San Diego, CA

Padres Daily: So much relief; quite a run; uplifting Peralta

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3 hours ago

August 14, 2024

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Padres Daily: So much relief; quite a run; uplifting Peralta

Good morning,

Tanner Scott is the latest face of the Padres remarkable season.

If there is a theme for a team that was thought to have been built around stars, it is that there is no one face of this franchise in 2024. At least not on the field. Not where it matters.

This is actually a team. That is what has struck many observers around the league. It is, in the opinion of several of those people, the most complete roster A.J. Preller has ever put together.

Should last year’s incomplete, top-heavy Padres team have made the playoffs? Undoubtedly, yes. This is not an either/or topic.

But this year’s group has talent and complementary pieces. It has a bunch of guys willing to do whatever they are asked.

And Scott, one of three relievers Preller acquired at the trade deadline, fits right in.

“I like pitching,” he said last night. “It’s my job.”

That is pretty much what Robert Suarez says about all the times he has gone four outs or protected four-run leads.

They are essentially the same guy, throwing from opposite sides. Give them the ball. Whenever.

And the Padres have them both.

“It’s nice having those two guys back there,” Manny Machado said of the two All-Star closers.

Yeah. They have needed them.

The Padres last night got what has, of late, been a rare quality start, got some gifts from the Pirates and then turned the game over to Jason Adam, Scott and Suarez.

You can read Jeff Sanders’ game story (here) about Michael King’s six innings, the way the Padres got their runs and how those relievers worked the final three innings in a 3-0 victory over the reeling Pirates.

“We’ve got the horses down there,” King said of the bullpen.

Indeed. And because of a convergence of events, they are having to ride them.

In this run of eight games in eight days, the Padres have won seven times.

The first of those games featured a rain delay that forced the bullpen to cover eight innings. Five of the next six games were decided by one run, with the only one that wasn’t getting decided in 10 innings. (That was one of three times the Padres played an extra inning in a four-day span.)

Last night’s three-run margin was secured with a run in the eighth inning.

Each of the past seven games have been within one run or tied at some point after the seventh inning.

Mike Shildt has essentially had no choice but to go with his top arms late in games. And he has had to navigate the past two nights without Adrián Morejón, who has the flu.

So Scott has worked six of the past eight days, and Suarez has worked five of the past seven.

Shildt, whose main purpose is to “normalize” every circumstance so that his players see solutions in place of obstacles, suggested this is no big thing.

“It’s really no different than we’ve done with anybody all year,” he said.

Actually, no Padres reliever had been used five times in seven days or six times in eight days this season.

That does not make it wrong or untenable.

On the contrary, as has been stated in this space before, Shildt has been delivering a master class in bullpen management all season.

And he is pulling the right strings now.

He also has the right strings to pull.

I asked a poorly worded question after last night’s game regarding how it would be good to have a five-run lead instead of playing all these close games.

“Of course it would help,” Shildt said.

My point was — and a better phrasing of the question would have been — about how much better it would be if Shildt could give his high-leverage relievers a break.

Because this is unsustainable.

And Shildt acknowledged as much, even as he pushed back on the idea that there is any “concern” over how the team’s top relievers have had to be relied on so heavily.

“We like to have leads and have our guys pitch at the end,” he said. “So that part’s great, you know, but clearly they (can’t) pitch every night.”

Getting it done

The Padres have won 18 times in a 21-game span for the first time in team history.

There are a lot of reasons for this run of success.

One of them:

“Luck,” Xander Bogaerts said.

Sure.

That is what it takes to do something that, in an average season, is accomplished by just two or three teams.

As noted in yesterday’s newsletter, the Padres have done to the Pirates and Marlins over the past week what good teams often do to bad teams. They have taken advantage of miscues.

In every one of the Padres’ five victories, there was at least one crucial mistake by the Pirates.

On Monday, the Padres were helped to one of their two runs by a wild pitch and the other by an error. Last night, two of the Padres’ three runs were a direct result of errors.

It also requires playing some excellent baseball to win this much over a stretch of longer than three weeks.

The Padres have in this span generally played solid defense, gotten the aforementioned bullpen contributions and had just enough timely hits.

“It takes some special moments,” said Bogaerts, who was part of two World Series teams in Boston, including the 2018 team that had its own 18-3 stretch. “You have to have some Jackson Merrill home run-type stretches. … Solid pitching.”

You don’t throw wins out the window.

Not in the big leagues.

And the Padres were due some of the breaks they are getting now. They weren’t getting many in the season’s first couple months and didn’t get many throughout 2023.

