After a 4-5 road trip marked by improved hitting and sketchy starting pitching, San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen expressed his continued belief that the starters would come around.
For one night, he was proved right. The team’s top starter, Michael King, threw seven scoreless innings Monday as San Diego opened a three-game set with the visiting Atlanta Braves by securing a 1-0 win on Manny Machado’s home run in the fourth.
Now the Padres hope that right-hander Griffin Canning can follow his first win last week with a second one on Tuesday night when they shoot for a series victory against struggling Atlanta.
Canning (1-5, 6.64 ERA) earned a 6-1 triumph Wednesday in St. Louis as the bulk reliever behind opener Bradgley Rodriguez. Canning allowed one run on four hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out two.
“I felt like I was attacking the zone a little bit better,” Canning said after that outing. “Just keeping the team in the game and giving us a chance to win.”
Canning has faced the Braves just twice in his career, losing his only decision and posting a 9.00 ERA in seven innings. Walks have been an issue for Canning in his short time with San Diego, as he’s yielded 25 in just 42 innings.
Padres starters entered Monday night with the fourth-fewest innings in the National League and a 4.63 ERA, tied for third-highest in the league. Even after King’s strong effort — he gave up six hits, struck out five and walked none — their won-lost record is only 21-25.
“We believe that the starting pitching will get better,” Stammen said. “We’re working with them every day.”
While San Diego searches for consistent work from its rotation, Atlanta is trying to fight its way through its first sustained rough patch of the year. Monday night’s loss was the team’s eighth in 11 games.
The Braves managed just seven hits, none of them with a man in scoring position, and also made a spate of outs on well-struck balls. Michael Harris II ripped a liner in the fourth inning that Jackson Merrill ran down with a leaping grab on the warning track in right-center.
But bad luck couldn’t be blamed for other failures, such as the ninth, when Atlanta got the go-ahead runs on base with two outs against Mason Miller. Mike Yastrzemski, however, couldn’t pull the trigger on a 0-2 slider that ended the game.
Miller pitched one inning — giving up one hit, walking one and striking out two — to earn his 21st save. Adrian Morejon preceded Miller with one scoreless inning in which he struck out two.
Injuries have colored the Braves’ efforts lately, but manager Walt Weiss has tried to downplay the issue.
“We’re missing a couple of pieces, but we’ve kind of dealt with that most of the year,” he said.
Atlanta hopes rookie right-hander JR Ritchie (1-2, 4.54 ERA) can boost the team on Tuesday. He’s coming off a 7-5 loss Wednesday to San Francisco, which hit three homers off him in the second inning.
Ritchie allowed five runs on five hits in a five-inning stint, walking three and striking out four. He’s permitted seven homers and walked 21 in 35 2/3 innings.
Ritchie, 22, will face the Padres for the first time in his career.
–Field Level Media
