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<\/p>\nGood morning,<\/p>\n
The series between the Padres and Dodgers over the past two weekends exemplify how wonderfully unpredictable and upside down baseball can be.<\/p>\n
There is the mere fact that you never would have guessed that the Padres would be in control of the National League West this morning. (Don\u2019t lie! You wouldn\u2019t have!)<\/p>\n
But here they are, having answered getting swept last weekend in Los Angeles by winning the first two games of the teams\u2019 series here this weekend to extend their winning streak to five games and retake the division lead.<\/p>\n
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Moreover \u2014 since the Dodgers and Padres will both have 31 games remaining after they conclude their season series this afternoon \u2014 there is the absurd contrariety of the two teams\u2019 offenses to make you shake your head and laugh and cry.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers have hit more runs than all but one team in the major leagues this season and last night scored their only run on a homer. That was after they scored their only run on a homer Friday.<\/p>\n
The Padres have hit fewer homers than all but one team in the major leagues this season and last night scored five runs on the strength of three hits, four walks (out of their six total) and a sacrifice fly. That was after they scored two runs Friday by stringing together a walk, a sacrifice bunt, two singles and a sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n
This is not to say the Padres do not want to hit more home runs. We have spent a lot of time on that topic. They do want to.<\/p>\n
But they are not consumed by a quest for power. They know who they are and believe their approach is the right one to take them as far as they can go.<\/p>\n
And the Dodgers are talking like a team that would like to be more like the Padres.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese nights for sure are frustrating for the offense,\u201d Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said, \u201cbecause we know we\u2019re more than capable of putting up better at-bats and more hits together to create some traffic and being able to give us a chance to win the game. \u2026 We\u2019ve got to be better making adjustments in-game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s hard. I know hitting is the hardest thing to do. But I feel like we need to continue to get better if we want to get to where we want to be, which is winning the division and winning the World Series. As an offense, we\u2019ve got to start making a little bit better adjustments in-game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like the Padres did against Tyler Glasnow last night. The hard-throwing right-hander was not operating in the zone all that much, and the Padres went down in order on 11 pitches in the first inning and on 16 pitches in the second.<\/p>\n
They walked twice in the third, an inning that ended when Luis Arraez grounded out on the 10th pitch of his at-bat, pushing Glasnow to 57 pitches.<\/p>\n
The Padres scored three runs in the fourth inning after loading the bases on a pair of walks around a single. With one out, Ram\u00f3n Laureano grounded a sinker on the outer third of the plate through a hole on the right side to score the first two runs. Jake Cronenworth followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 3-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw (Friday) night with Manny (Machado), guy in scoring position, he shortens up and lines the ball to center field,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the RBI single by Machado that drove in the Padres\u2019 first run in the series opener. \u201cAnd Laureano tonight shortens up \u2014 and he\u2019s a dead pull guy \u2014 and blocked the ball the other way to drive in a couple runs. Just finding ways to create offense. And (the Padres pitchers) are good. So you have to take what the pitcher gives you and try to create something.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t always go for that big swing. You\u2019ve got to kind of shorten up. I mean, we have it in there, and we do it at times. But just collectively, I just don\u2019t see us doing that collectively. \u2026 So now it\u2019s just kind of getting the guys that have played important ballgames to kind of wrap their head around helping the ballclub. Your stats are your stats, and you got to kind of just isolate that particular game. Whatever you have that night, you got to go with it. And I think good things will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wow. That was out of the Mike Shildt\/Victor Rodriguez handbook.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s not get too carried away here. The Dodgers have scored more runs than any team in the major leagues, and 45% of their runs have been driven in by home runs.<\/p>\n
But like the Padres always allude to, you can\u2019t count on the homer. And you certainly can\u2019t try to hit them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s hard to kind of go out there and try to change who you are,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cWe are who we are. We\u2019ve got a lot of guys that can leave the ballpark and that can hit homers. But we all know too that we can play better baseball than the way that we\u2019ve been playing. \u2026 I feel like the offense is kind of inconsistent at times. We can always get better. We all know we need to get better if we want to win games in a consistent way. We have to make an adjustment in-game that\u2019s going to put us in a best position to get starters out of the game. Not just because the other manager wants to take him out of there. We need to force them out of the game. We need to start doing a better job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That does sound like the Padres at their best, which they have been far more lately.<\/p>\n
Last night was the fourth time in the past five games \u2014 all victories \u2014 that the Padres have gotten the opposing starting pitcher out of the game before he completed five innings.<\/p>\n
They scored three runs in the fourth inning last night, two runs in the fourth inning Friday, two in the fourth and six in the fifth on Thursday, four in the third on Wednesday and two in the fourth on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a good offensive approach all the way,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cI love the way our guys are getting better as the game goes, second time through (the order). There\u2019s a lot of dedication and proper focus to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dodgers seem as though they would like to try it.<\/p>\n
Cortes steps up, waves off<\/p>\n
In his first start with the Padres, on Aug. 6 in Arizona, Nestor Cortes allowed one run in each of the first two innings before making it two outs into the fifth without allowing another run.<\/p>\n
In his next start, in San Francisco, he allowed a first-inning run before again getting two outs deep in the fifth with no more damage.<\/p>\n
And in his third start, Monday at home against the Giants, Cortes surrendered four runs on three homers in the first inning and then yielded just three hits over the rest of an outing that lasted 5\u2154 innings.<\/p>\n
So pitching coach Ruben Niebla challenged him in recent days to come out with more intensity from the start last night.<\/p>\n
Cortes did.<\/p>\n
And he kept going after that, making it through five innings without allowing a baserunner for the first time in 92 career starts and not allowing a hit until Rojas\u2019 one-out single in the sixth.<\/p>\n
After Rojas\u2019 hit, Niebla visited the mound.<\/p>\n
Left-hander Adrian Morej\u00f3n was warming up. Shohei Ohtani, who bats from the left side, was on deck.<\/p>\n
There seemed little doubt Cortes was facing his last batter, No.9 hitter Buddy Kennedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, with the situation of the game, 3-0, I gave up a base hit, top of the order coming up with the bullpen you have, it\u2019s definitely normal,\u201d Cortes said. \u201cI look up and see Morej\u00f3n warming up. I\u2019m like, \u2018All right. It\u2019s cool. I get it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But he also did the math.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I give up a base hit to the last hitter, then definitely Morej\u00f3n was coming in,\u201d Cortes said. \u201cBut I get the last hitter. Two outs. Worst that can happen is a two-run homer, and we\u2019re still up 3-2.\u201d<\/p>\n
So as Shildt stepped out of the dugout to come get him, Cortes waved him off with two quick swipes of his glove. Shildt retreated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo disrespect,\u201d Cortes said.<\/p>\n
None taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love players with conviction,\u201d Shildt said.<\/p>\n
Cortes retired Ohtani on a fly ball to center field.<\/p>\n
And with that, he completed his second start this season in which he threw six scoreless innings while allowing one hit.<\/p>\n
The last time was his final start for the Brewers, on April 3 against the Reds. He was placed on the injured list three days later with a elbow flexor strain. He had just completed a rehab assignment when the Padres traded for him on July 31.<\/p>\n
I touched on the trade and the expectations the Padres had for Cortes in my game story (here<\/a>) from last night.<\/p>\n
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