Padres Press Clips Sunday, May 28, 2017

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With on DL, gets first UT San Diego Lin 2 call-up

Josh Naylor dominating in return to Cal League UT San Diego Sanders 4

Pickoff perfectionist Richard utilizing move MLB.com Cassavell 6

Richard solid, but hitting woes persist in loss MLB.com Collier/Cassavell 8

Padres call up Cordero for center field duty MLB.com Cassavell 11

Chacin looks for course correction on road MLB.com Melnick 13

Stephen Strasburg K's career-high 15, Nats down Padres Associated Press AP 14 3-0

Padres place Manuel Margot on DL ESPN.com ESPN NEWS 16

Andy’s Address, 5/27 Friar Wire Center 17

This Day in Padres History, 5/27 Friar Wire Center 19

Padres On Deck: RHP Nix Makes Solid 2017 Debut for Friar Wire Center 20 Single-A Lake Elsinore

Happy Birthday to the Padres! NBC 7 Togerson 22

Strasburg Stymies Padres NBC 7 Togerson 23

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With Manuel Margot on DL, Franchy Cordero gets first call-up Dennis Lin

With Manuel Margot landing on the disabled list Saturday, the Padres gave another 22-year-old center fielder his first promotion to the majors, recalling Franchy Cordero from -A El Paso.

Cordero, originally signed for $175,000 in 2011, arrived in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park wearing a broad grin.

“Just really, really excited,” the Dominican native said through an interpreter. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid. I didn’t really even have words when (El Paso ) told me the news.”

Cordero was not in Saturday’s lineup, but he is expected to be the primary center fielder in Margot’s absence. In 42 games with El Paso, the 6-foot-3 prospect showed an intriguing combination of power and speed, hitting .289 with seven home runs and eight steals.

His major league debut came in the form of an unenviable matchup in the seventh inning Saturday. Pinch-hitting against ace , Cordero struck out on four pitches. Manager said after the game that Cordero will start Sunday’s series finale.

“While Franchy’s here, it’ll largely be his opportunity,” Green said. “Other guys will play (center field) — he won’t be out there 10 straight days. But he’s going to play and play consistently. We brought him here to get a look at him and felt like he was earning that opportunity with what he’s done.

“He’s an athletic guy that, moving around the field, he’s going to look every part a major leaguer.”

A major league opportunity had not always been assured. Cordero’s development a snag after he reached full-season ball; the then- displayed excellent power potential but was plagued by and defensive miscues.

In 2016, after a full-time move to the outfield, he re-emerged as a name to watch, posting a .290/.344/.450 slash line across three levels. In Cactus League action this spring, he impressed while playing alongside major leaguers.

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“I think it was really big,” Cordero said. “I was able to see major league pitching. I was able to see the best competition. Once I went down to Triple-A, I took that same approach I had in that brought some success and applied it down there.”

Margot’s stint on the 10-day DL is retroactive to May 25, but there is no timetable for his return. The rookie tweaked his right calf May 23, and has been diagnosed with a strained soleus muscle.

“He’s just sore right now,” Green said. “We’ll take about four or five days, keep the workload really minimal, not do much at all. After that, see how he progresses.”

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Josh Naylor dominating in return to Cal League Jeff Sanders The marching orders were simple when the Padres sent Josh Naylor back to the : Dominate.

Save for a two-week spell on the disabled list, the 19-year-old first baseman is doing just that in his second go-round with high Single-A Lake Elsinore.

The upside return in the trade, Naylor has not only pushed his batting average to .329 — good for second in the league — the 6-foot, 225-pound left-handed hitter has begun to tap into prodigious power potential he flashed with homers to left and right center at last fall in the Padres Futures Game.

After managing just three homers in 33 games last year with the Storm, Naylor has homered six times through his first 38 games, his .535 is nearly 100 points above his career rate and his on-base percentage is at a career-high .385.

One key, Lake Elsinore hitting Raul Padron said, is staying on the and staying in hitter’s counts.

“He’s in the strike zone,” Padron said. “He’s doing a tremendous job with pitch selection. That’s huge for him. When he’s consistently getting ahead in the count – 3-1, 2-0, 2-1 – he’s going to see a fastball and that’s the pitch he wants.”

The facial fractures Naylor sustained when a pickoff throw struck him in the face in late April have proved a scary but minor hiccup to date.

He is hitting .368/.429/.544 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 15 games since his injury-induced layoff, as his decision to stand in on while on the disabled list went a long way toward maintaining his timing up his return.

