Padres Press Clips Friday, June 9, 2017

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1 Padres Press Clips Friday, June 9, 2017 Article Source Author Page D-backs sweep Padres back to normal UT San Diego Acee 2 Would the Padres be serious contenders for Shohei Otani? UT San Diego Lin 4 Padres working through awful UT San Diego Acee 5 Jacob Nix stars for Lake Elsinore UT San Diego Lin 8 Rookie Diaz following in Perdomo's footsteps MLB.com Cassavell 9 Padres can't contain D-backs in series finale MLB.com Cassavell/Gilbert 10 D-backs make Padres pay with two outs MLB.com Cassavell 13 Go Greene? Padres eye top prospect at No. 3 MLB.com Cassavell 14 Chacin looking for more home cooking vs. KC MLB.com Cassavell 17 Diamondbacks Hand Padres 5th Straight Loss NBC San Diego Rosehart 18 Iannetta's 7 RBIs leads D-Backs over Padres 15-3 for sweep Associated Press AP 19 Chacin leads Padres vs. Royals Associated Press AP 21 Padres On Deck: LHP Allen, SS Tatis Jr., OF Oña Named FriarWire Center 23 to A-Midwest League All-Star Game 1

2 D-backs sweep Padres back to normal BY: KEVIN ACEE San Diego Union Tribune It was only 100 degrees in downtown Phoenix when Thursday s game began, so the locals were evidently in no hurry to get inside the airplane hangar that is called Chase Field. So it was easy to hear when after Austin Hedges became the fifth straight Padres batter to reach base with a single through the middle of the infield that put the visiting team up 2-0 a man sitting in the field level seats along the first base side yelled a reminder to the home team. It s the Padres. While Jose Pirela continued to justify his call-up and inclusion in the lineup, Wil Myers showed signs of breaking out of his month-long slump and Hunter Renfroe kept hitting, the same old Padres did eventually show up. A 15-3 victory gave the Diamondbacks a sweep of the three-game series. Since running a win streak to a season-high five games on Saturday, the Padres have lost five in a row. And they ve crashed in familiar fashion. Thursday s margin was the 10th time this season the Padres have lost by 10 or more runs, most in the majors. Including Tuesday s 10-2 result, the Diamondbacks have administered five of the Padres MLBhigh 11 defeats by eight or more runs. They ve crushed us, Padres manager Andy Green said. Any time you get swept it s frustrating. It s frustrating when a team has your number. When a team beats you by double digits, it s frustrating. The Padres have been outscored by 117 runs this season. Entering their game Thursday night at Atlanta, the Phillies have been outscored by 68, and they are the next-closest. Should the Phillies (21-36) beat the Braves, the Padres (23-38) would have the worst winning percentage in baseball at.377 (to Philadelphia s.379). In that the Padres of 2017 are forced to measure success in increments, the positives from Thursday included Pirela getting a walk, a single and a double in the leadoff spot in his third game since being recalled from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday. Pirela went hitless in his start Tuesday but was 3-for-3 off the bench Wednesday. He ll be back out there tomorrow, Green said. We re looking for anybody who wants to provide any type of spark. 2

3 Myers was 2-for-3 and for the first time since April 29 scored two runs in a game. At the end of that day, Myers was batting.318 with a.333 on-base percentage and.589 slugging percentage. In the 33 games since, those splits had fallen to.255/.307/.481. And Renfroe singled and doubled in his first two at-bats Thursday. He is batting.284 over the past 26 games after sitting at.200 after his first 33 games this season. Richard knows the score Clayton Richard threw just 77 pitches, and maybe two of them were mistakes he paid for. It really was, the Padres lefty said after allowing four runs in five innings and taking the loss to drop to 4-7. I felt I threw the ball well. Unfortunately, the times that counted I couldn t execute a couple pitches. Staked the 2-0 lead, Richard got two quick outs in the first inning before two singles and double tied the game. In the fifth, with a 3-2 lead in hand, Richard again had two outs before Gregor Blanco s bunt single was followed by a Chris Ianetta home run. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth. I would have liked to stay in and give (the bullpen) a breather today, but that s not how it worked out, Richard said. I understand where (Green) is coming from. We re in a one-run game right there, and we re trying to win it. Taxed pen It was shortstop Erick Aybar who ended up providing a little rest for the bullpen at the end of a series in which Padres relievers had already provided more than 11 innings of work by the time Thursday s eighth inning arrived. Aybar came on in relief of Brandon Maurer with no one out and a runner on second in the eighth. After a walk, Aybar got a fly ball out and double play grounder. It was Aybar s second relief appearance this season. He retired the only batter he faced to end the eighth inning of an 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on April 18. Strikeout kings? The Padres 12 strikeouts Thursday gave them 166 over the past 15 games and 565 for the season. Their recent tear has propelled them to third in baseball behind Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. The Rays and Brewers are on pace to break the major league record of 1,535 set by the 2013 Houston Astros. The Padres are on pace for 1,500 but could end up with the record if they keep up their recent clip of 11-plus strikeouts per game. Two third reviews After Renfroe slid safely into third base in the third inning, umpire Clint Fagan waited an extra beat after making sure Renfroe hadn t come off the bag. 3

