Somewhere between Petco Park and Coors Field … the truth lies.
In three games at home against the Dodgers the Padres scored no runs. In two games on the road against the Rockies the Padres have scored 29 runs.
San Diego chased Friday’s 13-run outburst with another 16-run performance in a 16-3 win in Colorado. Everyone in the starting lineup, including pitcher Drew Pomeranz, got a base hit for the Padres.
Matt Kemp put on a heck of an encore after his 4-hit day on Friday. Kemp went 3-5 with a pair of home runs and six runs batted in. Cory Spangenberg and Wil Myers also hit their first home runs of the season in the 19-hit onslaught.
New Padres Jabari Blash, Adam Rosales and Christian Bethancourt all joined in the fun to get their first hit in a San Diego uniform. Blash’s pinch-hit double was his first MLB knock. Pomeranz did not just get his first Padres hit; he also got his first Padres win after going 5.0 innings, allowing two runs and striking out seven.
In the span of just two games the Padres went from being the only team in Major League Baseball to not have any runs to having the 4th-highest scoring offense in the game. Part of that is playing at altitude. Part of that is facing the largely inferior Rockies pitching. Part of that is this team really does have some decent big leaguers on offense.
The Padres have won their first series of the season and can go for a sweep, getting back to .500 on the season, on Sunday when they send James Shields to the mound against Chad Bettis, who gave up five runs on seven hits (two of them homers) in a loss to the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
There is one bit of bad news from the big win. Third baseman Yangervis Solarte pulled up on a line drive base hit that could have been a double, clutching the back of his right leg. The Padres said it’s a hamstring injury. If Solarte has to make a disabled list stint, expect Jamile Weeks or Alexi Amarista to get a call-up from Triple-A El Paso. Amarista likely has the inside track since he is already on the 40-man roster.