“That’s baseball,” Machado said. “That’s why you play 162 games. And I always say, ‘It’s the beauty of playing a full season.’ There’s a lot of ups and downs and a lot of baseball gods to be dealt with. There’s good luck, there’s bad luck. So you take it as they come.”

Division math

The three best records since the All-Star break belong to teams in the National League West — the Padres (18-4), Diamondbacks (19-5) and Dodgers (15-8).

The Giants are 14-11, which is ninth best in MLB since the break.

Here are the NL wild-card standings:

Hitting the right notes

David Peralta is an unintentional life coach.

Speaking to him is like a hug wrapped in a smile lathered with a pep talk.

And it has nothing to do with his home run last night giving him four homers in his past 56 plate appearances or that he has nine hits (including three doubles and two homers) in his past 21 at-bats.

I wrote (here) about Peralta’s perspective back in June when he was batting .207 with a .544 OPS and acting outwardly in just about every way as if he could not be more pleased.

“Baseball is a kid’s game,” he said then. “And I play it and enjoy it as a kid. There is one thing that I’ve learned over and over in the years in baseball — today that you are here but you don’t know where you’re gonna be tomorrow.”

The 36-year-old Peralta knew back then he needed to hit or he might not have much time left with the Padres. He has been in the game a long time, been released, changed positions, worked his way through the fringes of the minor leagues, worked at McDonald’s to literally be able to afford to get himself from one league to another, played 11 big-league seasons, gone back to the minors …

He is not naive. He was asked the other day how much awareness he had that his time could be running short had he not started producing back in early July.

“You think about it every day,” Peralta said. “But I always think about how I can help the team to win. Baseball is a hard game. And I can’t put more stress on myself like, ‘I gotta hit , I gotta hit.’ If I start putting a lot of stress on myself, it’s not going to happen. I know what I have to do. I’ve got to keep working.

“You’ve got to keep the same attitude. I know it’s going to come. You’ve got to trust what you’re doing. I’ve got a great coaching staff, I’ve got great teammates. They support me the same way I support them. It’s a matter of time. It’s going to happen.”

While starting virtually every game in right field against opposing right-handers, Peralta has batted .299/.337/.529 in 28 games since July 3.

“Every time I step up to home plate I am always expecting something good is going to happen,” Peralta said. “Even if it doesn’t happen, turn the page. Next at-bat something good is going to happen. I’m going to keep doing it until something good happens.”

This is, by the way, whose locker is next to Merrill’s in the Padres clubhouse at Petco Park. It has been difficult to keep track of the phrases Peralta has said that the 21-year-old Merrill also says.

Hits keep coming

A Luis Ortiz slider broke down and in and hit Jurickson Profar just above the right ankle in the first inning last night.

It was the seventh time in eight games Profar was hit by a pitch, tying a major league record shared by three others.

While it doesn’t make the bruises go away, there is some solace.

Profar contributed to the Padres loading the bases and eventually scoring a run without getting a hit in last night’s first inning. And the Padres have scored in all but one of the innings in which he has been hit in this painful stretch.

My bad(s)

I wrote in a “tidbit” in yesterday’s newsletter that Ha-Seong Kim stole his league-leading 22nd base on Monday. Not the case. That should have said team leading.

Worse, I wrote an item yesterday on Martín Pérez and said he was starting last night. He was not. Ryan Finley and I even discussed that on our podcast Monday afternoon, and I still messed it up. Anyway, read the item again today, because Pérez is starting today.

I wasn’t going to mention how my day began at 4 a.m. ET on Monday in Miami and ended about 3 a.m. PT on Tuesday. But now I will, since I am so embarrassed by those gaffes (especially the Pérez one) that I need to offer an excuse.

Tidbits

A win today would make the Padres 6-0 against the Pirates this season. They also won all six games against the Nationals this year. No Padres team has ever swept two season series of at least six games.
The Padres have won eight straight series for the first time since 2007 and are 15 games above .500 for the first time since the end of 2022.
Machado drove in two runs last night. The Padres are 19-0 when he drives in at least that many.
Luis Arraez was 2-for-3 last night, raising his NL-leading average to .306. He also walked, his first time doing so in 12 games (80 plate appearances). Arraez’s 2.8 percent walk rate is the lowest of his career, as is his .338 on-base percentage.
This is a nice thing:

The necklace Xander Bogaerts has been wearing was made by #Padres trainer Ricky Huerta’s daughter, Juliana, who is 13 and trying to raise money for her 8th grade trip to New York. He bought two necklaces off her to match his shoes (one orange, one blue). pic.twitter.com/oPEKYQWibt
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) August 13, 2024

All right, that’s it for me. Early game today (1:10 p.m. PT).

