Gyorko making strides with glove work

PHOENIX -- It hasn't been just a rough start on offense that Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko has endured thus far.

In the first 25 games of the season, Gyorko had four errors -- the same amount he had all of last season in 117 games.

"There were a couple of tough plays early in the year that I still probably should have made," he said.

Since then, and after extensive side work with third-base coach Glenn Hoffman, who handles working with the infielders, Gyorko has improved dramatically. Going into Monday's game against the D-backs, Gyorko had two errors in his last 24 games.

Better still, in the team's last homestand, he made several fine plays, ranging far to his left to get balls that appeared destined for right field, only to turn them into outs.

"The work with Hoffy has been more just concentrating on making the routine play," Gyorko said. "The tough plays, a lot of times they're coin-flips."