DENVER -- It’s one thing to make baseball history. It’s another to do it with your team locked in the middle of a tight playoff race.
Ethan Salas turned in a performance for the ages on Wednesday night -- and just when the Padres needed it, too. He became the youngest catcher since at least 1900 to record a multihomer game, and the youngest Padre at any position to do so.
San Diego throttled the Rockies, 9-3, in the process, moving three games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the National League (pending the result of Arizona’s game against Miami late Wednesday night).
Here’s some instant reaction from Coors Field.
Should the Padres find more playing time for Salas?
Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin have been a perfectly competent catching duo. The Padres called up Salas, their top prospect, largely because they thought he’d be a useful left-handed bat off their bench.
He would start a few games at catcher and a few more at DH. But Salas was never going to get regular playing time unless he earned it.
Well … he might be earning it.
It should go without saying that this was only one game. Catching in the big leagues is a demanding proposition. There’s a reason no one had done so at a younger age than Salas since Iván Rodríguez in 1991. The Padres don’t want to put too much on Salas’ plate too soon.
But this was only the second full game that Salas has caught since his Sept. 1 callup, and the fourth time he’s started behind the plate. If he’s starting to establish a rhythm like this, there’s a strong case that he should get a few more starts, especially against right-handed pitching.
When is Robbie Ray’s next start?
It’s that time of year -- when you start counting days on the calendar and mapping out pitching plans as they relate to possible clinch scenarios and the postseason. The Padres might soon have an interesting decision on their hands.
Michael King starts Thursday’s series finale. He’s been the Padres’ ace this season. The logical next step would be to start King for the opener of next week’s three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Then, King would be lined up to start the regular-season finale against the Diamondbacks, in the event that game proves decisive. If it’s not, you bump him back a couple days for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
But … where does that leave Robbie Ray?
Ray was solid on Wednesday night, allowing three runs on three hits over six innings. The last two of those runs came on a sixth-inning altitude-aided homer with the Padres already on top by eight runs.
Ray’s next turn comes on Monday -- when San Diego has an off-day. At any other point in the calendar, he’d simply get the ball on Tuesday. But that would rule King out for the final day of the season (unless he were to go on short rest).
Of course, if the Padres win enough in the coming days, they can make all of that irrelevant.
A needed blowout victory
The Padres started this road trip with four straight close games -- and four straight games in which they asked an awful lot of their bullpen.
It’s been the sport’s best relief corps this season. But it’s also been heavily taxed lately -- particularly high-leverage arms like Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez.
As such, the last two nights might prove critical. Tuesday was a loss. Wednesday was a win. Obviously, the Padres prefer the latter. But as it pertains to the bullpen: Both games were blowouts, affording the Padres’ high-leverage arms some much-needed rest.
Credit to Ray for covering six innings on Wednesday and David Morgan for pitching two scoreless in relief. It not only helped the Padres to a crucial win, but it might set them up for a few more in the coming days.