Padres-Giants: Padres Drop Third Straight, Swept By Giants

Padres' starter Chris Young bounced back from his bad start against the Phillies (3.2 IP, 7 ER) and kept the Giants off the scoreboard, giving up just two hits through his seven innings of work. The only problem was, the Padres offense took the night off.

Giants' catcher hit a game-winning RBI double in the tenth to give the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 win and a two-game series sweep of the Padres, this coming after the Padres swept the Giants in San Diego during the first week of the season.

Barry Zito also rebounded from two straight bad outings, shutting out the Padres on just six hits through seven innings, like Young, earning himself a no decision but a start that he can build on for his next scheduling outing.

The Padres had their chances to break through and put the game away in both the sixth and eighth innings, but the same problem that has reared it's ugly head the past few seasons bit them again on Wednesday night.

In the sixth, David Eckstein would be on third base with two outs but Kevin Kouzmanoff would pop up to end the inning

In the eighth, Hairston led off the inning with a ground rule double and would then be sacrificed to third by David Eckstein but Giants' reliever Jeremy Affeldt would strike out both Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez to end the inning and the Padres' threat.

Both bullpens would hold through the eighth and ninth innings. Padres' reliever Luke Gregerson, who took over for Chris Young to start the eighth, didn't give up a hit through his two innings while striking out three.

Giants' relievers Bob Howry and Jeremy Affeldt combined for an inning and two-thirds giving up just one hit.

In the tenth, Padres' reliever Edwin Moreno, who had given up a walk-off game winning home run to Phillies short stop Jimmy Rollins, would get Juan Uribe to ground out and then a one out single to Andres Torres.

After Torres stole second base, Moreno would get Eugenio Valez to strike out and it looked like Moreno might get through the inning unscathed. But after an intentional walk to Fred Lewis, catcher Benjie Molina stepped to the plate and roped a ground rule double to left center, scoring Andres Torres and sending the Giants' fans home happy and sending the Padres back to San Diego with their third straight loss.

This was not a game the Padres could afford to lose, especially going back to San Diego for a three game series against a Pirates team that is coming off a sweep of the Florida Marlins. The same Marlins team that was off to the best start in the big leagues just a few days ago.

Instead, they'll send Kevin Correia (0-1, 4.09) to the hill to try and end the Padres' three game losing streak starting Friday night against Ian Snell (1-2, 4.24) of the Pirates.

In game two on Saturday night, the Padres will have right hander Shawn Hill (1-0, 3.60) against Zach Duke (2-1, 2.95).

The two teams will finish up their three game series with a Sunday afternoon affair. The Padres will have ace Jake Peavy (2-2, 5.13) against Pirates' right hander Ross Ohlendorf (1-2, 3.00).

Padres-Giants: Peavy Struggles in Loss to Giants

It was as simple as a pitch that didn't do what Padres' ace Jake Peavy wanted it to do, instead it stayed over the plate and Giants' short stop Edgar Renteria hit it out for a grand slam home run that led the Giants to an 8-3 win over the Padres.

The grand slam was the first ever given up by Peavy in his seven year career, but it was the the knockout punch delivered to San Diego.

Renteria had Peavy's number all night long, collecting three hits including a home run and five RBI's, raising is batting average to .455 against the Padres' right-hander.

San Diego took an early 2-1 lead in the top half of the fourth thanks to an RBI single from right-fielder Brian Giles in the first and an RBI double from Kevin Kouzmanoff in the fourth, Chase Headley was tagged out at the plate attempting to score on Kouzmanoff's double and you may look at that point in the game as a turning point.

Had Headley stayed at third, they may have had another chance to get him across to push the lead to 3-1, possibly giving Jake a little more breathing room and that big fourth inning for the Giants may not have happened.

But, as it stands now, Peavy will drop to 2-2 on the season. He would pitch six innings, giving up six runs on seven hits walking three and striking out three.

On the Giants' side of things, Matt Cain finally gets a win against the Padres, his first since 2006. Not saying he hasn't pitched well enough against San Diego for a win, but his bullpen has erased the leads he's turned over and he's ended up with either a no decision or a loss. Cain moves to 2-0 on the season after giving up just two runs on nine hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out five through his six innings of work.

