It was a really bad ninth inning for the Padres on Sunday, especially if your name is Jerry Hairston Jr. But the Friars 4-3 loss at Houston disturbingly displayed their Achilles heel.
First, the inning, if you didn't see it. The Padres went into the ninth with a 3-2 lead thanks to a strong five-inning spot start by Tim Stauffer and the pitcher's own two-run double. After Edward Mujica allowed a pair of home runs in the sixth to make the game close, things went to hell in the final frame.
Looking for an insurance run for Heath Bell -- it would have been darned handy as it turned out -- David Eckstein lined a double to left and went to third on Nick Hundley's ground out. Hairston Jr. then tapped a weak grounder to short against a drawn-in infield, and Eckstein was thrown out at the plate. Hairston Jr., obviously hoping to make amends by getting into scoring position, was then thrown out stealing to end the inning -- and was visibly frustrated.
Well, that didn't go too well, but the Padres were still turning the ball over to Bell, so they seemed in good shape. Uh, no. Carlos Lee grounded a ball to Hairston Jr. at short, and he airmailed the ball well over first baseman Adrian Gonzalez' head, and Lee went to second base. A pinch runner was grounded to third and, as the Padres failed to do, was brought home by a sacrifice fly. That tied the game and the Astros went on to win in the 11th.
As bad as that ninth inning was, it's a display of how the Padres are in need of improvement as they head into a big pair of series against the Giants and Dodgers. Their lack of offense is keeping games like this close. Sure, they had to face Roy Oswalt, but you have to execute professionally when opportunity arises.
Four of the Padres past five games have been decided by one run, and they are 2-2 in those contests. You don't want so many close games where anything can happen. For the season, the Padres are 5-4 in games decided by a single point -- a winning mark but barely so.
You can look at the Padres scores so far and point to a few 8- and 7-run scoring outbursts, but check this out: Sunday, Stauffer drove in two of the three runs and scored the other. Friday, when they hung 7 on the 'stros, Mat Latos had an RBI double and scored later. It's nice to have the hurlers helping the hitters, but it's not good when they're carrying them.
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Condolences to Padres P Kevin Correia on the loss of his brother over the weekend. As of Monday the circumstances have not been reported, other than he was a student at UC Santa Barbara.
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A split for San Diego State's men's basketball team in terms of star opponents leaving for the NBA. Darington Hobson of New Mexico is gone, but BYU's Jimmer Fredette is staying for his senior season. The Lobos are adding quality depth to what had been a lean front line, so better for Aztecs fans that Hobson goes. But Fredette, long a thorn in SDSU's side, withdrew from the draft after he was reportedly injured in a workout late last week.
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