One of the cruelest jokes you can play on the Padres these days is to line up a good pitcher against us, score a first inning run, and then watch us chase it. This is like a laser pointer that I use with my cat whenever she needs cheap entertainment. Here it is, kitty. See that light, it's right in front of you! Oooh, you almost had it! Repeat until the cat quits, or nine innings are over, whichever occurs first. Nine out of ten times the Padres won't catch that laser light. Last night was the tenth time.
Clayton Kershaw is the primary reason the Dodgers have owned us over the past decade and continue to do so. 45 career starts against us, 23-9 with a 2.03 ERA. 310 K's in 292 innings. Add to the fact that he has won 24 games each against San Francisco and Colorado, and it's no coincidence the Dodgers are as dominant in the west as they have been. Kershaw threw seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and eight strikeouts. Kershaw is a first ballot Hall of Famer and just the franchise pitcher you want for your ballclub. Before there was such a thing as a pitch count, I doubt Kershaw would have been pulled after seven. Instead, we got to pull one out against former Padre Craig Kimbrel. Closer might just be the one weakness the Dodgers have. Kimbrel allowed three runs on three hits while recording just one out.
Voit's double to score Cron was clutch, and we needed that in the worst way from him. At best, Voit is a platoon player, because the production simply isn't there. This might have been his biggest hit for us yet, and I believe this was the biggest win of the season for us. Here we were, about to get swept after being thoroughly outpitched, outhit, and outmanaged, and we pull one out. Huge win. We need to believe that we can beat these guys in tight games, and we just did. I loved watching Kim hit that two-run dinger to ice it. You just love to see Kim's effort day in and day out, whether he is playing or not.
MacKenzie Gore gave it all he had. Although the kid wasn't at his sharpest, he still lasted 5 2/3 with one run allowed. Five hits and four walks allowed usually doesn't make for a successful result against the Dodgers, but he made pitches when he had to. Valuable experience, pitching in situations like against the Dodgers last night. He beat the Giants and Brewers earlier in the season, two of the better teams in our league, so the belief that he can win in the bigs is definitely there.
Breathe out, then play some interleague against the Mariners. 13 games above .500 and looking decent as we approach the All-Star break.
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