If there is a silver lining in this game for San Diego, it's the fact that they can thank the Houston Astros for breaking the Dodgers' eight-game win streak. Not that that really matters this early in the season, but the closer they can keep the Dodgers in their sights, the better chance they have in staying in the NL West race.

The Giants and Padres will finish their two-game set this evening from SBC Park. The Giants will have Barry Zito (0-2, 10.00 ERA) on the mound while the Padres are hoping their number two man, Chris Young, can bounce back from his worst performance this season.

Young gave up seven runs on nine hits through three and two-third innings against Philadelphia, but thanks to a tremendous effort by his teammates, the Padres would rally for an 8-7 win over the Phillies.

Zito on the other hand hasn't fared well at all in his last two starts, not pitching past the fifth inning in either of them. He gave up four runs in four innings in a 7-3 loss to San Diego in his first start, then followed that up by giving up six runs through five innings pitched in a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers.

The Padres need this win to get back on track, it would be a momentum boost for their return home as they'll open a three-game home stand against the Pittsburgh Pirates starting on April 24th.

Padres Re-Acquire Chris Burke

After the San Diego Padres learned that young short stop Everth Cabrera would have to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, General Manager Kevin Towers started to work on bringing bringing in another player to back up Luis Rodriguez, who will take over as the full time short stop.

According to Dan Hayes of the North County Times, the Padres re-acquired Chris Burke, a player the Padres had in Spring Training but traded to the Seattle Mariners because they were going to keep both Rodriguez and Cabrera.

Burke, a first round pick of the Houston Astros in 2001, has been playing with Seattle's Triple-A team in Tacoma, where he was hitting .237 in 38 at-bats. He's expected to be in uniform when the team starts their series tonight against the San Francisco Giants.

In other Padre notes, the Friars game against the Philadelphia Phillies was rained out last night but no makeup date has been decided.

The Padres arrived in San Francisco late last night and will be well rested for their series opener tonight from SBC Park. Jake Peavy (2-1, 3.98 ERA), coming off a win against the NY Mets, is expected to get the start for San Diego while the Giants will counter with Matt Cain (1-0, 2.08 ERA).

Cain is about the only pitcher in San Francisco's rotation that isn't struggling. He also has given the Padres fits over his last 15 starts against them, but he hasn't gotten much run support in those games either. Cain holds a 2.92 ERA against the Padres in 15 combined starts as well as holding them to a .197 batting average against in those same number of games.

Chad Gaudin to Make First Start Saturday in Portland

The San Diego Padres' newest addition, right-hander Chad Gaudin, is scheduled to make his first start for the Portland Beavers when they play their home opener on Saturday April 17th. To make room for Gaudin, the Beavers placed pitcher Josh Banks on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle.

Gaudin was signed to a minor league deal by the Padres on April 12th after being released by the Chicago Cubs on April 5th. The only way Gaudin was going to sign with the Padres was being given the chance to be a starter. So, Kevin Towers signed him knowing he could be an insurance arm should they lose Kevin Correia, Walter Silva or Shawn Hill to injury.

Gaudin has played all or part of the last six seasons with Tampa Bay (2003-04), Toronto (2005), Oakland (2006-08) and the Cubs (2008), posting a 28-25 record and a 4.45 ERA in 185 appearances (50 starts).

With Silva struggling to get out of the 5th inning against the Mets on Monday night, giving up four runs and being unable to finish the inning, we may see Gaudin in San Diego sooner rather than later.

I know the Padres are anxious about Kevin Correia's start tonight and they're hoping he doesn't struggle with his command like he did in his first start against the Dodgers in which he walked four batters including walking in the Dodgers first run of the game. He would finally settle down and get his command back, but received a no decision in a 4-3 Padres win.

Shawn Hill, former Washington National, isn't scheduled to start again until Saturday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies. The Padres like Hill and what he brings to the club, if he can impress the way he did in his first start against San Francisco, he may have a permanent role in the rotation.

Henry Blanco's Two-Homer Game Leads Padres Past Giants

If you couldn't tell how much chemistry Jake Peavy has with catcher Henry Blanco, it was certainly evident last night.

The San Diego Padres' right-hander pitched 8 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out ten, not to mention he didn't walk a batter all night as Peavy would pick up his first win of the season in a 6-3 Padres' victory.