Talk to you tomorrow.

Originally Published: August 14, 2024 at 6:30 a.m.

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San Diego, CA

Michael King starts strong, then Padres’ bullpen finishes off Pirates

Published

10 hours ago

August 14, 2024

Press Room

Michael King starts strong, then Padres’ bullpen finishes off Pirates

The Padres’ bullpen can take a long deep breath on Thursday.

Rather, it should take a long deep breath then.

Because a three-game stay at hitter-friendly Coors Field sits on the other side of Thursday’s oasis and that will start a string of 18 straight games that will carry the season into September.

Michael King did what he could to provide an early blow with six strong innings on Tuesday. Then David Peralta provided some late thunder via his fifth homer and the bullpen again walked a tight rope in securing a 3-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 42,949 at Petco Park.

“We got the horses down there that like you could just turn it over in a (tight) game,” King said after getting the Padres started on winning for the 18th time in 21 games, a franchise first. “Honestly that’s why we’re winning a lot of close games.”

This victory clinched the Padres’ eighth straight series win heading into Wednesday’s finale against a reeling Pirates team that has lost nine in a row and all five so far this season to the Padres.

It’s a push that has the Padres perched atop the NL wild-card standings with the Diamondbacks, but it has not been easy of late as five of the previous six games had been decided by a single run and the Padres were victorious in all but Sunday’s game in Miami.

The Padres only had a three-run cushion at the end after Manny Machado singled through the middle of the infield in the eighth to drive in Luis Arraez, who singled to start the inning and moved to second when Bryan De La Cruz fumbled the ball in right field.

Before that, the Padres had pinned their hopes on King’s gem, earlier gifts from the Pirates and Jason Adam and Tanner Scott stranding runners at third base in the seventh and eighth innings.

Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save.

“It’s been 50-50,” Machado said. “You’re just talking about one week worth of baseball. It’s been tight. I mean, baseball’s up and down. Honestly in that week we’ve been winning games. That’s all that really matters at the end of the day. Two weeks ago, we were scoring runs and pitching wasn’t giving up any runs. Now it’s flipped. Now it’s been we’ve been hitting and we’ve been giving up some runs and it’s been tight games. …

“It’s the beauty of baseball. Every week it’s something different. You just gotta try to come out on the opposite side of winning ballgames and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Indeed.

The Padres entered Tuesday with a 17-13 record in one-run games and a 28-19 record in two-run games.

Peralta’s 410-foot blast to right in the fifth inning certainly allowed King to breathe a bit easier Tuesday.

He struck out 10 batters in turning in the first quality start by a Padres pitcher other than Martín Pérez since King pitched into the seventh inning in a win on July 27 in Baltimore.

King still needed to tread carefully because he allowed seven hits — albeit on quite a bit of soft contact — but two double plays carried quite a bit of water.

The first was started by Cronenworth at first base in the fifth inning, ending the frame after Andrew McCutchen’s one-out single.

King helped his own case after Oneil Cruz led off the sixth with a single, fielding a comebacker from Joey Bart and whirling to second to start a double play. He then struck out Rowdy Tellez for his 10th punchout and walked off the mound with just 93 pitches over six innings.

“I always judge my outings based on how many innings I can go,” King said. “I think that the most valuable thing a starting pitch can do is go deep into games. And it’s not something that I am thinking about when I’m out there. But the double plays really, really helped that pitch count.”

King did not walk a batter in a start for the first time in 15 starts. None of the hits he allowed went for extra bases and three didn’t crack 75 mph off the bat.

After King’s exit, Adam was the first reliever out of the gate and he stranded a runner at third with two strikeouts after hitting a batter to start the seventh.

Scott also left a runner on third in the eighth despite allowing a one-out double to Bryan Reynolds and Suarez allowed a two-out single in the ninth before ending the game.

The arrival of Adam, of course, was the start a bullpen overhaul that saw Scott and swingman Bryan Hoeing arrive from Miami shortly after.

Since Adam’s arrival on July 29, the bullpen’s ERA entering Tuesday was 2.75, fourth lowest among relief corps over that stretch.

The Padres did not collect a hit on Tuesday until Cronenworth’s leadoff single in the fourth inning and he was promptly picked off first base.

King was still protecting a lead, however, because of the Pirates’ first-inning gifts.

