Padres 13, Rockies 6

Two out of three at Coors, nice. It seems like that was the dragon we couldn't slay this or last season. It's an absolute horror when you can't hit a pitcher with a six plus ERA, then watch as their bats slowly grind away against our starters, as it's been the case for far too long. In Game 1, to absolutely nobody's surprise, Manaea got lit up again and didn't last four. What can you do? If you don't start him, you wear out the arms of the rest of your guys. Start him, and it will be four innings for the bullpen, possibly more at Coors Field. At this point, Manaea is absolutely useless. Hard to believe he still had a .212 BAA at the end of June.

In Game 2, a 9-3 victory, Darvish got his 16th win, which ties him for fourth in MLB. Darvish is a pro. He can give up one run, maybe two, but he will battle you until his last pitch. Clearly, the game has changed. MLB has only one pitcher with 20 wins, Atlanta's Kyle Wright, and he will be the only 20 game-winner in both leagues this season. And yet, Wright has pitched only 175 innings. In the 70s and 80s, you had relievers approaching that mark. We have only one pitcher, Miami's Sandy Alcantara, with more than 200 innings, at a whopping 220, although the Cards' Mikolas and the Phillies' Nola might join that exclusive club. Think they would have had 200 without the universal DH rule? Hard to tell, although I doubt it. Does all of this guarantee or even improve longevity for pitchers? Time will tell.

In Game 3, Clevy was knocked out after four, which didn't help, although 13 runs and 17 hits bailed him out. I realize there are fan favorites like Clevy and Myers, but they have been mediocre, at best. Myers has been here for eight years, but he's the batting equivalent of Mark Grant, the guy doing the color commentary in the booth for us. Averages of 50 RBIs and 16 HR are good for utility players, but not for everyday starters. Kim, is very popular with the fans, nice, but he's a career .234 hitter with a .304 OBP, although he has improved compared to last year. Call me old-fashioned, but I go for performance first. Manny is my favorite player on this team by miles. We shipped Hosmer, a consistent underperformer, out of here, but replaced him with another consistent underperformer. We need more depth on this roster.

So that was our final road game. We finish with three games each against LA, the White Sox and the Giants. We are the five seed now, although I would prefer the six seed, as I like our chances against the Cardinals better than anybody from the NL East. It is essential that we keep our people healthy, above all things. If we lose Darvish, Snell or even Musgrove, that will put a dent on any aspirations we might have had going into the playoffs. Same with Manny, can't lose him. We aren't the Dodgers who can continue to steamroll, no matter who's at the wheel. Our margin for error is that much thinner.