His catcher, former Cub Henry Blanco, wouldn't allow Jake to steal the show. With the game scoreless in the third inning, Blanco would get his first home-run of the season giving the Padres a 1-0 lead. In the home half of the 5th inning, game tied at 1-1, Blanco made sure Giants' starter Jonathan Sanchez remembered his name as Blanco sent a fastball into the upper deck in left field giving the Padres a 2-1 lead. Later that inning, with the bases loaded, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez gave the knockout punch with a bases clearing double for a 5-2 lead.

For Jake Peavy, it was his 28th career start in which he finished with double-digit strikeouts. You can also tell that Peavy enjoys the chemistry that he shares with his catcher. "I think communication is the big thing. I spent a lot of time talking about what I do to be successful. He's as good as anyone I've been with talking about before the game and going out and executing. We really do follow pitch-by-pitch what we want to do."

It also didn't hurt that the Padres gave Peavy the run support that they didn't give him in his first start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After their third straight win last night, the momentum is certainly there, it's how they carry it into each and every game that is going to be the most important. The rotation has been better than expected, the bullpen has given up just three runs in their 16 innings of work thus far and closer Heath Bell is 3-for-3 in save chances. Things are going the right way for this team, how the rest of the season goes is yet to be seen.

The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres will be back at it again tonight from Petco Park. The Giants will have young ace Tim Lincecum on the hill tonight against Padres' right-hander Chris Young.

Why The San Diego Padres Could Win The NL West

So the headline caught your attention, as it would a lot of baseball fans, especially those that are fans of teams in the National League's Western Division. A division that, and maybe rightly so, has been called the weakest division in baseball over the past few years. Well, regardless of whether or not that's true, it makes it a much more interesting race as October draws nearer.

All the talk at the beginning of the 2009 season was about the Los Angeles Dodgers and how they were the odds on favorite to win the division. Well, not to steal a line from ESPN College Gameday's own Lee Corso but, "not so fast my friend." Could the San Diego Padres possibly make a run at the Dodgers in 2009? I think they can and I believe they will.

After a 2008 season that saw the San Diego Padres lose 99 games, Padres' General Manager Kevin Towers knew that they would have to make some changes if they were going to improve on that record and make sure they didn't have a season like that again. It didn't start the way he or the team had hoped with all the rumors swirling around ace Jake Peavy and his possible trade to a team like Atlanta or Chicago. Just as it looked like Peavy might be headed to the Cubs, negotiations broke off and Peavy remained in San Diego.

As Spring Training began, there were more questions than answers. The rotation was anything but set, the bullpen had more holes than a golf course fairway after I've played and the Trevor Hoffman era would come to an end after 15 seasons when the team elected not to re-sign the long time closer. So where would Kevin Towers turn and who could he possibly bring in to fill those holes?

As spring wore on, the team began to take shape, new faces started to emerge and the roster was widdled down until there were down to their official 25-man roster as Opening Day was just a few days away. New faces like David Eckstein, Duaner Sanchez, Walter Silva and Kevin Correia would try and put the Padre fans at ease, try to prove that they could help this team win.

It wouldn't take long for any of those guys to make their presence known. Eckstein has already had a few key hits, especially in a come from behind victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 9th when the team rallied from 3-1 down to win 4-3.

Duaner Sanchez has done his job out of the bullpen, having yet to give up a hit in either of his two appearances.

Walter Silva made his first start for the Padres on April 8th against the Dodgers and would be equally as impressive, pitching five strong innings giving up two runs on five hits but getting a no decision in a 5-2 loss.

Kevin Correia would make his own mark in his first start as a Padre against the San Francisco Giants. Although he struggled with his command at times, he still kept the Padres within striking distance of the Dodgers and it eventually led to their come from behind 4-3 victory over the Dodgers. Correia would go six innings giving up three runs on five hits and striking out five.

The one thing that this Padres team lacked over the last few seasons has been their offense. Leaving runners in scoring position, not getting the timely hits when they needed them and not giving their pitchers any run support. Through their first three games, it looked like it was going to be the same old story, but a come from behind victory over the Dodgers and two straight wins over the Giants and it looks like they have a new found confidence.