4 Fagan had already had two calls reversed on review, one in favor of each team. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo successfully challenged Pirela s slide past the bag resulted him being tagged out in the first inning, and Green was right with his challenge that Nick Ahmed had slid past the bag and tagged on his steal in the second inning. There wasn t even need for a review of Fagan s ruling in the eighth that Hedges had homered inside the left field foul pole. After Hedges had rounded the bases, the umpire crew convened and the call was overturned, the ball having clearly curled just foul. Would the Padres be serious contenders for Shohei Otani? BY: DENNIS LIN San Diego Union Tribune The Padres connections to Japan are plentiful. A working agreement with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters has been in place since Hideo Nomo and Takashi Saito work in San Diego s front office. So do Logan White and Acey Kohrogi, who helped the Dodgers sign Saito in Former Padres pitcher Akinori Otsuka returned to the U.S. this season, as Triple-A El Paso s bullpen coach. The organization recently hired Seiichiro Nakagaki, former Fighters trainer, as director of applied sports science. So does all this indicate a real shot at convincing Shohei Otani, the Fighters two-way superstar, to make San Diego his stateside destination? In a column posted Thursday, Yahoo s Jeff Passan examined the mystery surrounding Otani s motivations and whether, given MLB s current international spending rules, he d really come to the U.S. before While major league officials don t know the answers to those questions, a certain smallermarket franchise s Japanese connections have prompted widespread speculation that it could be a serious contender when Otani does decide to cross the Pacific. The Padres, aware they can t compete with the financial might of their Los Angeles rivals, have pulled the baseball equivalent of college basketball teams hiring an AAU coach in hopes of landing his star recruit, Passan writes. People with knowledge of the Padres motivations don t paint that exact picture, pointing out factors beyond the $300,000 per-player limit San Diego will face over the next two international signing periods. Yes, the Padres have watched Otani, both on international stages and at their spring-training facility, which the Fighters have used each of the last two Februaries. They like him very much, as do 29 other teams. 4

5 But the primary objective has been to continue making inroads into Asia, a market the Padres have tapped into in the past but could stand to mine further. At the moment, recruitment of a single star isn t the priority. The Padres discussed reintegrating Otsuka, an extremely popular ex-player, before A.J. Preller became general manager in Otsuka s latest job also enables him to scout Triple-A players for his Japanese team, the Chunichi Dragons. Preller knew Nakagaki from Texas where the latter went in 2012, accompanying Yu Darvish s move from the Fighters and was intrigued by an outsider s expertise in strength and conditioning. Officials say the other hirings were made to help bolster the organization s presence in Asia. (Since those names have been mentioned in attempts to connect the dots to Otani, it s worth pointing out that former longtime Padres executive Randy Smith, who established the working agreement with the Fighters and is now a senior advisor for that team, was fired by San Diego in October. That said, those who know and have worked with Smith, a respected industry veteran, say he would never allow personal history to get in the way of any courtship of Otani.) Somehow reeling in Japan s best player, along with the resulting, intercontinental attention, certainly would aid the Padres efforts. And San Diego does appeal to Japanese transplants, including Ichiro Suzuki, who had interest in winding down his career here before going to Miami. But for now, the Padres should be considered unlikely to be in the final mix for the world s most coveted perhaps-soon-to-be free agent. Money isn t believed to be the driving force for Otani, but the bonus restrictions the Padres will be under no more than $300,000 for any individual player from July 2 until July 2019 doesn t help their case. And although one official told Passan that if Otani wants to play in the majors in 2018, $5 million is not going to be outcome determinative, that still represents a sizable difference for someone who would not be eligible for free agency until Another variable is the designated hitter, a seemingly critical component for Otani, who wants to continue playing on both sides of the ball. If Otani opts to wait until his 25th birthday in 2019 and, in spite of present uncertainty, most believe he won t a team like the Padres would be at a disadvantage against big-market competitors in an uncapped bidding war. Padres working through awful BY: KEVIN ACEE San Diego Union Tribune Luis Torrens left Andy Green s office in the visitors clubhouse at Chase Field on Thursday morning having been reminded his manager believes he s going to be a heck of player and that there s a lot of work to do to get to that point. 5

6 The 21-year-old catcher one of eight rookies on the Padres roster, one of 11 Padres with less than a year s worth of service time, one of nine who hasn t even appeared in 100 games yet was coming off a rough night in his 10th career start. The exercise is one Green performs virtually every day with at least one of the 20-somethings that make up almost the entirety of his roster. In these meetings the Padres manager will affirm the positive, acknowledge what needs to be sharpened and give feedback or make demands on how to go about doing that sharpening. If at the end of the year, we can get 25 guys to be the fullest versions of themselves, Green said, it will have been as successful a year as we could hope for. And there it is, the reality for the Padres, who with a 15-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.fell to 23-38, better than only the Philadelphia Phillies (21-37). Every day, winning is indisputably the Padres goal but not their end game. This awful predicament is pretty much by design. It s what everyone expected. But that doesn t make it more palatable on a daily basis for the players and coaches working through the slog. It can be tough, first baseman Wil Myers said. He then almost instantly interspersed today s reality with tomorrow s promise, an effortless positivity that is his innate gift and also what he considers to be his duty as the Padres highest-paid, most-accomplished position player and, thus, de facto leader. We have this very young team in a great division, Myers said. I think this is only going to helps us to go out and play these teams on a daily basis and learn from it. Because once it s our turn to be good, we ll have that experience and know what it takes. Until then, the brutal march continues on ever so slowly. Look, 162 games is a grind for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks and Astros, too. But winning makes it fun, makes the 10-day road trips and aches and pains and slumps a little easier to smile through. Even in June, even when it is not spoken, contending teams have a clearly defined goal. This team? A good number of its players are learning how to play this game at this level. Torrens and pitcher Miguel Diaz, who has made 21 relief appearances and will make his first major-league start Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, were in Single-A last year. Allen Cordoba, who on Wednesday made his 24th start (in left field), spent 2016 in Rookie ball. Winning on a regular basis is such a remote possibility that success is measured in incremental improvement and learning how to not lose hope while losing so many games. It s difficult no matter where you think you re organization is at, said starting pitcher Clayton Richard, one of seven Padres who is older than 29. It s the big leagues. There are 25 guys out here trying to win. We re not trying to develop. We re not trying to see how good we can be the next couple years. 6