Like Arraez’s leadoff walk, a Luis Ortiz breaking ball that struck Jurickson Profar in the foot and the missed catch at second base on Cronenworth’s would-be, double-play tapper back to the mound.

That loaded the bases and Machado cashed in one run on a sacrifice fly to center field. But the rally was halted immediately after that when Xander Bogaerts bounced to third base to start an inning-ending double play.

Originally Published: August 13, 2024 at 9:14 p.m.

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San Diego, CA

Could we see sea lions in San Diego die from toxins?

Published

17 hours ago

August 13, 2024

Press Room

Could we see sea lions in San Diego die from toxins?

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A California sea lion, weaving its head back and forth. It is being treated in Sausalito for what’s called domoic acid poisoning.

Officials say this summer, there has been an uptick in cases in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

“For the last month, this thing has been growing from San Louis Obispo, potentially all the way to San Diego,” said Clarissa Anderson.

Anderson works for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She says the toxin comes from an algae bloom, growing in the ocean.

“It leads to seizures in the brain or respiratory distress. We would experience the same thing if we were eating shellfish with this toxin.”

And she says the animals are getting it from anchovies and the fish they eat. We have also seen several sea lion pups die recently in La Jolla Cove. Anderson says it’s unclear if that’s from the toxins.

“The pups we are hearing about in La Jolla Cove are possibly suffering from the poisoning, but we are going to have to wait and see. There will be recovery efforts and testing,” she added.

Anderson says she and her staff will be monitoring the situation. She is communicating with the California Department of Health and marine mammal rescue organizations.

Officials from Sea World tell us they have rescued two animals in the last two weeks that have symptoms of the toxic poisoning. They saw a larger impact by a bloom last year and San Diego has not been largely impacted, as much as north of Los Angeles has.

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17 of San Diego's Best Tennis Courts and Clubs | San Diego Magazine

Published

24 hours ago

August 13, 2024

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17 of San Diego's Best Tennis Courts and Clubs | San Diego Magazine

Think surfers and sailors in this town have it made? The waves can go flat for weeks at a stretch, and there’s only so much wind and daylight to go around. Tennis players, on the other hand, most certainly do. They can don their pleated skirts and headbands and revel in nearly 365 days—and on lighted courts, nights!—of ground strokes, volleys, serves, and smashes every year.

In the City of San Diego alone, there are 159 courts, more than 140 of which are outfitted with lights for nighttime play. You can find an exhaustive list of courts that includes high schools, parks, and even backboards and practice walls in your neighborhood here. But we’ve rounded up premier places to play. Committing to a club membership is a big deal, but many of these courts are accessible to the public for the amenable price of free.

Courtesy of University City Racquet Club

Tennis Courts in La Jolla and Del Mar

La Jolla Tennis Club

Nine courts in the heart of downtown La Jolla.

Address: 7632 Draper Ave.

Courts: Nine courts

Membership Price: between $95 and $205 depending on time of year for adult membership

Day Pass Price: $10 for non-member adult day pass

Other Amenities: Assorted lessons, clinics, and leagues

University City Racquet Club

These courts are located at the Standley Recreation Center.

Address: 3585 Governor Drive

Courts: Six courts, lighted in weekdays only

Membership Price: $325 annual adult membership; $100 junior membership

Day Pass Price: $10; $8 if playing with member

Other Amenities: Youth and adult classes available

Surf and Turf Recreation Center

Where the surf meets the serve.

Address: 15555 Jimmy Durante Blvd.

Courts: Eight courts, all lighted

Membership Price: $1,400 annual adult membership or $120 monthly; $950 annual junior membership or $80 monthly

Other Amenities: Lessons, camps, and “cardio tennis” workouts

Where to play tennis in San Diego featuring Peninsula Tennis Club in Ocean Beach — Courtesy of Peninsula Tennis Club

Tennis Courts in Point Loma and Ocean Beach

Barnes Tennis Center

Adult programs are available but it’s mostly all about the kids at this wonderland of youth after-school tennis programs, teams and tournaments.

Address: 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd.

Courts: 25 hard courts, two clay courts, all lighted

Membership Price: $350 for adult membership

Day Pass Price: $8-15 per adult for a one hour court rental

Peninsula Tennis Club

A spacious complex featuring riverfront public courts.

Address: 2525 Bacon St.

Courts: 12 lighted courts

Membership Price: $185 annual adult membership

Day Pass Price: $10

Other Amenities: Lessons, clinics, and tournaments, weekly and monthly tennis get-togethers

Point Loma/Cabrillo Tennis Club

This club plays on four courts at Point Loma Community Park and two courts at Cabrillo Recreation Center.

