Padres 9, Rockies 1

It's a new game now, it seems. With Soto, Bell and Drury now in the lineup, we actually resemble a major league team. The day before, we swept a doubleheader from the Rockies. In the first game, we blew them out, 13-5, after spotting them an early three run lead. I suppose this came with the excitement of the trade, knowing that help is on the way. But that's only half of it. Here, our players (Grish, Myers, Nola, most notably) were playing for at-bats, starts, playing time, actually their roster spot. Where was this effort before, guys? You mean we had to trade for a few big guns until you could show us you could hit major league pitching? Wrong attitude.

We won the second game, 3-2, which brought us back to the old Padres, the maybe-we-can-squeeze-out-three runs-a-game Padres, the team that puts both the fans and themselves to sleep. We had Reiss Knehr in for a spot start, and he gave us 3 2/3, allowing two runs. Although the bullpen shut them down the rest of the way, I am concerned that the bullpen might actually be our Achilles heel in the end. I have rarely worried about the bullpen, let alone our closer, but in tight games, these are the guys who need to come through for you and put up zeroes. Grish won it with a dinger in the ninth. I like the power Grish is providing, but if you can't get an OBP of .300 in the majors, you are a liability. Grish is at .294, well below his career average. He needs to pick it up, and I suspect he will with the big guns now in the lineup.

Last night, we clubbed them, 9-1, after we put up five runs in the first inning. First inning runs...remember those? This one came courtesy of Brandon Drury, newly acquired veteran infielder from the Reds, who hit a grand slam in his first Padres at bat. Soto and Bell went a combined 1-for-5, but with four walks and four runs scored. Needless to say, this helps the other hitters...Manny homered, as did Crone. 

And then there's Blake Snell, formerly known as Blake Smell. It's amazing what a pitcher can do when he is given run support. Six innings for Snell, four hits, one runs, nine K's. And just like that, he has become a player again. That's four wins in a row for him, he has been masterful. If we want to make a deep playoff run, we need all ducks on board. Gore is gone, which leaves us Darvish, Musgrove, Snell, Clevy, Manaea, and Nick Martinez, should we need him. Now that's what I call a team.

No complaints right now. We are 16 games above .500, have won five in a row, and are heading for the playoffs at this clip. Steady on, Compadres. Let's win ourselves a pennant.