7 That doesn t mean Richard doesn t acknowledge the situation or respect the direction. Rather, the focus on now is requisite for later to be relevant. If we don t have that mindset, the guys we re trying to develop for the future, it s a disservice to them as they re learning how to win baseball games. You have to learn how to win. That s how you develop young guys finding out how to win baseball games. Absolutely. Every day, Green makes in-game maneuvers that clearly show he s managing to win. That s why he pinch-hit for Richard down by a run in the sixth inning despite his starter having thrown just 77 pitches and with a bullpen that had been overworked in the series first two games. That s why he made seven defensive switches in Wednesday s game while trying to claw back in what would end up a 7-4 loss. That's the way it should be done, Green said. These guys deserve that. Thing is, it also compounds the frustration, the trying to win when it just isn t going to happen very often because you don t have the arms or the bats or the knowledge experience brings. You can look at it and get beat down by it when you lose games, Green said. It s a challenge, because you want to win. But if you let the results affect who you are the next day, then it affects who they are the next day. And so Green and his staff comes in and talks to Torrens and Luis Perdomo and whoever else needs to know what it is they need to do to be the players they must become. They find the positives hidden inside the mass of negative Hunter Renfroe working harder and smarter off the field and making adjustments on it, catcher Austin Hedges gleaming on defense while growing as a hitter, Diaz blossoming before anyone had a right to expect, Myers working to grow as a leader. You scan the world to find (positives), Green said, and players will latch on to them. That s the hope. The only hope right now. 7

8 Jacob Nix stars for Lake Elsinore BY: DENNIS LIN San Diego Union Tribune In his third start of 2017, Padres pitching prospect Jacob Nix threw a career-high seven innings, striking out seven while leading high Single-A Lake Elsinore to a 3-1 victory over Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday. Nix allowed six hits and no walks. The only run off him came on a homer. Nix, whose season was delayed by a groin strain, has allowed six runs over his first 17 innings at the high Single-A level. His ERA dropped to 3.00 with Thursday s performance. Jose Castillo (3.58) and Jose Ruiz (5.40) each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Right fielder Edwin Moreno (.257) went 3-for-4 with a triple. Third baseman Ruddy Giron (.233) went 2- for-3. The Storm improved to Triple-A El Paso (29-32) Chihuahuas 5, Albuquerque 4: Third baseman Christian Villanueva (.307) went 1-for-3 with a home run. Left fielder Nick Buss (.363), catcher Rocky Gale (.266) and second baseman River Stevens each had two hits. Bryan Rodriguez (4.94) allowed three runs over six innings. Phil Maton (2.84) threw a scoreless inning, recording his 13th save. Double-A San Antonio (33-26) Midland 6, Missions 5: Shortstop Jose Rondon (.304) went 2-for-4 with a walk. Third baseman Ty France (.378) went 2-for-5 with a double. Padres left-hander Christian Friedrich, beginning a rehab assignment, allowed five runs on six hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings, striking out two. Friedrich, who was scheduled for three innings, surrendered all five runs in the third. Jerry Keel (1.02) threw five innings of one-run ball. Low Single-A Fort Wayne (21-39) TinCaps 7, Lake County 3: Right fielder Jorge Ona (.317) went 2-for-3 with a steal. Hansel Rodriguez (5.62) allowed three runs over five innings, striking out eight. Jim McDade (2.92) threw four scoreless innings, striking out five. DSL Padres (3-2) DSL Padres 6, DSL Orioles 0: Shortstop Bryan Torres went 3-for-5 with a double. Catcher Gilberto Vizcarra went 2-for-5. Moises Lugo threw five scoreless innings, striking out seven. 8

9 Rookie Diaz following in Perdomo's footsteps BY: AJ CASSAVELL MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- In the wake of injuries to members of the Padres' starting rotation, they are handing a start to a Rule 5 Draft pick. Rookie Miguel Diaz, who had never pitched above Class A before Opening Day, will make his first Major League start on Saturday after two months in the bullpen Sound familiar? Two months into his big league career, Diaz is on virtually the same course blazed by Luis Perdomo last season. In 2016, Perdomo struggled in April -- unsurprising given that he had never pitched above Class A Advanced. Then he found a groove in May before earning a rotation spot in June. Perdomo, who parlayed his opportunity into 20 starts in 2016 and a spot in the '17 rotation, is the perfect sounding board for Diaz with an adjacent locker in the clubhouse -- which is surely no coincidence. "He's always given me a ton of advice, ever since I met him," Diaz said. "He always told me that just because you're a relief pitcher now, don't think that that's it.... Every time you go out there, treat it like a start, have a routine, use all your pitches, throw strikes, because eventually they're going to give you an opportunity." Diaz gets his opportunity Saturday against the Royals -- in part because Jarred Cosart was placed on the disabled list this week and in part because he's earned it over the past month. On May 6, Diaz's ERA shot to Since then, he's posted a 2.79 mark, an emphatic response to his early struggles. "He's never been shaken," Padres manager Andy Green said. "It's just in his DNA. He's a very relaxed kid. That's upbringing, who he is naturally. It's a very good attribute to have, because the game is going to chew you up and spit you out at times. He had that happen to him early on. But I never saw him rattled when I took the ball from him." Added pitching coach Darren Balsley: "He's been great. He listens. He's a good student, wants to be a dominant pitcher. He has a healthy respect for Major League hitters, which he should. But he's a kid that's got no fear of Major League hitters either -- which is the perfect combo." 9