Address: 1049 Catalina Blvd. and 3051 Canon St.

Courts: Six

Membership Price: $75 annual individual membership

Day Pass Price: $5

Volo Sports

Volo runs adult leagues for beginners as well as coed mixed doubles at various skill levels starting at all times of the year. Eight-week playing schedules include post-game happy hours at local establishments.

Address: Various Locations

Courts: Volo leagues play at Barnes Tennis Center and Peninsula Tennis Club

Membership Price: Prices vary from about $119 to $185, depending on league

Other Amenities: Make new friends, beat them at tennis

Where to play tennis in San Diego featuring San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club in Bay Park — Courtesy of San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club

Tennis Courts in Pacific and Mission Beach

Pacific Beach Tennis Club

This 200-member club boasts various leagues and mixers near De Anza Cove.

Address: 2639 Grand Ave.

Courts: Eight courts

Membership Price: $295 annual membership; $34 monthly membership

Day Pass Price: $10; 18 and under are free

Other Amenities: Clubhouse, pro shop, and ball machine ($10 per hour)

Pacific Beach Recreation Center

A pair of lighted courts just waiting for a heated pick-up match.

Address: 1405 Diamond St.

Courts: Two lighted courts

Price: Free

Other Amenities: Youth and adult lessons available

San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club

This 10-acre facility also boasts a pool, racquetball, basketball, volleyball, and table tennis.

Address: 4848 Tecolote Rd.

Courts: 22; 16 are lighted

Price: Contact the club for details

Other Amenities: One stadium court, backboards, and pro shop. Lessons available through Angel Lopez Tennis Academy

Tennis Courts in Balboa Park

Morley Field / Balboa Tennis Club

The Morley Field courts, in volleying distance of the San Diego Zoo, are the site of many tennis tournaments throughout the year hosted by Balboa Tennis Club, which offers a full complement of lessons and leagues. Reservations can be made a week in advance.

Address: 2221 Morley Field Drive

Courts: 25 hard courts, all lit, some with bleachers

Membership Price: $450 yearly adult membership

Day Pass Price: $10 adult day pass

Other Amenities: One stadium court with 1,500 seats, and a clubhouse with lounge, and locker rooms. Membership lets you reserve courts a week in advance and grants access to clubhouse with locker rooms, showers, and the option to play on the club’s teame

Tennis Courts in Kearny Mesa and Lake Murray

San Diego Mesa College

The courts are open to the public when not in use for classes, practices, or matches. Check team schedules at Gosdmesa.com, keeping in mind that college team matches can take five hours.

Address: 7250 Mesa College Circle

Courts: Eight

Price: Free

Other Amenities: All the tennis, none of the student loans

Lake Murray Tennis Club

Ten courts in a sublime suburban setting.

Address: 7003 Murray Park Dr.

Courts: 10 courts

Membership Price: $335 adult memberships; $110 kids memberships

Day Pass Price: $10 day pass

Other Amenities: Clubhouse, pro lessons, leagues, tournaments, social gatherings

Tennis Courts in Coronado

Coronado Tennis Center

Tennis is a popular pastime on this island hamlet.

Address: 1501 Glorietta Blvd.

Courts: Eight courts, three are lighted

Day Pass Price: Reservations made five days or fewer before game day are $5 and $15, for residents and nonresidents respectively)

Other Amenities: Clubhouse equipped with a kitchen and free Wifi

Coronado Cays Park

This park is located adjacent to Silver Strand State Beach.

Address: 99 Grand Caribe Isle

Courts: Five courts, all lighted

Price: Free

Tennis Courts in Carmel Valley and Rancho Penasquitos

Carmel Valley Tennis

Located at the Carmel Valley Recreation Center.

Address: 3777 Townsgate Dr.

Courts: Four courts, all lighted

Membership Price: $50 annual adult memberships

Day Pass Price: $5 per person/per hour day rate for nonmembers

Other Amenities: Lessons, camps, and clinics with a heavy emphasis on juniors

Rancho Penasquitos Tennis Center

Get in line, Rafael Nadal! There’s currently an eight-10-month waiting list for memberships but the private nonprofit club generally keeps one court open for public nonmember use with a $5 day pass.

Address: 12350 Black Mountain Road

Courts: 12 courts

Membership Price: $325 adult memberships; $550 family membership; $105 junior memberships

Day Pass Price: $5

Other Amenities: Senior discounts available

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