|
The
San Diego Padres
are putting playoff tickets on sale for their fans Saturday morning. They're still looking to book their own tickets to the
postseason.
The Padres try again to clinch a postseason berth Saturday afternoon when they continue a four-game series against the
Arizona Diamondbacks
at Chase Field.
San Diego (86-74) missed a chance to clinch at least the NL wild card by losing 3-1 on Friday. It dropped into a first-place
tie with Los Angeles in the NL West after the Dodgers rallied to win at San Francisco.
''If the Dodgers win, so what?'' second baseman
Todd Walker
said. ''We still have to win our games. I think that's the attitude of the guys who aren't watching. The guys who are probably
just don't have anything else to do.''
The Padres will clinch a playoff spot Saturday with a victory or a loss by Philadelphia at Florida. They'll clinch the NL
West title with a victory and a loss by the Dodgers at San Francisco.
If the Padres finish tied with the Dodgers atop the NL West and both teams finish above Philadelphia, San Diego would win
the division by virtue of winning the season series with Los Angeles.
San Diego managed only four hits Friday against
Livan Hernandez
and three relievers in its second loss in the last nine games.
''We've heard now for over a month now how important every series is, every game,'' San Diego manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''We're not going to change anything. We've just got to come out here and play our game and hopefully put some runs
on the board.''
Bochy may decide to put catcher
Josh Bard
in the lineup. Bard, who sat out Friday in favor of
Mike Piazza
, is 13-for-26 with seven runs scored over his last eight games.
Piazza went 1-for-4 on Friday and is 9-for-33 (.273) in his last 10 starts.
San Diego will send veteran
David Wells
(0-2, 4.43 ERA) to the mound for his first start since Sept. 20. Wells was scratched from his scheduled start Monday due to
gout in his right foot.
The 43-year-old left-hander has also been plagued by a sprained right ankle over his last few starts.
''The ankle is something we're still going to have to address,'' trainer Todd Hutcheson said. ''But it's been put on the back
burner.''
Wells is still searching for his first victory this year with the Padres, who acquired him from Boston on Aug. 31. He lost
to Arizona in his last outing, allowing four runs and 11 hits over 6 1-3 innings in an 8-2 defeat.
Arizona (76-84) won Friday for only the fourth time in its last 12 meetings with San Diego.
''It's more of a pride issue for us,'' Diamondbacks manager
Bob Melvin
said. ''You don't derive your motivation from beating another team and knocking them out of the playoffs or beating them in
a pennant race. If that's the way you've got to get your motivation, then you're not doing it right to begin with, so it's
all about pride and winning as many games as we can and playing our division teams tough.''
Juan Cruz
(5-6, 4.27) makes his first start since Aug. 8 for Arizona. He's since posted a 3.72 ERA in nine appearances out of the bullpen.
Cruz endured a disastrous outing against the Padres on May 17, as he was tagged for nine runs and five hits and recorded only
two outs in the shortest start of his career. He suffered the loss in the Diamondbacks' 14-10 defeat.
The right-hander is 2-3 with a 6.43 ERA in six starts at home this year.
|