10 Diaz spent last season with Class A Wisconsin in the Brewers' organization. He was playing catch with his brother in the Dominican Republic when he was selected first overall in December's Rule 5 Draft. Having left his phone in the car, Diaz learned he'd be switching teams later than the rest of the baseball world. Following his struggles last month, Diaz was shut down for a week to hone his mechanics. That week has worked wonders. "It's been a big turn," Diaz said. "I went through a streak there where things weren't going very well. They were scoring multiple runs off me. But I left all the negatives and took all the positives. It's been a good learning experience." The Padres view Diaz -- with an advanced four-pitch mix for a 22-year-old -- as a longterm rotation piece. And they feel he's gained enough confidence for his first chance. "Minus his numbers, he's learned that he can get guys out when he throws the ball where he wants," Balsley said. "That's big. When a kid's facing A-ballers, they get away with their stuff. Up here, it's more command and pitch selection. "It's like Perdomo. His first half last year didn't go the way he wanted it to go. But he learned if he threw the ball where he wanted to, he's going to get hitters." Padres can't contain D-backs in series finale BY: AJ CASSAVELL & STEVE GILBERT MLB.com PHOENIX -- Chris Iannetta homered, doubled twice and drove in a career-high seven runs as the D-backs completed a three-game sweep of the Padres with a 15-3 win on Thursday afternoon at Chase Field. The D-backs trailed twice in the early innings -- a 2-0 deficit in the first and a 3-2 hole after three -- before grabbing a 4-3 lead on Iannetta's homer in the fifth, and they blew the game open with a six-run sixth. The D-backs' first 10 runs -- scored over the first, fifth and sixth innings -- all scored after there were two outs and nobody on in each inning. Chris Iannetta puts together a great performance at the plate as he tallies three hits, including a home run, and seven RBIs Patrick Corbin (5-6) snapped a two-start losing streak. He allowed three runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. Padres starter Clayton Richard (4-7) allowed four runs in five innings 10

11 this time around after having held the D-backs to just one run in a complete-game effort against them last month. "Pretty offensive day, and the game turned around in a hurry," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "I was really proud of what we did against a pitcher that has typically thrown very well against us and handled us well at times. I thought our guys had a really good approach. Obviously, the day was highlighted by Chris Iannetta, seven RBIs, the big home run that put us in front." Richard exited in the top of the sixth for a pinch-hitter, having thrown just 77 pitches. Afterward, he said he felt as though only two of those offerings were true mistakes -- an RBI double in the first by Chris Owings and Iannetta's home run. "I felt as if I threw the ball well," Richard said. "Unfortunately, the times it counted, I didn't execute a couple pitches." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Bunt and a belt: Richard retired the first two hitters of the fifth when Gregor Blanco beat out a bunt hit. That brought up Iannetta, who was hitting in the No. 2 spot in the lineup to start a game for just the third time, and he smoked a 2-0 offering over the wall in left to erase the one-run deficit and give the D-backs a 4-3 lead. "He's always been a very capable offensive player," Lovullo said of Iannetta. "I think he's just in a good spot. I think he feels good about where he's at offensively, because of the things he's able to do behind the scenes to prepare for the moment. He's hit a number of big home runs. Inside of his at-bats, he's grinding, he's driving up pitch counts, he's having quality at-bats, quality moments." Close call: Padres skipper Andy Green called on Allen Cordoba to pinch-hit for Richard in the sixth. On a 2-1 pitch, Corbin came low and inside with a fastball, forcing Cordoba to jump out of the way. At the same time, Chase d'arnaud had broken for second base, and Iannetta came up throwing. After d'arnaud had slid safely into second, plate umpire Tim Timmons ruled that Cordoba interfered with Iannetta's throw -- a decision Green vehemently disagreed with. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to make an interference call on a ball that almost takes my hitter's kneecaps off," Green said. "That inning changes dramatically if you tie that game. [Timmons] thought [Cordoba] didn't make an effort to get out of the way. I said, 'Have you ever had a 94-mph fastball thrown at your kneecaps before?' It's not easy to not fall back toward home plate, because you're jumping out of the way. You really have nowhere else to go. I think they'll look at that one and realize later that it was probably a reach." 11

