SAN DIEGO -- Shortly after his check-swing infield single proved decisive in the Padres’ 4-3 victory over the White Sox on Sunday, Xander Bogaerts stood at his locker and alluded to all those line drives he’d hit straight at defenders.
“They say it evens out,” Bogaerts said with a wry smile. “I don’t believe it. But I’ll take these.”
So will the Padres. Especially after four straight losses. Here’s some takeaways from the win at Petco Park:
An impressive debut from Canning
The Padres have spent most of the season with major questions at the back end of their starting rotation. Griffin Canning might help answer some of those.
Canning made his Padres debut on Sunday afternoon, working five innings of one-run ball. He punched out seven White Sox hitters in his first start since an Achilles injury ended his season last June.
“I just had a lot of fun being back out there and competing again,” Canning said.
Canning only threw 73 pitches. He’s not fully built up, so there was no need to push him beyond the five quality frames that he threw. But his stuff -- his changeup in particular -- looked sharp. Canning dealt with early command issues, but he kept Chicago off the board in the first.
From there, Canning seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. He allowed a solo homer to Drew Romo in the third but struck out the last four White Sox hitters he faced.
“It’s what we expected when we signed him -- that he had the potential to be someone we could rely on,” said manager Craig Stammen. “This is one start for him. He’s coming off a major injury. There’s bound to be hiccups. But he’s off to a good start.”
If the Padres get this version of Canning, it significantly raises the floor of their starting rotation. Lucas Giolito is on his way as well. The starting pitching concerns suddenly don’t feel so pronounced.
Any means necessary
Having dropped four straight, the Padres weren’t about to quibble with the nature of Bogaerts’ go-ahead hit on Sunday afternoon.
“Smoked it,” Stammen said.
Revisionist history, maybe. But the Padres will take the batted-ball luck. In truth, it only mattered because Ramón Laureano worked a walk to start the inning, before Jackson Merrill swatted a single in a tricky left-on-left at-bat against White Sox reliever Bryan Hudson.
“We’re a pretty tough team -- pretty mentally tough,” Stammen said. “I like how these guys get after it every day. They’re not giving in. They’re not making excuses. It shows today; we stop a losing streak.”
Indeed, it wasn’t pretty. But it didn’t have to be. Good teams typically find a way to win, even when it isn’t.
“Big, big win for us,” said Manny Machado. “It hasn’t really been our week. … We battled. That’s part of baseball. Nothing’s easy.”
Manny starting to mash
The three hitters you’d expect to be driving the Padres’ offense this season -- Fernando Tatis Jr., Merrill and Machado -- have largely struggled.
But if there’s one of the three who looks poised to return to his usual heights, it’s Machado. He appeared ready to do so last week after a huge series in Mexico City. But Machado then dealt with a minor calf issue, which slowed him for a couple of days.
Now, he seems to be heating up again. Machado went 2-for-4 with a home run on Sunday afternoon.
“I think we were a little off the last few games, being a little passive, not being us,” Machado said. “Kind of a little frustrated.”
He took it out on a hanging cutter from White Sox starter Anthony Kay -- the second home run of the Padres’ three-run fourth inning, following Miguel Andujar’s solo blast.
A new streak for Miller?
Mason Miller didn’t have his best series against the Cubs -- even factoring in the questionable call that led to the run that snapped his scoreless streak. He allowed two runs and three hits in that outing on Monday and wasn’t at his dominant best on Wednesday either.
This was more like it.
Miller struck out the first two White Sox hitters he faced before a seeing-eye single from Tristan Peters put the tying run on base. Peters proceeded to swipe second, but Miller responded instantly by punching out Luisangel Acuña on three pitches, nailing down his Major League-leading 11th save of the season. He’s now striking out hitters at an absurd 55% clip this season.