There's no doubt that Jake Peavy and Chris Young will anchor the Padres' rotation, but when guys like that have the confidence to pitch six or seven innings,getting run support from their offense, lights out pitching from bullpen guys like Duaner Sanchez, Cla Meredith and new closer Heath Bell, it could make the Padres a team to be reckoned with in 2009.

Padres-Giants: Padres jump on Zito early, beat Giants 7-3

The San Diego Padres wasted no time getting their offense going against Giants' left-hander Barry Zito, scoring three runs in the home half of the first inning including an RBI double from right-fielder Brian Giles and an RBI single from third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Zito would only last four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four as the Padres outlasted the Giants, and a 51-minute rain delay, for a 7-3 win at Petco Park.

The two teams were in the sixth inning with a light rain already falling, but that light rain turned into a downpour and the teams were ordered off the field with the Padres leading 4-2.

In the eighth inning, against Giants' reliever Merkin Valdez, Scott Hairston provided the knockout punch as he hammered a hanging slider for a three-run homer to dead center. Hairston would be responsible for four of the teams seven runs in their victory.

Another new Padre pitcher would impress as well. Shawn Hill, who the Padres signed after being released by the Washington Nationals, pitched five strong innings giving up two runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out three. After Hill departed after the fifth inning, the Padres' bullpen would shut down the Giants through the remaining four innings. They would allow just one hit and one run (unearned), walking two and striking out two.

In 2008, the Padres' bullpen was shaky at best, you never knew what you might see from them. That has all changed in 2009 with new additions like Duaner Sanchez, who's yet to give up a hit in his two relief appearances. It has given manager Bud Black a whole lot more confidence in going to his bullpen in tight situations and close leads. He knows they'll get the job done.

The two teams will be back at it tonight from Petco Park. The Giants will have left-hander Jonathan Sanchez on the hill, the Padres will counter with their ace Jake Peavy. Jake will be looking for the kind of run support they didn't give him in his first start against the Dodgers. Look for him to have a big game tonight and look for the Padres to carry their confidence over and keep their momentum.

Padres-Dodgers: Adrian, Edgar Gonzalez lead Padres to victory

The Padres have come up with late inning heroics before, but it didn't look like it was going to come this afternoon. With the Padres trailing 3-1 heading into the home half of the eighth, it seemed the Padres were going to mail it in, having only scored 1 run on three hits, two of those coming off the bat of 2nd baseman David Eckstein.

That's when the drama started, the comeback began and the Gonzalez brothers stepped to the plate. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez got things started, hammering a 2-2 fastball deep into the left field seats to pull the Padres to within one run. Two batters later, older brother Edgar Gonzalez tripled to right-center before being replaced by pinch runner Everth Cabrera who would score on a Nick Hundley single to left, tying the ballgame.

By the time the inning ended, the Padres had taken a 4-3 lead thanks to an RBI double from third baseman Luis Rodriguez. But the drama wasn't over then.

Out sprinted Padres' closer Heath Bell to try and close out the game and the win for the San Diego Padres. It didn't start the way he hoped, giving up a leadoff triple to Orlando Hudson. Bell would re-group, getting Manny Ramirez to ground out and leaving Hudson at third. He would intentionally walk Andre Ethier, electing to face Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin.

Bell got the better of the match up, getting Martin to ground into a game ending double play, sending the Padre fans home happy and salvaging a series split.

Padres' starter Kevin Correia and Dodgers' starter Clayton Kershaw were impressive, both however would get no decisions.

Correia would pitch six strong, giving up three runs on five hits, walking four and striking out five. Kershaw would go five innings, giving up one run on three hits, he also walked four and struck out five Padre batters.

Up next for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they will travel to Phoenix, AZ for a three game series, to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks who had today off after losing two of three at home to the Colorado Rockies.

For the San Diego Padres, they will remain at home as they welcome in the San Francisco Giants for a three game set. New Padre starter Shawn Hill is expected to make his San Diego debut Friday night against Giants' left-hander Barry Zito.

CY struggles against the Giants

Quick update, although the game is still in progress, Chris Young really struggled in his outing this afternoon against the Giants.

The Padres' #2 starter didn't get out of the first inning, 2/3 of an inning, six hits, six earned runs. If the Padres weren't worried about their staring rotation before, they should be now.

A few good notes, Chase Headley and Adrian Gonzalez both homered and oddly enough, both went opposite field. Adrian homered to left center, Headley to right.