12 Instead, Cordoba was ruled out. The Padres wouldn't score in the frame, meaning Green's decision to dip into his bullpen early went for naught. AYBAR ON THE MOUND In order to preserve their heavily taxed bullpen, the Padres called on veteran shortstop Erick Aybar to pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning. Aybar entered with a runner on second, after Brandon Maurer faced five batters and did not record an out. In his second appearance on the mound this season, Aybar walked the first hitter he faced before he got Brandon Drury to fly out and Jake Lamb to bounce into an inning-ending double play. In 1 1/3 innings this season, Aybar has yet to allow a hit. QUOTABLE "We just kind of stepped on them from there." -- Owings, on the six-run sixth REPLAY REVIEW After drawing a walk to lead off the game, Jose Pirela tried to go from first to third on a bloop single to right. Owings made a strong throw from right and Pirela was ruled safe at third. The D-backs challenged the call and it was overturned, as it showed Pirela's left hand came off the base while Lamb held the tag on him. An inning later, the Padres won a similar challenge after Nick Ahmed broke for third on a steal attempt. Catcher Austin Hedges fired to Yangervis Solarte, who quickly applied the tag. Ahmed was initially ruled safe, but the Padres challenged the call, and it was overturned. WHAT'S NEXT Padres: Jhoulys Chacin has been excellent at Petco Park this season, where he's posted a 1.36 ERA and.157 batting average against. The veteran right-hander will make his sixth home start when the Padres open a three-game Interleague set against the Royals on Friday. First pitch is slated for 7:10 p.m. PT. D-backs: The D-backs open a three-game series with the Brewers on Friday night at 6:40 p.m. MST at Chase Field, with right-hander Randall Delgado on the mound. Delgado shifted from the bullpen to the rotation after Taijuan Walker was placed on the DL with a blister. In three starts since, Delgado is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA. 12

13 D-backs make Padres pay with two outs BY: AJ CASSAVELL MLB.com PHOENIX -- The D-backs opened the first inning Thursday with a pair of weak groundouts. They led off the fifth with a popup and a chopper back to the mound. And they started the sixth with consecutive strikeouts Thing is, until all three outs are on the board, the D-backs are always within striking distance. They proved as much in their 15-3 victory Thursday, as they completed a sweep of the slumping Padres. Arizona scored its first 10 runs of the game in innings in which the first two hitters made outs. One night earlier, Arizona jumped ahead with a five-run third inning after starting the frame with two outs. "I think it's just a sign of who we are," said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "Offensively, we're very capable at any time, and we can strike in a lot of different ways. We're never out of innings, so we pride ourselves in not shutting down in key moments and key situations -- no matter who we're facing." On the flip side, the Padres' inability to finish innings has become a bit of a worrying trend. "It's just not good baseball, I don't think there's any other way to describe it," said manager Andy Green. "You give some credit to their guys. Their guys compete to the last out of every inning. They make you earn your outs. They don't get outside the strike zone, they don't chase." In the first, the D-backs used three consecutive hits to push two runs across, including an RBI double by Chris Owings. In the fifth, Gregor Blanco dropped down a bunt single before Chris Iannetta crushed a poorly placed Clayton Richard changeup over the left-field fence. That two-batter stretch would prove pivotal in the course of the game. Having fallen behind, Green was forced to pinch-hit for Richard, and the floodgates opened from there. "It was very matter-of-fact what went wrong," Richard said afterward. "It wasn't a snowball going out of control. It was just a couple pitches and a misplayed bunt." 13

14 Padres reliever Kevin Quackenbush struck out Owings and Daniel Descalso to start the sixth. But he followed by plunking Brandon Drury, walking Jake Lamb and allowing an infield hit to Nick Ahmed. David Peralta then plated two with a pinch-hit single, and Iannetta put the game out of reach with a bases-clearing double two batters later. "When you're playing on defense, and you're out there with two outs, you're basically waiting to go into the dugout," Owings said. "So [the two-out hitting] is just kind of putting the other team on their heels." After the game, Green kept his focus on the Padres' inability to capitalize on their opportunities to escape. Specifically, he pointed to the infield hits in the fifth and sixth innings. "They don't give you anything easy," Green said. "You give credit to them. At the same time, we didn't make some defensive plays when we could have.... We don't have a big margin, so when we make those mistakes, they sting us." With 10 two-out runs, the D-backs made certain San Diego's mistakes would sting on Thursday. "We take advantage of those things," Lovullo said. "We see a little crack, and we plow through it." Go Greene? Padres eye top prospect at No. 3 BY: AJ CASSAVELL MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- The 2017 Draft will take place from Monday, June 12, through Wednesday, June 14, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m on the 12th. MLB Network will broadcast the first 36 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 75 picks on Day 1. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Then, Rounds can be heard live on MLB.com on June 14, beginning at noon ET. Go to MLB.com/draft to see the Top 200 Prospects list, projected top picks from MLBPipeline.com analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection 14

15 and more. And on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying. Here's how the Draft is shaping up for the Padres, whose first selection is the third-overall pick. Last year, the Draft was about quantity for the Padres, who had six picks in the top 84. This time around, they don't have as many early selections. But they've got a better chance to take a potentially franchise-changing player at No. 3 overall. Scouting director Mark Conner will be pulling most of the strings. The scoop MLBPipeline recently released its Top 200 Draft prospects, and the Padres have been linked with each of the top five players on the list. General manager A.J. Preller has established a very clear long-term vision for the club, meaning he won't be shy about taking a high school player who could need a few years of development. First-round buzz It's hard to imagine the Padres passing on Hunter Greene, a right-hander/shortstop prospect from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks -- and arguably the player with the highest ceiling in the Draft. Greene might not fall to No. 3, but there are still plenty of options, including Louisville lefty/first baseman Brendan McKay, high school lefty MacKenzie Gore and high school shortstop Royce Lewis. Money matters Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team has an allotted bonus pool equal to the sum of the values of that club's selections in the first 10 rounds of the Draft. The more picks a team has, and the earlier it picks, the larger the pool. The signing bonuses for a team's selections in the first 10 rounds, plus any bonus greater than $125,000 for a player taken after the 10th round, will apply toward the bonus-pool total. This year, the Padres have MLB's fourth biggest pool at $11,839,000. Their first pick is valued at $6,668,100. Any team going over its allotted pool will be taxed on the overage. And in some extreme cases, that team could lose a future pick. Shopping list The Padres' decade-long search for an answer at shortstop is ongoing. In that sense, both Greene and Lewis are options, but it's unclear whether they project as shortstops longterm. And while the Padres went heavy on starting pitching candidates last season, they're consistently looking for ways to fill out their rotation of the future. 15

