Padres 4, Pirates 2

With our guys, it seems like every game will be a struggle. We finished the home stand at 3-3, and each game was a dogfight. Each one, whether this was the Brewers or the Pirates.

And Grish is the hero of the game, as if on cue! Two run dinger in the tenth, ballgame. I’m happy for him, we need him to pick it up in the worst way. We have the worst outfield for hitting overall, which is alarming. Our offense is not as good as it was last year, AND we have the DH, which has not helped, either. Well, Compadres, what do we do? Trade away more prospects? Wish upon a star?

Yesterday, it was Musgrove who was robbed of a win after allowing one run in six innings. Gore did him one better: nine k’s, no runs over seven. But, alas, our bullpen blew it, this time Crismatt...no soup for you, Gore! Sorry, but that’s the way the ball bounces when you can’t generate any serious offense in the majors. Even the four runs were the result of home runs. I really miss the sustained rallies. Single, single, single, walk, etc., just dink the pitcher to death. That’s just not there, the cohesiveness throughout the lineup that allows a lineup to destroy the soul of a starting pitcher. Our batters don’t complement each other. There is no moving runners around, no sacrificing at bats for the greater good. The Dodgers don’t need to do that. They can mash away at their hearts’ content, and you can only cross your fingers if their pitchers are on, which they usually are. We just scored 15 runs in six games at home, for an average of 2.5 runs per game. Against the Brewers, that might be understandable. Against the Pirates, it is clearly not.

As far as Grish goes, he was on my naughty list for a while, after homering during a victory over the Dodgers in 2020. Perhaps you remember what happened. Chest pounding, a lot of pointing and talking at the L.A. bench. Look, I get it. There is an energy on this team that is fueled by more animated gestures, like talking, yelling, dancing, etc. I get it. The only problem is, that can fuel the opposing team, too. After Grisham's declaration of war on the Dodgers, their fan base and their pet club, we got shut out for the rest of the season. Two in that series at home, then the sweep in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that we get to play ball with the Dodgers again, that they don't walk all over us. We just need to be smart about engaging the enemy, and do it on our terms. We are not there yet, Boys. The Giants and the Dodgers, both established winners, are who we are trying to be. And you can bet every penny you just paid for that ticket that our cousins from So- and NorCal will keep trying to hold our heads under water for as long as they can. So far, we have mostly delivered W's for them. Now they need to earn those. That's progress. 

We hit the road for two tough series with the Cardinals and the Brewers. All right, fellas. Let’s see if we can get the bats going on the road.