month, the Padres have faced one of baseball’s more challenging schedules and endured more injuries than most. There have been unforeseen positives amid a putrid record. Christian Villanueva, Franchy Cordero, Joey Lucchesi and Cimber come to mind. But the Padres have not fielded a complete roster for long, making informed evaluations more difficult. Yet, before their top prospects arrive, it is fallacious to expect sustained periods of good health. Injuries are a constant in this game, and other clubs have their own dings and dents; San Francisco will be without second baseman Joe Panik for at least six weeks after thumb surgery. “Gotta give the Giants credit,” Ellis said. “They battled to the end against one of the best closers in our game. That Buster Posey at-bat showed why he’s Buster Posey.” Through one month, the Padres have shown they are a 10-20 team with extenuating circumstances. Then again, every team has those.

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This Day in Padres History — May 1 By Bill Center

May 1, 1993 — Right fielder Tony Gwynn and third baseman Gary Sheffieldeach has four hits as the Padres defeat the Mets at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Gwynn is 4- for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Sheffield is 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs.

May 1, 2001 — Third baseman Phil Nevin and catcher each drive in four runs in the Padres 10–3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Nevin hit a homer. Davis had a three-run homer.

May 1, 2006 — The Padres acquired catcher and Cla Meredith from Boston for catcher Doug Mirabelli.

May 1, 2007 — Right-handed pitchers and Trevor Hoffmancombine on a three-hit shutout as the Padres defeat Washington 3–0 at . Young allowed three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. Hoffman struck out one in a perfect ninth.

May 1, 2008 — Founding Padres president and Padres Hall of Fame member E.J. “Buzzie” Bavasi dies in San Diego at the age of 93. Bavasi’s lobbying was instrumental in convincing owners to grant San Diego an expansion franchise in 1968. He then built the franchise from the ground up.

May 1, 2012 — hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth and right-handers Edinson Volquez, and Houston Street combined on a three-hit shutout as the Padres defeat Milwaukee 2–0 at Petco Park.

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#PadresOnDeck: RHP Chris Paddack Allows No Runs in Debut; Logan Allen, Jankowski Honored By Bill Center

On a day when two more Padres’ minor leaguers earned Player of the Week honors in their respective leagues, Chris Paddack became the story of the Padre in the San Diego system.

The 22-year-old, right-handed pitcher allowed no runs on three hits and no walks with seven strikeouts over six innings in his debut with Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore.

It was Paddack’s first outing since he had “Tommy John” elbow reconstruction surgery in 2016 shortly after the Padres acquired him from the Florida Marlins in exchange for closer Fernando Rodney.

Despite the surgery, Paddack is still ranked the Padres’ №22 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Paddack originally was an eight-round draft pick of the Marlins out of Cedar Park High in Austin, Texas.

Prior to being injured, Paddack had a 0.64 average in three starts for Single-A Fort Wayne in 2016. He had 23 strikeouts in 14 innings with a 1.00 WHIP.

Meanwhile, outfielder Travis Jankowski was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for April 23–29 before being recalled by the Padres and left-hander Logan Allen was named Pitcher of the Week in the Texas League.

Five Padres prospects have earned Player of the Week honors in the first three weeks of the minor league season.

Jankowski had five multi-hit games in as many starts last week for Triple-A El Paso and reached base four times in two of those games. The 26-year-old was 12-for-17 last week for El Paso with a double, a homer, five, four RBIs and five runs scored. He hit .706 with a .783 on-base percentage and a .941 slugging percentage for a 1.724 OPS.

Allen, 20, was 1–0 with a 1.38 in two starts for Double-A San Antonio last week. He allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings. Allen — who was acquired along with Manuel Margot, and Javy Guerra from Boston in the 2015 trade for closer — is 3–1 with a 3.14 ERA

36 in five starts for the Missions.Opposing Texas League hitters are batting .229 against Allen.

More Monday performances by leading prospects:

— Center fielder Buddy Reed, 23, was 3-for-4 with his fifth homer, a walk, his 13th and two runs scored for Lake Elsinore to raise his batting average to .366.

— Right fielder Jorge Oña, 21, the Padres’ №17 prospect, was 3-for-5 for the Storm with a double and a triple with two runs scored and two RBIs to raise his batting average to .293.

— First baseman Josh Naylor, 20, the Padres’ №15 prospect, was 2-for-4 for San Antonio to raise his batting average to .379.

— Second baseman Luis Urías, 20, the Padres’ №3 prospect, was 2-for-4 with a double a walk and a run scored for Triple-A El Paso. In two games back with the Chihuahuas after returning from a minor leg injury, Urías has reached base eight times in 10 plate appearances to raise his batting average to .307.

There were a pair of moves in the Padres’ system Monday. Right-handed reliever Robert Stock was promoted from San Antonio to El Paso. Right-handed reliever Gerardo Reyes was promoted from Lake Elsinore to San Antonio.

Around the Farm:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (16–9): Reno 8, CHIHUAHUAS 6–3B Diego Goris (.390) was 4-for- 5 with a stolen base, a triple and a run scored. C Raffy Lopez (.300) was 2-for-3 with his seventh homer, two walks and two RBIs. 1B Brett Nicholas (.329) hit his eighth homer in four at-bats with three RBIs and a run scored. LF Cory Spangenberg (.267) was 2-for-6 with a triple and a run scored. Starting RHP Chris Huffman (3.90 ERA) allowed six runs on 10 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in five innings. RHP (1–1, 8.10 ERA) allowed a run on two hits with three strikeouts in an inning to suffer the loss. RHP Jonathan Aro (5.93) allowed a run on three hits with a strikeout in two innings. RHP Robert Stock struck out two in a perfect inning in his first outing since being promoted from Double-A.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (14–10): Midland 4, MISSIONS 3 — Starting LHP Jerry Keel (3.95 ERA) allowed one run on two hits with five strikeouts over seven innings. LHP (6.00) allowed two runs on two hits with a strikeout in an inning. RHP (1–1, 4.86) allowed a run on four hits and a strikeout in an inning to take the loss.

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1B Kyle Overstreet (.273) was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs. C Austin Allen (.364) had a double in three at-bats with a walk and a run scored. 2B River Stevens (.265) and LF Rod Boykin (.211) were each 1-for-4.

ADVANCED SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (10–15): Storm 6, INLAND EMPIRE 1 — RHP David Bednar (8.18 ERA) followed Paddack and allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk with a strikeout in two innings. RHP (3.29) allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth. Offensively, 2B Eguy Rosario (.284) backed Reed and Ona, going 2-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases and two RBIs. C Marcus Greene Jr. (.214) was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. 1B Hudson Potts (.264) was 0-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, a RBI and a run scored.

SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (10–14): The TinCaps had Monday off.

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