“He’s one of those kids who likes to work,” Padron said. “Not only that, he works hard and puts in quality work.”

AROUND THE FARM

 El Paso (AAA): UT Jose Pirela’s 10 HRs through 39 games has already matched a career-high. He is hitting .313/.377/.578 with 29 RBIs and seven steals  San Antonio (AA): RHP Michael Kelly (4-1, 2.59) has his scoreless inning streak to 21. He leads the system with 57 strikeouts.  Lake Elsinore (A+): RHP Jacob Nix made his 2017 debut Friday night after a groin injury kept him in extended spring training. He struck out five and allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings. 4

 Fort Wayne (A): LHP Jerry Keel was promoted to the Texas League after going 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA, 50 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP in 48 2/3 innings at Fort Wayne.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS (Through Friday; min. 80 at-bats, 25 innings pitched)

 Batting average: .370 – OF Nick Buss (AAA)  On-base percentage: .427 – INF Luis Urias (AA)  Homers: 10 – UT Jose Pirela (AAA)  Total bases: 90 – OF Franchy Cordero (AAA)  RBIs: 35 – 1B Josh Naylor (A+)  Steals: 14 – 2B Eguy Rosario (A)  Wins: 5 – RHP Andrew Lockett (AAA)  ERA: 0.69 – RHP Gerardo Reyes (A+)  WHIP: 0.91 – RHP Rafael De Paula (AA)  Saves: 8 – RHP Phil Maton (AAA)  Strikeouts: 57 – RHP Michael Kelly (AA)  SO/W: 7.75 – RHP Zech Lemond (A+)

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Pickoff perfectionist Richard utilizing move By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | May 27th, 2017

WASHINGTON -- On the mound, is a perfectionist. That much holds true, even when he isn't throwing to the plate.

The owner of one of the best pickoff moves in baseball, Richard again put it on full display Saturday afternoon, nabbing two over-aggressive Nationals baserunners in the bottom of the fifth inning in Saturday's 3-0 loss in D.C.

As a sinkerballer who pitches to contact, Richard knows he's going to have traffic on the bases often -- in fact, no has allowed more singles this season. Richard also knows it's especially important that those runners stay where they are, keeping the play in order.

"Typically, I get a lot of balls put in play on the ground," said Richard, who allowed three runs over six innings Saturday. "If we're able to keep guys at first and not let them get out of the way, it helps us, keeps us at a competitive advantage."

With his two pickoffs on Saturday, Richard now has 31 over his nine-year career. He's especially adept at varying his move to first base against speedier runners.

Trea Turner opened the fifth by singling to left field, a perilous situation for any hurler. Twice, Richard lifted his leg high and slowly before throwing over. The third time, Turner broke for second on Richard's first move and likely would have been safe had Richard repeated the first two throws.

"If he goes the slow leg kick with Turner over there, he'll be standing on second base on the pickoff," said Padres manager Andy Green. "He was cognizant of that and did a good job of getting it over there quickly."

With his third throw over, Richard executed more of a slide step, getting the ball out of his hand just quickly enough for first baseman and second baseman to play catch.

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"It's just about mixing up the looks to keep them off-balance," said Richard. "He's an extremely good baserunner. You can't do the same thing and expect to keep him at a base. You just mix it up, keep him from being comfortable."

Richard was even more pleased with his second pick of the frame, which came at an especially opportune moment. With runners on first and second, he made a subtle inside move toward second base. Jayson Werth had already broken for third and was caught in no-man's land.

"It's something I've taken a point to work on, because that changes so many things," Richard said. "When a guy moves from second to third, it changes the dynamic of our defense. We might have to move guys in. It puts us out of position. I've definitely taken note of that and tried to get better with that."

By no means was Richard at his best on Saturday. He allowed a third-inning run on a fielder's choice and two in the sixth on Michael Taylor's second homer in as many nights.

But his perfectionist mindset paid dividends once again, as he managed to limit the damage and keep his team within striking distance.

"I don't think it was his best stuff out there, but he kept the ball down, got a lot of ground balls, got above barrels with his fastball a few times," Green said. "Through the whole day, he got out of some dicey situations. Just the pitch up to Taylor got hit out of the ballpark -- outside of that, he was pretty good."

