The San Diego Padres got off to a fast start going 15-8 in April, and now they sit three games ahead in the National League West by three games with a 58-39 record. This is a team playing very good baseball, and has the record to back that up. They have yet to have a losing month, and they went 9-6 in interleague play. That is no small feat for a NL club. A better stat for this club is they are 19-12 in one run games. That tells me that they know how to win.
As an offense they have scored 423 runs, and the team batting average is .253 and that is only the 12th best NL team batting average. They have collected 827 hits, which is the fourth worst hit total of all 16 Senior Circuit clubs. There hits can be broken down like this; 148 doubles, 16 triples, and 77 home runs. Padres batters have struck out 705 times, and drawn 333 walks.
The pitching staff is having a pretty good year as they have given up just 335 runs, and the staff ERA is 3.30. That is the best staff ERA of the 16 NL teams. They have given up 773 hits; 85 of which were round trippers. They have struck out 765 batters, and issued 303 walks. Their closer, Heath Bell, has converted 28 saves and has an overall record of 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA.
One of the biggest questions about this club heading into the season was how would the starting pitching rotation would fair without Jake Peavy. It looks like they are doing just fine. The other question asked was would they have enough offense, and they are getting by but could use a big bat to add to the lineup.
Related Links:
• San Diego Padres news and notes • The Business of Major League Baseball •MTR Baseball.com
