JULIANA STUMPP
PRIDE STAFF WRITER
The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Diego Padres Sunday, Sept. 18, 5-1, avoiding a three-game sweep at PETCO Park.
The scoring began in the thrid inning when Padres player Cameron Maybin nabbed a homerun from a Jason Bartlett groundout. Miguel Montero then tied the game the next inning with a solo home run to center field off Aaron Harang who later allowed another solo homer to rookie first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth inning. Harang went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts, earning his seventh loss this season versus 14 wins.
The Diamondbacks rallied for two runs in the seventh inning against Padres relievers Brad Brach and Josh Spence on RBI singles from Diamondback players Aaron Hill and Goldschmidt, who also scored Justin Upton in the ninth inning for the game’s final score. Goldschmidt finished the day at two for three with three RBIs and a walk. Diamondback pitcher, Joe Saunders, dazzled in the game, allowing just one run on seven hits in eight and two thirds innings, earning his twelfth win of the season. Arizona closer J.J. Putz recorded the final out, which gave him his 41st save, good for third-overall in the National League.
The Padres closed out play on Sept. 18, 23 games behind Arizona for the division lead. As of the morning of Sept. 26, the Padres are now 24 games behind the Diamondbacks. The D-Backs remain nine games ahead of the Giants for the division lead.. San Francisco ended playing Sept. 18 four games behind Atlanta for the wild card division lead.
San Diego has had a rough year after a surprising 2010 campaign in which they won 90 games while losing 72 and were one game behind the Giants for the division. As of yesterday, Sept. 26, the Padres are 69-90 with two games to play, mostly because of limited offensive production without Adrian Gonzalez, their All-Star first baseman, who was traded for promising minor league prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo and Reymond Fuentes. Also, the departure of Ryan Ludwick to the Pittsburgh Pirates contributed to less offensive production.
However, the Padres ranked first in the National League in bullpen ERA, led by All-Star closer Heath Bell, as well as leading the NL in stolen bases this year at the end of Sunday, Sept. 18. The Padres also saw good seasons from Jesus Guzman as well as Nick Hundley, along with improved defense from middle infielders Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson. Right fielder Kyle Blanks also contributed after having a good season in Triple-A Tucson and will give the Padres more power in the middle of their lineup next year, along with Chase Headley who faced injuries during most of the second half of this season.
The starting rotation for the Friars also saw a good season, led by Mat Latos and Aaron Harang. Injuries plagued starters Dustin Moseley and Clayton Richard for most of this season along with Tim Stauffer who had a great 2010 season and helped contribute to their postseason run.
The Padres rounded out the season with a sweep against the Colorado Rockies, followed by a series against Los Angeles Dodgers (1 win – 2 losses) and the Chicago Cubs (series started yesterday) here at Petco Park. The team is preparing for 2012 as highlighted by calling up promising minor leaguers such as Rizzo, who was acquired from the Gonzalez trade last December with Boston, as well as James Darnell, Logan Forsythe and other surprising contributors that may see more action in the major leagues next year. The Padres are looking forward to many key players to be healthy for an entire 2012 season to help them compete in an increasingly competitive National League West division.
Photo by Sarah Green