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Richard solid, but hitting woes persist in loss

By Jamal Collier and AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | May 27th, 2017

WASHINGTON -- In one of the most dominant outings of his career, Stephen Strasburg racked up a career-high 15 strikeouts Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park as he led the Nationals to a 3-0 victory against the Padres. Strasburg had command of all of his pitches and mixed them all into different counts, which flummoxed San Diego's offense for the entire game, as he surrendered just three hits in seven brilliant innings.

"I think the fact that you will go to any one of those pitches keeps them off any single one," Strasburg said. "So that's just a part of pitching, keeping them off balance, changing speeds, keep them guessing."

He also scored Washington's first run in the third inning, sliding in safely at the plate after a diving stop by Yangervis Solarte at first base on Bryce Harper's grounder. Michael Taylor added a two-run homer in the sixth to provide the offense before Koda Glover secured the for the second consecutive game. The Nationals will go for a sweep on Sunday.

The Padres received a strong outing from left-hander Clayton Richard, who, despite giving up 10 hits, limited the Nats to three runs thanks to five strikeouts and a pair of timely pickoffs on the basepaths. But the San Diego offense never threatened much against Strasburg, outside of a busy first inning in which he loaded the bases. Strasburg escaped by whiffing Austin Hedges to end the frame -- after striking out looking with a filthy breaking pitch two batters earlier.

"We had him on the ropes the first inning," Padres manager Andy Green said. "We had the opportunity with the bases loaded, weren't able to cash in. The 3-2 breaking ball he threw backdoor to Schimpf was probably the biggest pitch of the game. We were sitting in that situation with an opportunity to get ahead early. Sometimes, with the best in the game, if you don't get them in the first three innings, they become harder and harder to get to. We had our chance there in the first, we didn't take advantage of it."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Strasburg strikes out 15: Strasburg had reached 14 strikeouts in a game twice in his career -- during his Major League debut in 2010 and in September '15 -- but he had never exceeded the mark. But facing his final batter of the night in the seventh, Strasburg recorded his 15th against Padres

8 outfielder Franchy Cordero, the team's No. 23 prospect as rated by MLBPipeline, who was making his Major League debut.

"It's pretty cool, but there's another game five, six days from now," Strasburg said. "So maybe I"ll enjoy it tonight, but back to work tomorrow."

Taylor homers again: Taylor gave the Nationals some much needed breathing room in the sixth inning off Richard, launching a two-run homer to extend Washington's lead. Taylor has homered in consecutive games for the first time since 2015 as he continues to stay hot at the plate since taking over as the the Nats' starting center fielder. He is hitting .315 with five doubles, two triples and four homers since went on the disabled list with a torn ACL.

"Just trying to stay in my zone, stick to my approach," Taylor said. "Not try to do too much. My swing gets long when I'm thinking about driving the ball out of the ballpark. Just take my singles and look for my pitch."

QUOTABLE "Strasburg 15 strikeouts, career high, Michael Taylor swinging the bat well, big two-run homer. I haven't done anything, which is great." -- Nationals bench coach , who is filling in as the Nats manager while attends his son's high school graduation

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS and Strasburg are the first pair of teammates with consecutive 13-strikeout games since Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco did it for the Indians against the Rays in July 2015.

"I know when you have those types of combinations, they feed off each other," Speier said. "There's a little competitiveness within the starting pitchers that is very healthy. Somebody comes in and throws well, and the next guy wants to throw well today. It's a win-win for us."

Strasburg's 15 strikeouts Saturday are tied for the fourth most in a single game in Nationals history.

YOUTH IS SERVED The Padres' young lineup has been on the wrong end of baseball's last three 14-plus-strikeout games by a starting pitcher. Dan Straily whiffed them 14 times earlier this season, and Jon Gray racked up 16 last September.

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After Saturday's game, Green spoke about his desire for the young hitters in his lineup to work better battle at-bats when they're down in the count.

"You talk a lot about two-strike approach and finding a 'B' hack where you put the ball in play and you spread out, choke up, whatever it is you have to do to put the ball in play," Green said. "The reality is guys haven't done that often. ... Then you're outside of your comfort zone, because that hasn't been your habit as you've come through the Minor League system."

UPON FURTHER REVIEW In the bottom of the third inning, the Nationals challenged a force out on a double-play grounder, arguing that shortstop Erick Aybar did not touch second base after receiving the relay before throwing to first. After review, the call on the field stood, and the inning was over.

