Padres super-prospect Austin Hedges made his first MLB start on Wednesday afternoon against the Giants. If the rest of them are like this, the kid is going to the Hall of Fame.
The Padres beat the Giants 9-1 to salvage the final game of their 3-game set at AT&T Park. On offense Hedges got his first Big League hit, an RBI single in the 3rd inning that put San Diego up 5-0. Austin drove in another run with a sacrifice fly.
But a catcher’s true impact is made behind the plate, and that is where Hedges separates himself. Starter Ian Kennedy threw 7.0 innings and looked stellar, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts. Kennedy was relieved by Brandon Maurer, who threw a perfect inning, and Frank Garces, who finally issued the staff’s first walk with one out in the 9th inning.
Hedges has a natural (almost supernatural) ability to frame pitches and has learned rapidly how to call a game at the Major League level. Getting his pitching staff to only issue one walk in a full game is a heck of an accomplishment.
It's fitting that Hedges made his first start behind the plate with Kennedy on the mound. In the off-season the two Southern California natives tried to meet up for a bullpen session and Kennedy asked manager Bud Black if Hedges could catch him during Spring Training.
I asked Ian about the rookie and he had nothing but good things to say about how the youngster handles himself behind the plate. Throughout the game you could see Kennedy's confidence in working with Hedges.
Of course, it gets a lot easier to get your pitcher in a comfort zone when he has a big lead. Kennedy was staked to that in the third inning. Before Hedges got his knock Matt Kemp, Yonder Alonso, Jedd Gyorko and Alexi Amarista all had RBI base hits. The Friars scored five times in the inning.
All-in-all, five different Padres starters had multiple hits and every guy in the lineup (including Kennedy) had at least one knock except outfielder Justin Upton, but he walked four times. San Diego rang up 16 hits against six different Giants pitchers.
Up next for the Padres, a 4-game set in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. Odrisamer Despaigne will be starting in place of the injured Brandon Morrow. He’ll face D-Backs starter Rubby De La Rosa.