16 Trend watch Last year was all about pitching. Ten of the Padres' first 12 selections were hurlers, including their top pick, Cal Quantrill, and two others on Day 1. The club has loaded up on arms over the past year, but that certainly wouldn't prevent them from adding a few more. Preller has long spoken about player development as a numbers game. The more young pitchers he can bring on board, the greater the likelihood that a few will pan out. Rising fast Left-hander Joey Lucchesi was the fifth pitcher taken by the Padres in last year's draft, but he has been arguably the most impressive of the bunch so far. Through 11 starts this season with Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore, Lucchesi has posted a 2.41 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just.194 against him. His funky mechanics and his penchant toward whiffs have, thus far, translated to professional ball. Cinderella story Thirty teams passed on Phil Maton when he graduated from high school in They passed on him again after his junior season at Louisiana Tech. The Padres drafted the right-hander at No. 597 overall in '15, and he has quickly developed into one of the game's elite relief prospects. Using primarily his high-spin fastball, Maton has whiffed 165 hitters in just 107 2/3 innings. He has posted a 1.92 ERA in parts of three Minor League seasons, and has already risen to Triple-A El Paso. A 2017 big league callup could be on the horizon. In the show The Padres' 2011 Draft is paying dividends, with Cory Spangenberg, Austin Hedges, Kevin Quackenbush and Colin Rea all having made an impact for the Friars. Meanwhile, 2013 first-rounder Hunter Renfroe is off to a solid start to his rookie campaign and figures to anchor right field for years to come. Padres' recent first-round picks 2016: Cal Quantrill, RHP, Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore 2016: Hudson Potts, IF, Class A Fort Wayne 2016: Eric Lauer, LHP, Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore 2014: Trea Turner, SS, Nationals 2013: Hunter Renfroe, RF, Padres 16

17 2012: Max Fried, LHP, Double-A Mississippi Brave Chacin looking for more home cooking vs. KC BY: AJ CASSAVELL MLB.com Jhoulys Chacin's struggles away from Petco Park have been well documented. Fortunately for the veteran right-hander, he gets the ball when the Padres return home Friday night to open a three-game set against the Royals. Chacin owns a 1.36 ERA in five starts at Petco Park this season, compared with a mark on the road. At this point, the Padres view his splits as something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. So long as he's pitching at home, they're not going to ask him to adjust. Opposite Chacin will be Royals lefty Eric Skoglund, who will be making his third career start. Skoglund surrendered four runs in just two innings on Sunday, a bit of a letdown after 6 1/3 scoreless frames in his debut. "I didn't have my stuff last outing," Skoglund said. "I was up in the zone and getting behind in the count. I'm going to emphasize staying down, getting ahead and staying ahead." Things to know about this game The Padres and Royals have met in four three-game series since Interleague Play began 20 years ago. Oddly enough, the last three series have come at Petco Park. San Diego holds an 8-4 edge in the all-time series, but lost two of three in 2014, the last time the two clubs met. In the finale, James Shields, then a Royal, pitched seven shutout frames. Since May 1, Hunter Renfroe leads the Majors with a.911 weighted on-base average (woba, a similar statistic to on-base percentage that places added value on extra-base hits) when he's ahead in the count. He also leads in estimated woba while ahead in the count -- a Statcast metric based on the quality of his contact. That's proven important for Renfroe, who doesn't draw many walks, as he has improved his OPS by over 100 points since the end of April. 17

18 No Padres hitter has faced the rookie Skoglund. Chacin, a veteran, doesn't have much experience facing Royals hitters, either. None have more than three plate appearances against him. Mike Moustakas is 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Diamondbacks Hand Padres 5th Straight Loss BY: BEN ROSEHART NBC 7 Remember that Padres five-game winning streak? Seems like ancient history. The latest loss got so bad, San Diego s Erick Aybar wound up pitching an inning. And he usually plays shortstop. San Diego took a 3-2 lead in the third inning when Hunter Renfroe sent a double down the left field line. Wil Myers scored on the play and Clayton Richard was in position for the win if he could just get through five innings. Arizona s Chris Iannetta had other ideas. The catcher bashed a two-run homer off of Richard in the fifth inning to give the D-Backs a 4-3 advantage and ruin the strong start by the Friars. Richard was lifted shortly after finishing the inning. In his next at-bat, Iannetta stepped up to the plate against Kevin Quackenbush with the bases loaded and promptly deposited a bases-clearing 3-run double. Quackenbush gave up six runs in the 6th inning alone. But he and Richard were not the only Padres pitchers who struggled on getaway day. Padres reliever Kirby Yates allowed a solo shot in the seventh to Daniel Descalso and teammate Brandon Maurer could not record an out in the eighth despite giving up four more runs to the D-Backs. 18