WHAT'S NEXT Padres: Jhoulys Chacin has struggled immensely away from Petco Park this season, posting a 10.94 ERA in six road starts (compared with a 0.67 mark at home). He'll look to turn that around Sunday, when the Padres face the Nationals at 10:35 a.m. PT.

Nationals: takes the mound for Sunday's series finale against the Padres at 1:35 p.m. ET. Ross is coming off his best outing of the year when he threw eight innings of one-run ball.

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Padres call up Cordero for center field duty

By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | May 27th, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Franchy Cordero arrived at the visiting clubhouse in Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday and noticed his name wasn't anywhere to be found on the lineup card.

"It seemed a little weird," Cordero said through a Padres interpreter. "Then [El Paso manager] Rod Barajas called me to his office and told me that I'd gotten the call and was going to the big leagues. ... I was just really, really excited. It's something I've dreamed about since I was a kid. I didn't really even have words."

Indeed, the Padres recalled Cordero, their No. 23 prospect, on Saturday as a replacement for injured center fielder Manuel Margot. In 42 games with Triple-A El Paso, Cordero was hitting .289 with an .869 OPS and seven homers. With Margot (strained right calf) on the disabled list, Cordero will see the bulk of the playing time in center field.

Cordero wasn't in the starting lineup Saturday, but made his Major League debut as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of the Padres' 3-0 loss. He struck out against Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg.

"It'll largely be his opportunity," said Padres manager Andy Green. "Other guys will play there -- he won't be out there 10 straight days. But he's going to play and play consistently. We brought him here to get a look at him and felt like he was earning that opportunity with what he's done."

Cordero earned his callup with an impressive response to some early struggles at Triple-A. He's hitting .351/.413/.543 in May, raising his average by 74 points in the process.

The lanky 22-year-old signed with the Padres in November of 2011, making him one of the organization's longest-tenured players. He signed as a shortstop, but made a full-time conversion to the outfield last year. In that regard, his skills aren't quite honed in center. But the club feels he makes up for his relative inexperience with his instincts and athleticism.

Cordero turned plenty of heads during Spring Training with his aggressive approach at the plate. He remained with the big league club until the penultimate week of camp, an experience he said proved invaluable.

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"It was really big," Cordero said. "I was able to see Major League pitching. I was able to see the best competition. Once I went down to Triple-A, I took that same approach I had in Spring Training that brought some success and applied it down there."

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Chacin looks for course correction on road

By Kyle Melnick / MLB.com | May 27th, 2017

Joe Ross will aim to prove his breakout start on Tuesday wasn't a fluke as the Nationals look to sweep their three-game series against the Padres on Sunday afternoon.

After spending about three weeks in the Minor Leagues to fix his arm slot and velocity, Ross allowed one run in eight innings during the Nationals' 10-1 win over the Mariners on Tuesday, resembling the pitcher who recorded a 3.43 ERA last season after an inconsistent start this year. He'll face another struggling offense Sunday, as the Padres have the lowest batting average in the Majors.

Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, meanwhile, will look to contain a Nationals offense that leads the league in almost every category. While Chacin has been effective at home this season -- surrendering just two runs in 27 innings at Petco Park -- he's been a different pitcher on the road. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound righty has notched a 10.94 ERA in six starts away from San Diego since signing with the team during the offseason. In his last start at the Mets, Chacin lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing seven runs.

Three things to know about this game

• Padres outfielder has 15 barrels on the season, but six of them have come just in the last nine days. Since May 18, he's tied for the second-most barrels in Majors (six). His on May 24 against the Mets was his hardest-hit and longest homer in the Statcast era, with an exit velocity of 110.2 mph and a distance of 440 feet. Prior to May 19, Renfroe was hitting .214/.271/.416.

• Nationals first baseman is 5-for-16 with two home runs and five RBIs in his career against Chacin. At 32 years old, Zimmerman is having one of his best seasons, holding the second-best batting average in the Majors (.365). However, he's hitting 14-for-59 (.237) since May 7.

• In his last three starts against the Nationals, Chacin has allowed a combined two runs in 18 innings pitched.

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Stephen Strasburg K's career-high 15, Nats down Padres 3-0 Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg downplayed any notion that starting pitchers on the same team attempt to top each other. On the mound one day after Max Scherzer overwhelmed the , Strasburg did just that.

The right-hander dominated San Diego with a career-high 15 strikeouts while allowing three hits over seven innings as the Washington Nationals beat the Padres 3-0 on Saturday.

