In the offseason, I like to study pitchers and their tendencies. For example, I look at how they fare against left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters. I also look at how they do when they are ahead in the count or behind in the count. By doing this, I can get a feel for what type of pitcher each one is. This information can be very helpful when handicapping baseball games during the season.
For example, I recently looked at Jon Lester. He is a left-handed pitcher who does well against right-handed hitters. He is also good when he is ahead in the count. This tells me that he is a pitcher who likes to get ahead in the game and then finish his opponent off. In contrast, I looked at Doug Fister. He is a right-handed pitcher who struggles against left-handed hitters, but does well when he is behind in the count. This tells me that he is a pitcher who likes to battle and try to make a comeback.
By looking at these types of statistics, I was able to get an edge on betting on baseball games this past offseason.
The San Diego Padres have not had a lot to be confident about in the past few years. The team has not made the playoffs since 2006 and has not finished with a winning record since 2010. One of the few bright spots for the Padres over the past few years has been their young catcher, Hector Sanchez.
Sanchez first came up to the majors with the Giants in 2011. He hit .280 in limited action and played a key role in San Francisco’s World Series victory that year. Sanchez was traded to the Padres before the 2014 season and he has been their starting catcher ever since.
Despite playing on one of the worst teams in baseball, Sanchez has been one of its best players. He hit .288 last year and was one of only six players on the Padres to have a batting average over .270. He also led all catchers in fielding percentage (.993) and caught 33% of would-be base stealers.
This offseason, Sanchez was rewarded for his productive play by signing a two-year, $6 million contract extension with San Diego. He is now under contract through the 2020 season.
The Padres’ pitching staff is still very much a work in progress, but Sanchez is confident that they can be competitive this year. “I think we’re going to be pretty good this year,” Sanchez said at Padres FanFest last month. “I know we lost some good guys (in free agency), but I think we have some good young guys who are going to step up and do well this season.”
Sanchez will be counted on heavily to help lead this young pitching staff. The 27-year-old catcher is more than up for the challenge and is looking forward to another productive season with the Padres.
The San Diego Padres showed up to play against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, and they did not disappoint. Rookie outfielder Hunter Renfroe started things off right with an RBI triple in the first inning. He would then score on a single by Wil Myers, which gave the Padres an early 2-0 lead.
Myers then doubled in the third inning, scoring Travis Jankowski and extending the lead to 3-0. The Padres would add another run in the fourth inning when Erick Aybar singled and then scored on a double by Cory Spangenberg.
The Reds would finally get on the board in the fifth inning when Billy Hamilton hit a solo home run. But that was as close as they would get, as the Padres tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning. This time it was Myers who drove in a run with a single, and Renfroe who hit a sacrifice fly to score Aybar and make it 7-1 San Diego.
Reds pitcher Robert Stephenson was lit up for seven runs over four innings, and he was relieved by Michael Lorenzen who fared no better. The Padres bullpen was solid all night long, with Ryan Buchter, Brad Hand, and Brandon Maurer pitching two scoreless innings each.
Wil Myers was named MVP of the game after going 4-for-5 with two doubles, one triple, three RBIs, and one run scored. Hunter Renfroe also had a good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
The win improves San Diego’s record to 68-89 while Cincinnati falls to 68-90. With just six games remaining on their schedule, the Padres will look to finish strong and improve upon their 2016 record.
The San Diego Padres entered their matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night looking to snap a two-game losing streak. Jhoulys Chacin got the start for the Padres and delivered, throwing seven scoreless innings while striking out seven batters.
Chacin was dominant from the start, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. The only blemish on his night came in the seventh inning when he allowed a walk and a hit. However, he was able to get out of the inning without any damage done.
The Padres offense also stepped up, scoring four runs off of Brewers starter Junior Guerra. Freddy Galvis and Cory Spangenberg each had two hits for San Diego, and Hunter Renfroe drove in two runs with a home run.
With the win, the Padres improve to 25-32 on the season and move within three games of .500. They will look to build on this momentum when they host the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
The Padres have done what they needed to do against the Rockies over the weekend, sweep them in a doubleheader. The team hit six home runs in the games, with four of those coming from Franmil Reyes. Reyes has been on fire lately and is quickly becoming one of the most feared hitters in the league.
The pitching was also solid in both games, with Eric Lauer and Joey Lucchesi each picking up wins. The bullpen was shaky at times, but they managed to hold things together.
This was an important series for the Padres as they try to make a run at the playoffs. They are now just 2.5 games back of the division-leading Rockies and will look to keep pace over the next few weeks.
The team will now head to Los Angeles for a three-game series against the Dodgers. This will be another tough test for San Diego, but they have shown that they can compete with anyone in the league.