By Bill Center
Before Friday night’s series opener at Dodger Stadium, Padres manager Mike Shildt was talking about resiliency and how the ability to come from behind can play a major role in the “Padres’ Identity” that was a major focus of development during spring training.
Later that night, the Padres set a Major League record while scoring a second come-from-behind win in a span of four games.
On Monday night at Petco Park, the Padres rallied from an 8–0 deficit to defeat the Chicago Cubs 9–8 on a tire-breaking home run by Fernando Tatis Jr.
Then on Friday night, the Padres trailed the Dodgers 7–3 after three innings. They scored three runs in the seventh — tying the game on a two-run homer by Tatis — before winning 8–7 in the 11th on an RBI single by 20-year-old rookie Jackson Merrill.
The Padres have out-scored their opponents 21–0 in the sixth inning or later in their past four games with eight home runs while, or course, giving up none.
According to STATS Inc., that has never happened before in Major League history.
Through the first 16 games of the season, the Padres have hit 14 homers and scored 42 runs in the sixth inning or later.
NOTES:
— It’s a small sample size, but after 16 games the Padres have four key relievers with earned run averages under 1.40. Left-hander Yuki Matsui (1–0) has a 1.08 ERA — allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and four walks over 8 1/3 innings in nine appearances. Left-hander Wandy Peralta (1–0) has a 1.13 ERA and has allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks over eight innings in eight appearances. Right-hander Enyel De Los Santos (0–1) has a 1.35 ERA, giving up one run on four hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings over eight appearances. And anchor Robert Suarez (1–0, four saves) has a 1.23 ERA, allowing one run on three hits and three walks in 7 1/3 innings over six appearances.
— RF Tatis’ fifth home run of the season Friday night gives him 11 RBIs and a .290/.353/.548/.901 slash line. Seventeen of his career 111 home runs have come against the Dodgers, tied for the most against any one opponent with Arizona. And 11 of those homers have come at Dodger Stadium, where he also has 21 RBIs in 28 games. His next-highest road home run total is eight at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
— 1B Jake Cronenworth is hitting (.295) after 16 games with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, 14 RBIs and eight runs scored with a .353 on-base percentage and a .541 slugging percentage for a .894 OPS. After 16 games in 2023, Cronenworth was hitting .222 with three home runs, eight RBIs and a .338/.444/.783 slash line.
— Speaking of home runs at Dodger Stadium, Manny Machado’s two-run blast Friday night was his sixth in his last 11 games at Dodger Stadium. And with three homers this season, Machado is now 23 shy of passing original Padre Nate Colbert to become the Padres’ all-time home run leader.
First appeared on padres.mlblogs.com