Strasburg (6-1) singled and scored Washington's first run on Bryce Harper's RBI fielder's choice grounder in the third inning. Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run homer for the second consecutive game.

San Diego's lineup offered little resistance against Strasburg the day after Scherzer struck out 13 in Washington's 5-1 win.

"Piece of cake, huh,?" cracked Chris Speier, who is serving as acting manager while Dusty Baker is away this weekend to attend his son Darren's high school graduation in California.

In the two losses, San Diego had six hits and struck out 31 times (17 on Saturday).

"I know when you have those type of combinations," Speier said of Strasburg and Scherzer, "they feed off each other. There's a little competitiveness within the starting pitchers that is very healthy. ... It's win-win for us."

With four pitches working, Strasburg struck out the side in the third and sixth and had at least two strikeouts in each of the first six innings. His single matched the Padres' hit total through five innings.

Strasburg previously struck out 14 batters in a game twice, including his Major League debut on June 8, 2010. He set a personal best by setting down Franchy Cordero in the seventh.

"It's pretty cool, but there's another game five, six days from now," said the low-key pitcher. "Maybe I'll enjoy it tonight, but back to work tomorrow."

The San Diego native is 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA in his career against his hometown team.

Matt Albers pitched the eighth and Koda Glover the ninth for his fifth save.

Padres starter Clayton Richard (3-6) followed up his complete-game victory over the Diamondbacks on May 21 by allowing three runs and 10 hits in six innings.

One out after 's leadoff single in the sixth, Taylor drove a pitch over the wall in center field for his fourth homer of the season. 14

"You stay in a one-run game, momentum's different," a frustrated Richard stated. "We have a different attitude, it changes a lot of things."

Washington has won two straight and five of six.

San Diego is 5-13 since May 9.

San Diego loaded the bases with one out in the first on a single, a throwing error by first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and Cory Spangenberg's four-pitch walk. Strasburg ended the threat by striking out Austin Hedges on three pitches.

The Padres had two singles in the sixth, but Strasburg recorded strikeouts for the final two outs.

"Sometimes with the best pitchers in the game, if you don't get them in the first three innings they get harder and harder to get to," Padres manager Andy Green said. "We had our chance in the first we didn't take advantage of it."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: OF Manuel Margot was placed on the 10-day DL on Saturday retroactive to May 25 with a strained right calf. San Diego's primary center fielder left Wednesday's game with calf soreness and was in a walking boot ahead of Friday's series opener. Cordero was called up from Triple-A El Paso. The outfielder made his major league debut by striking out as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Nationals: 2B Daniel Murphy was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game. Speier said Murphy was dealing with an illness but was available if needed.

FITS LIKE A GLOVER

Washington entered Saturday tied for the NL lead with nine blown saves. Glover entered the past two games with save opportunities and converted both. Recently moved into the closer role, Glover has pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts since being reinstated from the DL on May 12.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (4-4, 5.74) is 2-4 with a 10.94 ERA in six road starts this season.

Nationals: RHP Joe Ross (2-0, 5.32) allowed one run and five hits in eight innings on May 23 against Seattle for his second victory.

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Padres place Manuel Margot on DL

ESPN.com news services

The San Diego Padres have placed center fielder Manuel Margot on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right calf.

Margot's DL stint, retroactive to Thursday, comes after he left Wednesday's win over the and was seen in a walking boot the next day.

The Padres' leadoff hitter, Margot is batting .259 this season with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

To replace Margot, the Padres recalled rookie outfielder Franchy Cordero from Triple-A El Paso.

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Andy’s Address, 5/27 Andy addresses Cordero call-up and Margot’s trip to the disabled list

By Bill Center

As expected, the Padres put center fielder Manuel Margot on the 10-day disabled list Saturday morning due to a calf strain.

The Padres promoted center fielder Franchy Cordero from Triple-A El Paso. Cordero, 22, is rated the Padres №23 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He was hitting .289 for the Chihuahuas with a .349 on-base percentage and a .520 slugging percentage for a .869 OPS. Cordero had five doubles, seven triples, seven homers and eight steals.

“Cordero made a really favorable impression on all of us in spring training,” said Padres manager Andy Green during Saturday’s pre-game media briefing. “I thought it was a great spring training. He made hard contact. The batting average was not there. When he hits a baseball, he hits it hard. It’s exciting to see in a young guy.