Cla Meredith having a dominate, but quiet, spring

Don't look now, but submarine right-hander Cla Meredith hasn't allowed a hit or a run in 8 Cactus League innings, showing that if current closer Heath Bell can't get the job done, that he could be the guy to look to if the team needs him.

As for right now, Meredith will be Bell's setup man in the 8th inning when the season opens in just a few short weeks.

For those of you who are worrying about the Padres' current 4-15 record in Cactus League play, I'd recommend that you not freak out about games that don't mean a thing. The team has been without Adrian Gonzalez, Edgar Gonzalez, Scott Hairston, Heath Bell and Jake Peavy for the better part of three weeks. When the season opens, the Padres will have their full roster and will be at 100%, barring any injuries to Jake Peavy or Heath Bell as they finish up their stint with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

The team will open the season on April 6th against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and will close out their opening home stand on April 12th against the San Francisco Giants.

Maddux goes 7 strong in win over Giants

Greg Maddux shook off a rough first inning and retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced in his 7 innings of work in a 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants in their home opener, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out five.

It was a different feel at the ballpark, a face Giants fans had gotten so used to in his tenure is no longer there and now see their team moving in a different direction. Barry Bonds was not in the Giants lineup, his face was gone from the left field wall, as was the home run counter towards right center field. A good thing for the Padres as Bonds seem to wear out Padre pitchers in the past, homering 8 times off last night's starter Greg Maddux.

Adrian Gonzalez had a big night for San Diego, going 4-5 with a HR, 2 RBI's and 4 runs scored. Khalil Greene went 2-3 with a triple and driving in 3, Jim Edmonds also had his best night thus far going 2-5 with a pair of RBI singles.

The Padres jumped on Giants' starter Matt Cain early, and often. In the 1st inning, Adrian Gonzalez hit his 2nd HR of the season, a 2-run shot to left center after a Tad Iguchi double. In the 3rd, Edmonds would single home Iguchi, Greene would follow with a sac fly that would score Adrian Gonzalez, then Kevin Kouzmanoff would score on a throwing error off the bat of Scott Hairston.

For the Giants, the only real bright spot was catcher Benjie Molina who went 2-4 with 3 RBI's. Starter Matt Cain really struggled in his 2nd start of the season, going 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 ER) on 7 hits, striking out 5 but he also walked 5 batters.

The 2 teams will face off again tonight at 7:15pm, Randy Wolf (0-0, 1.50 ERA) will go for San Diego. The Giants will go with young right-hander Tim Lincecum (1-0, 2.25 ERA).

Mark "Mud" Grant of Padres Channel 4

This was the first time I had gotten a chance to interview Mark "Mudcat" Grant, color analyst for the San Diego Padre games on San Diego Channel 4.

Not only is he the same funny, well spoken and baseball savvy person he is on the air, but he's a genuinely great person to do an interview with. Thanks again Mark!


Todd Kaufmann: When fans, like myself, watch a TV broadcast it seems like they're treating it like a job. That's not the way it is for you and Matt is it, both of you genuinely enjoy what you do?

Mark Grant: Absolutely. Matty and I have a great time in the booth doing the games. Matt is one of the best baseball announcers, if not everything outside baseball and he's a great guy to work with.

We're not only announcers, but we're fans of the game. We may joke around and be funny, but if I were to put in a game tape I can guarantee that it's 90% baseball. We know that we have an audience to cater to and we want to make sure that they have as much fun watching the Padres as we do.


Todd Kaufmann: Speaking of broadcasting, you stopped playing in 1994 and did a radio show on KFMB as well as Padre broadcasts. What made you want to get back into playing again in 1995?

Mark Grant: I had elbow surgery, I want to say, in the Spring of 1994. I took that year off to rehab, did the KFMB thing but I was only 30 years of age at the time, so I wanted to give it one more shot.

When I started feeling pain in my arm again in 1996, that's when I decided to hang it up for good.



Todd Kaufmann: As a player, you've experienced what it's like to be traded. How hard is it on a young player to be traded and have to move to another city?

Mark Grant: The first time is devastating, because you want to work your way up to the big league club and see your hard work through the minors pay dividends. You want to stay with the team that drafted you, but then you realize that there's another team that wants you and that's a good feeling as well.

