Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
They are but two games over a three-day span.
But they could be a clue into what the Padres have in young pitchers coming up through a farm system ranked No. 1 in baseball by MLB Pipeline and other sources.
And before again looking at the numbers, consider the circumstances. The Philadelphia Phillies came to Petco Park last Friday leading the National League East. And the Phillies offense helped get them there.
So ...
On Friday, 22-year-old right-hander Jacob Nix blanked the Phillies on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings in his Major League debut.
And on Sunday, rookie left-hander Joey Lucchesi also blanked the Phillies over six innings, allowing two hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
But the bigger point to be made is that Nix and Lucchesi are far from being anomalies.
Rookie left-hander Eric Lauer is expected to soon come off the disabled list and return to the rotation. And right-hander Brett Kennedy is currently auditioning in the Major League rotation.
Top prospects left-hander Logan Allen (No. 8) and right-hander Cal Quantrill (No. 10) were recently promoted to Triple-A El Paso. Right-handers Chris Paddack (No. 5) and Michel Baez (No. 7) were promoted to Double-A San Antonio. All four are off to fast starts with their new teams. Left-hander Aaron Leasher didn't allow an earned run over seven innings in his debut last week with Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore.
And there's more . . .
Single-A Fort Wayne left-hander Osvaldo Hernandez was just named the Pitcher of the Week in the Midwest League, which he leads in earned run average with a 1.81 earned run average. Also at Fort Wayne is Top-30 right-handed prospect Luis Patiño. Right-hander Jesse Scholtens has a 3.23 ERA at San Antonio.
And we haven't mentioned the Padres' past two first-round, left-handed draft choices MacKenzie Gore and Ryan Weathers.
Notebook:
• OF Travis Jankowski had a career-high four stolen bases Sunday, becoming only the eighth player in Padres history with four stolen bases in a game. He is the first Padre to steal four bases in a game since Everth Cabrera on Sept. 30, 2012, and the third player to steal four bases in a Major League game this season (joining Seattle's Jean Segura and Washington's Michael Taylor). The Padres record for steals in a game is five, originally set by Alan Wiggins in 1984 and later tied by Tony Gwynn and Damian Jackson. Jankowski was 2-for-3 Sunday with two walks, the four steals and three runs scored.
• The Padres stole six bases Sunday with Freddy Galvis and Cory Spangenberg joining Jankowski. It marked the first time since April 11, 2008, that the Padres had six or more stolen bases in a game. The Padres team record for stolen bases in a game is nine set against Colorado on June 28, 1999.
• C Austin Hedges has hit in a career-high seven straight games and eight straight starts. Going back to July 24, Hedges has hit in 12 of 14 starts, going 19-for-52 (.365) with three doubles, five homers, eight RBIs, 11 runs scored and five walks for a .421 on-base percentage and a .712 slugging percentage for a 1.133 OPS. During his seven-game hitting streak, Hedges is 13-for-31 (.419) with two doubles, three homers, seven runs scored, six RBIs and two stolen bases.
• SS Freddy Galvis hit his first career grand slam Sunday to cap a great year against his former Phillies teammates. He was 10-for-22 (.455) in six games against Philadelphia this season with a double, the slam and nine RBIs.
• 1B Eric Hosmer had his team-leading 35th extra-hit game Sunday. He has hit safely in 15 of his last 19 games, going 22-for-73 (.301). He has only two extra-base hits -- a double and a triple -- over those 19 games with five RBIs and nine runs scored plus seven walks for a .363 on-base percentage.