“It’s a live bat, it’s an athletic body. He looks the physical part. He’s been having a really good stretch in May at Triple-A. He started slow in April. May has been a completely different story. He’s going to play a lot while he’s here. He had a really brutal travel day getting in here today, so I thought it best to giving him a batting practice day before starting him tomorrow.”

“He’s going to be ready to go and play a lot. While Franchy is here, center field is largely going to be his. Other guys will play there. He won’t do 10 straight days or anything like that. But he’s going to play and play consistently. We brought him here to get a look at him. We felt he was earning that opportunity with what he’s done. He has 12 hits in his last six games with four or five walks in his last four games.”

“He’s been doing a lot of things we’ll be looking for him to do. He’s been in the lead-off slot a lot. I’m not sure where we’ll hit him in the lineup. All that will change as time unfolds. He’s an athletic guy. Moving around the field, he’s going to look every part a Major Leaguer”.

Of Margot, Green said: “He’s just sore. We’ll take four or five days and keep the workload really minimal. After that see how he progresses. There is no real time table. We hope it’s not long.”

Green then discussed Saturday’s matchup between the Padres’ Clayton Richard and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg. 17

“Clayton has tackled challenges his entire life,” said Green. “He doesn’t shy away from anything. Obviously, they have good hitters in their order. He’s going to have to sink the ball well and get beneath bats . . . and go above them at times. I know he is ready for it.”

“Clayton knows what he wants to do. He gets on the mound and is ready to go. He slows down a little bit with runners on base. He has a tendency to throw over some and hold runners on better than most pitchers in the league. When he’s in the wind up, he wants to work quickly.”

“Hopefully, we’ll have more competitive at bats against Strasburg than we had yesterday. A lot of that attributable to how good (Max) Scherzer was yesterday. You hope to catch Strasburg on a day when he’s not quite as sharp. For us the challenge is real. He’s going to be in the strike zone with all his pitches. Both are power righties, but there is definitely a variance.”

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This Day in Padres History, 5/27 May 27, the day the Padres were born, sold

By Bill Center

May 27, 1968 — The day the Major League Padres were born. San Diego financier C. Arnholt Smith was awarded a expansion franchise for a price of $10.2 million. Montreal was the unanimous choice for the first of two National League expansion teams. San Diego was chosen as the second site on the 18th ballot over Buffalo, Milwaukee and Dallas. Buzzie Bavasi becomes the founding Padres president.

May 27, 1973 — Padres owner C. Arnholt Smith agrees to sell the Padres to Washington, D.C., supermarket magnate Joseph Danzansky.

May 27, 1983 — Right-hander Eric Show pitches a complete-game, two-hit shutout in the Padres’ 4–0 win over the New York Mets at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Show walks three and strikes out five.

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Padres On Deck: RHP Nix Makes Solid 2017 Debut for Single-A Lake Elsinore Guerra, Gettys, Naylor, Giron all have multi-hit games for the Storm

By Bill Center

Right-hander Jacob Nix made his long-awaited 2017 debut Friday night for Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore.

The 21-year-old Nix, rated the Padres’ fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings in the Storm’s 9–2 victory over Visalia in Lake Elsinore.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander, who was the Padres’ third-round pick in the 2015 draft after failing to sign with Houston a year earlier, had been sidelined since spring training with a combination hip/groin muscular injury.

Nix was back offensively by resurgent shortstop Javier Guerra, who continued his recent hot streak going 2-for-5 with his third homer for four RBIs. Guerra, 21, the Padres’ 24th-ranked prospect, raised his batting average to .211.

Nix and Guerra weren’t the only top-30 prospects starring for the Storm Friday night.

№11 Michael Gettys raised his batting average to .251. The center fielder was 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.

Designated hitter Josh Naylor, the Padres’ 13th-ranked prospect, was 2-for-4 with a double, his sixth homer, three RBIs and two runs scored to raise his batting average to .329.

And Ruddy Giron, the Padres’ 26th-rated prospect, was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and two runs scored. He is hitting .222.

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Also, second baseman Chris Baker (.229) was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Auston Bousfield (.256) was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and three runs scored. Right fielder Yuniet Flores (.260) was 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI.

Left-hander Thomas Dorminy (4.09 ) allowed three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Right-hander Jose Ruiz (6.28) issued a walk in an otherwise 1 1/3 perfect innings. Right-hander Colby Blueberg (2.10) allowed a hit and a walk with three strikeouts in a scoreless inning.

There were several moves in the Padres system Friday.