I can tell you, I wanted to be a Giant for a long time but getting traded to the San Diego Padres (1987) was the best thing to ever happen to me.


Todd Kaufmann: Being a former major league ball-player and when you and I talked briefly before you mentioned your son is also playing. What do you tell him when he's playing?

Mark Grant: Have a great time playing the game of baseball, but always give 100% effort. I will NEVER get on you for your performance, but I will get on you if you're not giving maximum effort.

If you went 0-for-10 in your first 10 at bats, I want you going up for your 11th at bat with the mindset that "you might have gotten me the first 10 times, but this time I'm going to get you." If you give up 10 straight HR's, I want you to face that 11th batter knowing you're going to get him out.

I want him to enjoy the game that I love and that I enjoyed playing for so many years, that's the most important thing to me as a dad.


Todd Kaufmann: You know I can't let you go without a Padres question. When you look back at the 2007 team and look at the 2008 team, though I know the roster isn't set yet. What jumps out at you that makes you say "this year is going to be special?"

Mark Grant: I think seeing the young players come through the Padres minor league system, guys that have a real shot of making the big league club.

Chase Headley is having a great spring and could make the team to start 2008. Paul McAnulty is also have a good spring and has a chance to break through. The other thing, I would say, is having a 100% Chris Young on the hill for the Padres, along with Jake Peavy and Greg Maddux. If CY doesn't have that oblique injury last season, just imagine what kind of numbers he puts up in 2007.


WRITER'S NOTE: Mark Grant is also an entrepreneur of the "San Diego Rally Stick" a.k.a the "Magical Shillelagh." If you're interested in picking one up for the San Diego Padres 2008 season, you can go to www.markgrantshillelagh.net.

4-run first paces Padres 11-5 win over Giants

The Padres offense wasted no time getting to Giants young right-hander Tim Lincecum.

After a Jeff DaVanon single and Tad Iguchi getting hit by a pitch, Barrett would singled home Jeff DaVanon from 2nd for a 1-0 Padres lead. Tony Clark would single to load the bases but Lincecum got Greene and Ambres out on strikes, which set the stage for Chase Headley. He hammered a bases clearing double to center to extend the lead to 4-0. It was Headley's only hit of the day in 3 AB's but he made it count.

Also having big days for the Padres, offensively, were outfielders Jody Gerut and Paul McAnulty. Gerut hit his 2nd HR of the spring, a solo shot in the 7th inning off Giants' reliever Erick Threets. McAnulty his his 3rd of the spring, a 3-run blast off Brad Hennessey in the 8th inning.

On the pitching side, Chris Young didn't look nearly as sharp as he has his previous two outings, but I'm sure getting little sleep with a newborn in the house is a legitimate excuse. CY gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings of work. Enrique Gonzalez, Cla Meredith and Joe Thatcher combined to no hit the Giants over the final 5 innings, striking out 4.

Up next for San Diego, they will travel to Mesa to take on the Chicago Cubs. Jason Marquis is scheduled to start for the Cubs, opposite Greg Maddux for San Diego. The Padres also have Wil Ledezma, Kevin Cameron and Mark Gardner scheduled to pitch tomorrow as well. Game time is 1:05pm.

Angels rough up Peavy, Padres 8-4

Jake Peavy started the 1st inning trying to work on the command of his fastball, but after giving up 4 runs on 4 hits to the Angels, he decided it was time he stopped fooling around.

The next 2 innings of work, he held the Angels hitless while striking out three. "I couldn't let some of those guys go to bed tonight thinking, 'Man, he's kind of flat,'" Peavy said.

Glendon Rusch had an impressive outing today, going 3 innings, giving up just 1 hit and striking out 4. His spring ERA is an impressive 1.35.

Offensively for the Padres, outfielder Jody Gerut hit his first HR of the spring, a solo shot in the 1st inning off starter Jered Weaver. Colt Morton also got his first of the Spring, a 3-run shot in the 8th inning off reliever Kasey Olenberger. Chase Headley finished his day going 1-for-3, his batting average currently sits at .409.

Up next for the Padres, they'll head to Scottsdale to take on the San Francisco Giants. The Padres will have 6'10" right-hander Chris Young on the mound against 2nd year right-hander Tim Lincecum. Game time is 1:05pm.