19 Iannetta finished with 7 RBI and the D-Backs finished off their sweep of the Padres with a resounding 15-3 victory. Richard suffered the loss and saw his record fall to 4-7. Arizona owns the best home record in the majors with an impressive 24-8 mark. In contrast, only the Philadelphia Phillies have a worse record on the road (9-23) then the Padres (10-22). San Diego will try to snap its five-game losing streak Friday when the Kansas City Royals come to town. Jhoulys Chacin will deliver the first pitch at 7:10 p.m. Iannetta's 7 RBIs leads D-Backs over Padres 15-3 for sweep BY: AP AP PHOENIX -- Chris Iannetta wasn't sure what to make of the lineup card when he looked at it before Thursday's game and saw he was batting second. Then he realized he was hitting in front of All-Star Paul Goldschmidt and knew he would see some pitches to hit. Iannetta hit them and then some. The veteran catcher drove in a career-high seven runs with a home run and two doubles, and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the San Diego Padres 15-3 on Thursday to finish a three-game sweep. "I kind of looked at (the lineup) and it was the two-hole and I was like, `That's definitely a typo," Iannetta said. "Then I asked if they were joking around. Hitting in front of Goldy, how can you not want to do that?" Iannetta hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Clayton Richard (4-7) for a 4-3 lead in the fifth, a three-run double against Kevin Quackenbush in the sixth and a two-run double off Brandon Maurer in the eighth. Six of Iannetta's eight home runs this season have tied the score or put the Diamondbacks ahead. 19

20 "These are the days you play baseball for," Iannetta said. "The chance to contribute, and then you have fun while doing it and you feel like a kid again." Arizona scored 10 runs with two outs, won its ninth straight at Chase Field and improved the best home record in the major leagues to The Diamondbacks outscored the Padres 32-9 in the sweep, which extended San Diego's losing streak to five. Padres infielder Erick Aybar relieved after Maurer allowed four runs in the eighth. He walked Daniel Descalso, then retired Brandon Drury on a flyout and got Jake Lamb to ground into a double play. Aybar made his big league mound debut April 18 when he retired Chris Herrmann on a groundout to end the top of the ninth in an 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. Patrick Corbin (5-6) improved to 5-0 in six home starts, allowing three runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. "Thought I located everything a lot better than I have," Corbin said. "Just keep fighting, and we'll start hitting, I guess." Richard gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. "It was very matter of fact what went wrong. I wasn't like it snowballed out of control," Richard said of his outing. "It was just a couple of pitches and one misplayed ball." San Diego's first five hitters reached base, and Austin Hedges' two-run single put the Padres ahead. Chris Owings hit an RBI double in the bottom half and scored on Descalso's bloop single, but Hunter Renfroe's RBI double gave the Padres a 3-2 lead in the third. TWO REVIEWS, ONE BASE Each team challenged tag plays at third base and got both safe calls by umpire Clint Fagan overturned on video reviews. The Diamondbacks challenged Jose Pirela's attempt to take third base on Yangervis Solarte's single in the first inning, and the Padres got the call changed when Arizona's Nick Ahmed was ruled safe trying to steal third in the second inning. A RARE CALL Padres pinch-hitter Allen Cordoba was called out for batter's interference in the top of the sixth with a man on base and the Padres trailing by one. 20

21 Padres manager Andy Green wasn't happy about home plate umpire Tim Timmons' decision. "We got a really unique interference call there. Something that quite frankly I don't quite understand, and I made sure Tim Timmons understood that," Green said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to make an interference call on a ball that almost hits my hitter's kneecaps off. That inning changes dramatically if you tie that game." Green said he was told Cordoba didn't make an effort to get out of the way of a throw to second base. "They'll probably look at that one later and realize later that that was probably a reach for a call," Green said. TRAINER'S ROOM Diamondbacks: Ace Zack Greinke was placed on the paternity leave list Thursday to be with his wife, Emily, for the birth of their second child. RHP Silvino Bracho was recalled from Triple-A Reno.... Herrmann missed his second game due to right hand soreness. UP NEXT Padres: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (4-5) is to face Kansas City on Friday night in San Diego. He is 2-1 with a 1.36 ERA in five starts at home this season, and opposing hitters are batting.157 against him at Petco Park. Diamondbacks: RHP Randall Delgado (1-1) starts Friday against visiting Milwaukee. Chacin leads Padres vs. Royals BY: AP AP SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres return home to face the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. And that brings a smile to the mug of Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin. The Padres right-hander will be matched up with Royals rookie left-hander Eric Skoglund in the opener of a three-game series. 21

22 Chacin (4-5, 4.65 ERA) lost his last time out at Petco Park, and that was a rarity. He allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings to the Colorado Rockies, his lone stumble in five home starts this year. Even with the rocky showing Saturday, he has pitched to a 1.36 ERA in San Diego. His slider is showing more bite by the San Diego Bay, with hitters batting.176 against it. So it has roughly been sink (on the road) or swim (at Petco) for the veteran right-hander who signed with San Diego in the offseason. Before getting beat by the Rockies, Chacin had been charged with two runs over 27 innings at home. But his numbers on the road are the other way in a big way: In 30 2/3 innings, he has surrendered 36 runs (35 earned). While the Rockies went on to take a 10-1 laugher on Saturday, Chacin pitched better than his line revealed. His trademark slider got pummeled by Nolan Arenado for a homer, but that was among his few mistakes. "That pitch to Arenado, I hung it," Chacin said. "When you hang your slider to a good hitter like Arenado, you're going to pay for it." In catcher Austin Hedges' eyes, Chacin was sharp the entire outing. "I thought he was outstanding," Hedges said. "One bad pitch to Arenado, but aside from that, he was great. The slider and the sinker were working very well. They're a good team, and they're tough to pitch to." Chacin is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in one career start against Kansas City, back in The Padres are coming off a tough, albeit abbreviated, losing road trip. They were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series, getting outscored San Diego looks to snap a five-game losing streak that comes on the heels of a seasonhigh, five-game winning run. The hot stretch included a three-game sweep of the World Series champion Chicago Cubs. The Royals arrive at Petco Park following a split with the major-league-leading Houston Astros, who won the series finale 6-1 on Thursday in Kansas City. Skoglund (1-1, 4.32 ERA) hopes to resemble the pitcher he was in his major league debut, when he dominated the Detroit Tigers on May 30, and not the one who was pushed around by the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. 22

