Padres Daily: Good news in the bad; defending Manny; Kim shines

Good morning,

I hate to go all 2019 on you and focus on the big picture here, but last night was an apparent win for the Padres even though they lost a game and their offense continues to be flaccid.

Now that the Padres are good, it is most often the result that matters, as opposed to how we used to view their games almost exclusively through a prism of the larger context. But there was something else going on for five innings last night that makes a 2-0 loss to the Pirates on May 4 relatively insignificant.

Dinelson Lamet pitched two innings, and Ryan Weathers pitched three. And they looked good and felt good.

Remember, they both left their last starts with injury scares.

“Today was a big day for both of those guys,” Jayce Tingler said after last night’s game. “We’ve got a chance to build and move forward.”

Jeff Sanders’ game story has the particulars.

No eyewash

Padres players have T-shirts made constantly. The shirts commemorate something someone said or events or a picture of a player or staff member they think is funny. Often, too, the shirts are meant to be motivational.

It’s a way to bond and break up the monotony of a long season.

Yesterday, these were what many players were wearing while they did pregame drills and took batting practice:

Eyewash is a term for false hustle or working just to be noticed.

I don’t know the specific genesis of these shirts.

What I do know is there is some consternation among Padres players over the widespread idea that Manny Machado doesn’t hustle. (I regularly hear that very thing from fans and media members.)

It just so happens I was talking to Eric Hosmer about that topic yesterday afternoon.

“You turn on MLB Network,” Hosmer said, “and Manny will have a great game, and something will happen like he hits a pop-up, and he could be grinding through a certain injury or something, and all they talk about is him not running out a pop-up, which is a joke.”

Machado’s teammates are often highly protective of him. Since he arrived, he (along with his wife, Yainee) has been intentional about team-building activities and making sure the atmosphere inside the clubhouse and dugout is positive and fun. He obviously has made significant contributions on the field.

And the reality is Machado works hard. He plays virtually every day. No player in the major leagues has played more games since the start of the 2015 season. And he does it at a high level both offensively and defensively. Because of that, he is given the freedom to not run out every groundball or pop-up that has a 98 percent chance of being an out as if he were playing in Little League.

“The guy, he’s going to war with us every day,” Hosmer said. “We appreciate him as a teammate and as a person. There is so much he does off the field, for individuals, for the whole team collectively. … The outside narrative on Manny is completely baffling.”

Good D, all over

What Ha-seong Kim did the past two nights is what he was signed to do, at least defensively.

He played two positions at a high level, making the routines plays as well as the sensational. He saved a run Monday while at second base and at least another run last night with two plays at shortstop.

That’s the kind of versatility the Dodgers have gotten from players like Chris Taylor in recent years. Having guys like Kim and switch-hitting Jurickson Profar, who plays a half-dozen positions, creates options in choosing starting lineups and making substitutions.

It’s one thing to be able to play multiple position. To play them well while regularly rotating, as Kim and Profar do, is a unique gift.

Now Kim needs to hit. He was 0-for-3 last night and is batting .211 with a .555 OPS on the season.

Scheduled rest

After Hosmer was off Monday, Fernando Tatis Jr. sat at the start of last night’s game. Don’t be surprised to see Machado down today.

The Padres played their 31^st game last night, and they are uber-aware that 131 remain.

“It’s hard to fathom,” Tingler said before the game. “Yesterday was Day 30. That was the half-point of last year. We’ve still got five months to go. Just doing everything in our power to keep these guys fresh for the long run we’re looking forward to.”

This is more rest than the Padres have given players in recent years, but these are unique times. Not only are they coming off a short 2020 season, the Padres expect to be playing well into October.

Also, after having the next three Thursdays off, the Padres begin a stretch of 20 games in 20 days.

Tidbits

• Maybe a day off will do Machado good. He was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts last night and is 1-for-18 in the five games on the homestand. He chased three of the nine pitches he saw outside the zone last night, including two in his final strikeout. During his second strikeout, he fouled off a curveball in the heart of the zone and watched a called third strike on a fastball in the heart of the zone.

• Austin Nola’s first two hits this season — a double Monday and a single last night — have driven in runs.

• The visiting team’s pitcher has a hit the past three games at Petco Park. Pitchers are batting .110 across the majors this season. But against the Padres, they are batting .127 (7-for-55).

• Hosmer went 0-for-4 last night. He has yet to go hitless in consecutive starts this season, but he has now gone hitless in consecutive games, since he grounded out as a pinch-hitter Monday. Before yesterday’s game, I talked to Hosmer about his excellent start and a couple issues that used to really rankle him — that he hits “too many” balls on the ground and the defensive metrics that don’t like him as a first baseman. He had some interesting things to say about a change in how he views things and how he is viewed. I found it fascinating. Here is my story.

Good work

I try to highlight the work of my colleagues from time to time, and today it is easy to do so.

Union-Tribune photographer K.C. Alfred doesn’t need awards to confirm he’s one of the best sports shooters in the business, but it is no surprise he was officially recognized as such.

The above photo from K.C. was judged to be among the best taken at a sporting event last year. His shot of an airborne Tatis and a sliding Harrison Bader in Game 3 of the National League Division Series was awarded third place in the Action Photo category of the Associated Press Sports Editors Contest.

So, hey, how about giving us a buck for the next month? This stuff isn’t free. (Actually this newsletter is free, but you know what I mean.)

Click here for a special offer — $1 for four weeks of unlimited access to an immense amount of Padres coverage and so much more.

Not great

If you thought there was a lot of mediocre baseball being played this season, you were correct.

When the Dodgers won the first two games of their series at Petco Park in mid-April to improve to 13-2, who would have bet against them being above .600 a mere 15 games later? But they have lost 12 of their past 16 games.

They were swept by the Cubs in a doubleheader yesterday and are now tied with the Padres at 17-14, 1½ games behind the first-place Giants (18-12).

OK, that’s it for me.

Talk to you tomorrow.