The last time the Padres did not have a losing record was June 13th of 2015 when they were 32-32. Since then they have been under .500 the entire time (except on Opening Day when they’re 0-0).
Now … finally ... 661 days later … the Padres once again do not have a losing record. They bounced back from a 14-3 loss in the opener with a 4-0 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday night in Los Angeles thanks to a pair of veterans.
Infielder Yangervis Solarte is off to a nice start. He drove in a run off of Clayton Kershaw on Monday and doubled down on that with a pair of hits, including a solo home run off Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda. Solarte drove in half of San Diego’s runs.
1st baseman Wil Myers had a pair of hits, as did rookie Manny Margot, and veteran shortstop Erick Aybar went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles. All that support was plenty for the resurgent Clayton Richard.
The lefty had a rough Cactus League but dialed in on Tuesday night. Richard tossed eight shutout innings, striking out five. But his biggest weapon was the Dodger Stadium infield.
Richard, who thrives when he can keep the ball down, induced four double play balls and got 16 outs on the ground. Only three Dodgers recorded fly ball outs. Brad Hand threw a perfect 9th inning in his first appearance of the season to secure the win.
Now … dare we dream? The Padres can have a winning record if they win on Wednesday. Vista High School alum Trevor Cahill makes his first start as a Padre against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill. The last time the Friars were over .500, by the way, was on June 8 of 2015 when they were 30-29.