23 The lanky southpaw learned against the Tribe that pitching from behind is no way to succeed. He gave up two two-run doubles in a rain-shortened outing in which he faced just 11 batters and lasted two innings. "I made some mistakes on pitches up that you won't get away with up here," Skoglund said. "That's how important first-pitch strikes are here. I didn't take advantage. I didn't execute." It wasn't much of an encore after Skoglund hurled 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers. He absorbed a valuable lesson against the Indians; he is not the first rookie to go down that path. "Up here, you have to get ahead in the count," he said. "You have to throw first-pitch strikes." The swing-and-miss Padres could be Skoglund's tonic, although the Royals are smarting as well after being no-hit for the first 6 1/3 innings by the Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. on Thursday. Padres On Deck: LHP Allen, SS Tatis Jr., OF Oña Named to A-Midwest League All-Star Game Friar Wire BY: BILL CENTER Three members of the Single-A Fort Wayne TinCaps were selected to play in the Midwest League All-Star Game June 20 while 19-year-old right-hander Mason Thompson allowed one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts Wednesday night to lead the TinCaps to a 4 2 win at Lake County. Left-handed starting pitcher Logan Allen, shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and right fielder Jorge Oña were named to the All-Star team. Allen, who turned 20 on May 23, is 3 3 with a 1.75 earned run average and a 1.05 WHIP (hits and walks per inning pitched) with 64 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings. He ranks third in the Midwest League in strikeouts and seventh in ERA. 23

24 Tatis, the second-youngest player in the Midwest League at 18, is hitting.261 with six homers and 28 RBIs. He has a.328 on-base percentage and a.745 OPS. Oña, 20, a Cuban who signed with the Padres during the international signing period last summer, leads Fort Wayne with a.310 batting average. He has three homers and 19 RBIs with a.373 on-base percentage and a.791 OPS. Thompson was the Padres third-round pick in last June s draft out of Round Rock High in Texas. Rated the Padres 21st-best prospect, Thompson is 1 2 with a 5.54 ERA after three starts for Fort Wayne. Double-A San Antonio defeated Midland 8 6 at home to win a third straight game and improve to Second baseman Jose Rondon (.299) was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a RBI. Third baseman Ty France (.376) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Catcher Stephen McGee (.277) was 2-for-3 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored. Designated hitter Franmil Reyes (.278) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Center fielder Auston Bousfield (.239) had a game-winning, two-run double in four at-bats. Left fielder Nick Torres (.236) was 1-for-3 with a walk with two runs scored. Shortstop Luis Urías (.326) was 1-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a RBI. Starting right-hander Enyel De Los Santos (4.26 ERA) allowed five runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Right-hander Aroni Nina (0.00) allowed a hit and a walk with a strikeout in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Right-hander Eric Yardley (3 0, 2.12) allowed a run on three hits in two innings to get the win. Left-hander Brad Wieck (3.54) struck out two in a perfect inning to get his second save. Around the Farm: TRIPLE-A EL PASO (29 32) Chihuahuas 6, ALBUQUERQUE 5: 3B Christian Villanueva (.306) was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. LF Nick Buss (.358) was 2-for- 3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored. C Tony Cruz (.300) homered in four at-bats. 1B Diego Goris (.273) was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. RF Jabari Blash (.257) was 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Starting RHP Kyle Lloyd (6.75 ERA) allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings. RHP Logan Bawcom (2.61) allowed three hits in two scoreless innings. RHP Rafael De Paula (1 0, 5.06) allowed two hits and a walk in a scoreless inning. RHP Phil Maton (2.96) allowed a hit with a strikeout in a scoreless inning to get his 12th save. ADVANCED SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (29 30) The Storm were off Wednesday. SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (20 39) TIN CAPS 4, Lake County 2: RHP Emmanuel Ramirez (3.52 ERA) followed Thompson and allowed a run on five hits with five 24

25 strikeouts in four innings to record his first save. DH G.K. Young (.259) was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. LF Oña was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. SS Tatis had a RBI double in four at-bats. 1B Brad Zunica (.206) had a double in four at-bats with a RBI and a run scored. 3B Eguy Rosario (.206) was 0-for-2 with two walks, a steal and a run scored. DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE PADRES (2 2) MARINERS 5, Padres 3: 3B Carlos Luis (.368) hit a two-run homer in four at-bats. LF Danny Tovar (.294) was 1-for-4 with a walk, a steal and a run scored. DH Gilberto Vizcarra (.231) was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Starting RHP Luis Eusebio allowed three runs on seven hits with a strikeout in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss. LHP Anderson Polanco (0.00) allowed an unearned run on no hits and walks with two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. 25