Left-handed pitcher Jerry Keel was promoted from Single-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio and left-handed pitcher Kyle McGrath was activated from the Missions disabled list. Right-handed pitchers Adrian De Horta and Wilmer Torres were transferred from San Antonio to extended spring training.

Around the Farm:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (23–26): SALT LAKE 8, Chihuahuas 6: Salt Lake scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth against the Chihuahuas to win. Starting RHP Matt Magill (3.97 ERA) allowed two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over seven innings. RHP Christian Bethancourt (12.54) started the eighth and allowed four runs (three earned) on a hit, a walk and a hit batter without retiring a hitter. RHP Jose Valdez (1–3, 6.23 ERA) allowed two runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss. RHP Adam Cimber (3.00) struck out the only hitter he faced to end the eighth. C Tony Cruz (.322) was 3- for-4 with a double, a RBI and a run scored. OF (.326) was 2-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored. LF Nick Buss (.370) was 2-for-5 with a run scored. CF Collin Cowgill (.233) had a RBI double in two at-bats. SS Diego Goris (.279) was 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (27–21) — Springfield 4, MISSIONS 0: Starting RHP Enyel De Los Santos (2–3, 5.26 ERA) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over eight innings to suffer the loss. McGrath allowed two unearned runs on three hits and a walk in an inning. The 12-game hitting streak of 2B Luis Urías ended Friday night. CF Nick Schulz (.244) had a double in four at-bats. 1B Noah Perio (.257), LF Alberth Martinez (.288) and C Stephen McGee (.279) were all 1-for-3.

SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (17–30) — The TinCaps were rained out at South Bend and will play a doubleheader Saturday.

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Happy Birthday to the Padres! May 27 has a special meaning for San Diego baseball fans By Derek Togerson

With the Padres and Nationals playing a series over Memorial Day weekend on the East Coast I thought you all might like this little history lesson.

Many people don’t realize it but May 27 is quite possibly the most important day in the history of the San Diego Padres.

It was on this day in 1968 that San Diego learned it was going from the to the Major Leagues when MLB awarded America’s Finest City with a National League expansion team.

The first owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a San Diego businessman who had to pay $10.5 million (the equivalent of about $71 million in 2017) to get the franchise. It’s actually somewhat fitting that the Padres are in Washington, D.C. for a game on May 27 because that city has a little history with the Friars.

When Smith, the original owner, had financial trouble he was looking to sell and came close to moving the team to our nation’s capital (D.C. had lost the Senators in 1961 when they moved to Minnesota and again in 1971 when they moved to Texas). That’s when the man who was arguably the most important figure in Padres history, Ray Kroc, stepped in to buy the team and keep it in its home city.

The Padres have been entrenched in our town ever since, not winning a championship, but still serving as motivation for the thousands of kids who grew up here watching the game, seeing the best ballplayers on the planet under the lights, and wanting to chase their own big league dreams.

Of course a would still be nice, too.

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Strasburg Stymies Padres San Diego native sets career strikeout high in win By Derek Togerson

In Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Nationals, the Padres offense struck out 14 times. That’s in no way a good thing … yet it preferable to the outing they had on Saturday in Washington, D.C. San Diego native Stephen Strasburg was as dominant as he’s ever been in a 3-0 win over his home town team. Strasburg punched out a career-high 15 Padres in 7.0 innings, allowing just three singles to get the win. Strasburg, a West Hills High School alum, improved to 6-1 with a 2.94 ERA on the year.

Every single person who got an at-bat for the Padres struck out at least once. Ryan Schimpf and Austin Hedges both punched out three times. For the second straight night the guys with the bats in their hands couldn’t help out a starting pitcher who made a pretty good start.

Clayton Richard tossed a complete game in his last outing and followed it up with 6.0 innings against the Nationals. He allowed just three runs, one on an RBI groundout by Bryce Harper and the other two on a home run by Michael Taylor.

The Padres lead the National League in strikeouts and have the 2nd-worst on-base percentage in all of . It’s awfully hard to win ballgames when you don’t have guys on base.

The Nationals go for a sweep on Sunday when former Padres farmhand Joe Ross gets the start against Jhoulys Chacin, who has been the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde pitcher in 2017. At Petco Park Chacin has an ERA of 0.67. On the road that skyrockets to 10.94. If you’re looking for a ray of hope for the Padres it’s that Chacin does have a career 0.45 ERA in three starts at Nationals Park.

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