Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
Manager Andy Green made a salient point recently about the depth of the Padres roster, particularly in the outfield where five players are sharing three positions.
Green’s message: Pay no attention to who is on the bench at the start of any given game. Those players will likely be deployed later at some crucial juncture.
“Not starting doesn’t mean you’re benched for the day,” Green said. “You’re waiting to be utilized at some point in time. We’ve been adamant letting the guys coming off the bench know they are probably going to have the most impactful at-bat of the game.”
It happened again Friday afternoon in St. Louis when corner outfielder Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run go-ahead homer as a pinch-hitter. It was the Padres’ second two-run pinch-hit homer of a season that was just eight games old entering Saturday's play.
And it’s not just as pinch-hitters.
The Padres have used outfielders in double switches in four of the first eight games -- again, getting the spare outfielders action. Reserves off the bench are hitting .323 thus far while either deployed as a pinch-hitter or in a double switch. And Green has been deploying the bench for outfield defense.
“The guys have done a really nice job,” Green said. “It’s not just the batting average. There have been some walks ... really, really professional at-bats, which is not what we’ve had in the past. The guys on the bench are a weapon that we’re going to deploy. Be ready to be that weapon. We’re really pleased with the approach to everyone who hasn’t been a starter on any given day.”
Notebook
• In the five games they’ve won this season, the Padres have gotten excellent pitching -- allowing six runs on 24 hits and nine walks with 45 strikeouts in 45 innings. That is a 2.16 ERA and a 0.733 WHIP (hits and walks allowed per inning). In their three losses, Padres pitchers have a 7.00 ERA.
• Left-hander Nick Margevicius has allowed two runs on four hits, a walk and two hit batters with six strikeouts over 10 innings in his first two Major League starts. That’s a 1.80 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP.
• Renfroe has three homers and five RBIs in his last nine at-bats, which includes the sixth multi-homer game of his career. Renfroe is off to a 5-for-13 start. Friday’s homer was the fourth, pinch-hit homer of his career.
• Third baseman Manny Machado reached base in seven straight plate appearances before grounding out in the eighth inning Friday. The last Padre to reach base in seven straight plate appearances was Jose Pirela (Aug. 7-9, 2017). The Padres record for reaching base in consecutive plate appearances is 13 held by Brian Giles (June 19-22, 2005). Machado drew a season-best three walks Friday, which also matched his single-game high for his career (five times).
• Outfielder Franchy Cordero hit the first sacrifice fly of his career Friday and his first bunt single of the season.