Series Preview: San Diego Padres (36-33) @ Texas Rangers (38-32)
| 8
|
Business First: You have no doubt heard already about Kameron Loe heading to the disabled list. In his place the Rangers have announced they will call up outfielder Freddy Guzman from Triple-A Oklahoma. In 32 games for Oklahoma, Guzman is batting .278 with 12 stolen bases. He will just be up until Loe’s turn comes around in the rotation again. The Rangers are expected to call up Robinson Tejeda, also from Oklahoma, to fill in. Tejeda has had a rough time both in the Major Leagues and the Minor Leagues this year, but the Rangers were quick to point out that he is 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his last six starts at Triple-A.
In other news, the Rangers quietly announced (I had to find it on their Transactions page) that relief pitcher Antonio Alfonseca was given his unconditional release. GM Jon Hart had said that he wanted to find a good home for Alfonseca, and I’m sure to get something in return. Apparently, that did not happen, as Alfonseca’s time with the Rangers is officially done.
The Lowdown: The Rangers are coming off a colossal sweep of the D-Backs. I thought that Jon was premature in calling these games “must win,” but it would appear, with the A’s continuing their white-hot streak, that he was right. Although the Rangers have won four out of their last five, they remain a half game back of Oakland, which has won ten games in a row. Oakland also won 15 out of their last 17 since the horrible slide that helped Texas maintain its division lead, when the A’s lost 10 out of 11 games at the end of May. The Rangers come in with a 19-19 record at home.
The Padres have struggled this year to stay atop the division that they barely won last season. They have not been bad, but they have not been able to put together a hot streak, either. They are 8-8 in the month of May, but won the two series that they played last week against the Dodgers and the Angels. They are tied with the Dodgers of Los Angeles for the N.L. West lead, and come in with an 18-14 record on the road. Yes, they are better on the road than at home, where they are 18-19.
Players to Watch:
Brad Wilkerson: He just seems to do well whenever I put him on here, even if I say that you should watch him for his strikeouts. He had two more this weekend to put him at 83 for the season, by the way. He is still flirting with having a number close to what he had in April. In that month, he averaged 1.6 strikeouts per game. In May, he averaged exactly 1 strikeout per game, but this month he’s back up to 1.5. But, for the first time this season, he’s not on pace to break the strikeout record of 195. He’s only on pace for 192. But, I digress. This weekend, Wilky went 4-for-10 (.400) with two runs, a double, a homerun, three RBIs and one stolen base. So, being the superstitious baseball fan that I am, I’m going to keep putting him up here until I think that it’s not working anymore.
Rangers closers: Yes, we’re back to closers…plural. Akinori Otsuka continues to roll as he attempts to gain legitimacy as an All-Star candidate. With the exception of that outing in Boston when he blew the save by allowing the three-run blast to David Ortiz, Aki-O has been nearly perfect this month. That outing excepted, he has not allowed a run or a walk in June, and has allowed just three hits in six innings. In fact, in 31 innings this season, Otsuka has allowed just four walks. He has also converted 13 out of 15 save opportunities. That is in stark contrast to Francisco Cordero, who is beginning to hit his stride in the setup role. His ERA is down to 5.45. Normally, a comment like that would be laughable, but it’s actually pretty impressive when you consider that his ERA was 11.45 at the end of April. He posted a 2.51 ERA in May, and his ERA for June is 2.89. The Rangers may have problems with middle relief, but at least they are pretty well set for the last two innings of the game.
Gary Matthews, Jr: He continued his hitting streak during the weekend series with the Diamondbacks, extending it to eight games. He didn’t cheap out on it either - none of this last-chance bloop single in the eight inning stuff. No, he wrecked the D-Backs for six hits in 14 at-bats (.429), including one homerun, two RBIs, five doubles and a stolen base. His batting average is up to .344, and his on-base percentage is at .396. He is batting .427 in the month of June, and .372 since his sub-par April. With numbers like that, how could he not make the All-Star Game? Oh, he also made a great play or two with the glove. Texas is loving GMJ right now.
Adrian Gonzalez: This is the second team in a row that Texas will face that does not have a lot going for it offensively. Their leading homerun guy is Adrian Gonzalez (tied with Khalil Greene) with just nine. But, in his first season as a MLB starter, Gonzalez is putting up solid numbers (.272/26/9). He is going to show Texas in this series why, even with the great performance of Otsuka, trading him for Adam Eaton was such a bad trade.
San Diego Bullpen: The Rangers had better get to the Padres weak starting pitching early, because the Pads are continuing their recent tradition of having one of the most intimidating bullpens in baseball. At 38, Trevor Hoffman is still one of the best closers in baseball, and the Padres have a rotation’s worth of setup mean to choose from - Brian Sweeney, Scott Cassidy, Scott Linebrink and Alan Embree. Granted, their numbers will be slightly inflated due to pitching in a huge pitcher’s park in the National League. But regardless of venue, this bullpen’s numbers are sick. Those five pitchers are combined for an ERA of 2.54, a record of 11-6, and 17 saves in 23 opportunities (Hoffman is 16 out of 17).
Probables:
Tuesday, June 20, 7:05 CST
TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (6-4, 4.65)
SD: RHP Mike Thompson (2-2, 4.24)
Thompson has been inconsistent this year, at best. But, he has definitely had his moments. His last start was his second best of the season. He took a no-decision, despite holding the Los Angeles Dogers to two runs on three hits in seven innings. His road record should be encouraging to Rangers fans, though: 1-1 with a 6.43 ERA, and 7 strikeouts against 5 walks in 14 innings. Padilla is also trying to find some consistency as he is coming off his best start of the season - an eight-inning, three-hit shutout of the Chicago White Sox. Fortunately for the Rangers, Padilla is one of their only pitchers that has preformed at home (4-2, 3.88).
Wednesday, June 21, 7:05 CST
TEX: LHP John Rheinecker (2-1, 3.60)
SD: RHP Chris Young (6-3, 3.27)
Chris Young is another former Ranger that will be trying to show the boys of Arlington why that Eaton trade was not very smart. He hasn’t put up stellar numbers (tied for the team lead in homeruns allowed, and second in walks with 31 in 85.1 innings), but his 6-3 record and 3.27 ERA may be even better than the Padres thought they’d be getting. Funny thing is, I thought he’d thrive because of the massive dimensions of Petco, but it’s really been on the road that he’s earned his money. He is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA in away games this year. The Rangers will try to break that trend with John Rheinecker, who is coming off of by far his worst start of the season. It’s hard to say what to expect from Rheinecker, who has both his best and worst starts at home this year. It may bode well for him that the Padres’ three hottest hitters (Gonzalez, Brian Giles and Dave Roberts) are all left-handed. Rheinecker is holding leftys to a .240 batting average.
Thursday, June 22, 1:05 CST
TEX: RHP Kevin Millwood (8-3, 4.47)
SD: RHP Clay Hensley (4-5, 4.05)
This would be a big mismatch, were it not for Millwood’s really ugly home numbers. He is 3-3 with a 6.65 ERA at Arlington this year. But, he is coming off a promising home start in which he held Arizona to three runs over 7.1 innings. Hensley is another guy like Thompson that is still working on consistency. Earlier this year, he earned wins over the Cubs and the Cardinals by holding them to a combined one run on seven hits in 17 innings. But, sandwiched between those two starts is a start against the Mariners in which he allowed six earned runs in six innings. That pretty well sums up his season. The Rangers should look to make things happen by drawing walks - Hensley has seven starts this year in which he has issued three walks or more (including one with seven in just 3.2 innings).
Source
Date
Mon 06/19/06, 9:25 pm EST
