On Saturday night, Edinson Volquez had a blister on the thumb of his pitching had, so he didn't even make it out of the 2nd inning. The short start forced Bud Black to use 5 relief pitchers. If something similar happened Sunday, the Padres bullpen would be in serious trouble.
It's a good thing Jason Marquis got the start.
"He knew what we needed, no doubt about it," said Black, "and he delivered."
Marquis threw 6.1 innings, allowing just 3 runs in the Padres 7-3 win over the Mets. San Diego took 2 of 3 games in the series.
Before throwing his first pitch, Marquis knew the pitching staff needed him to go deep. The veteran handled it extremely well.
"Most starting pitchers worth their salt like the responsibility of being a starting pitcher," said Black.
That's what Marquis is like. You don't win 111 games over 13 big league seasons unless you can handle pressure.
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The Padres offense did a nice job of relieving some of that pressure, scoring runs early.
In the first inning, Chase Headley hit a 2-run home run off Mets starter Matt Harvey. It was Headley's 2nd straight at-bat with a home run (he hit a solo shot in the 9th inning Saturday) and 15th of the season, extending his career high.
"I think we're seeing much more aggressive swings throughout at-bats," said Black of Headley's power surge. "He's always been a good hitter."
Yonder Alonso added on in the 3rd inning when he smashed a 2-run homer to straightaway center field. Alonso also hit his 31st double of the season, which will force me to write down a lot of numbers.
Alonso is just three doubles away from tying Benito Santiago's team record for most doubles by a rookie. 14 of Yonder's last 22 hits have been for extra bases, putting his squarely into the National League Rookie of the Year conversation.
In the 7th inning, Carlos Quentin added on with a solo home run, his 11th of the year. Quentin also doubled in a run. The Padres had 11 hits, with a whopping 9 of them going for extra bases. That's a rare feat, indeed, when you're playing at PETCO Park.
Huston Street put the final touch on the win, working a perfect 9th to run his scoreless streak to 18.1 innings.
The Padres have three more games in their homestand. The Chicago Cubs come to town from Monday through Wednesday.
