San Diego Padres Proving Pesky to Certain Contenders
By Keaton Moore
Although the San Diego Padres are not contenders this season, they managed to find success against the strength of the Chicago Cubs earlier last week.
Let’s face it. As of today, the Padres are 23-35 and tied for last place in the NL West. Despite the excellence of Wil Myers and the power-hitting duo of Ryan Schimpf and Hunter Renfroe, the Padres are not equipped to compete against their division rivals.
Yet, they are somehow finding success against certain contending teams and thus far, they are the thorn in the sides of the Chicago Cubs.
To finish the month of May, the Cubs came to San Diego as the owners of a three-game losing streak, which the Padres promptly bumped up to six with a series sweep. As their pitching staff held the reigning World Series champions to just five runs, the Padres scored five-plus in the first two games and completed their sweep with a nail-biting 2-1 victory.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Granted, the Cubs look nothing close to what they were at this point last season. The Cubs shot out to a 39-16 record through their first 55 games of 2016. One year later, they are barely above .500 at 28-27 after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, let’s not forget what the core of this team did in 2016. On their way their long-awaited championship, the Cubs lineup put up the third most runs in the majors (808), the second best OBP (.343) and fifth most homers (199). On the mound, their pitchers owned a major league-best 3.15 ERA.
While Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks ranked second and third respectively in the Cy Young voting, Kris Bryant won the NL MVP award.
The Cubs showed off their dominance with winning records against nearly every major league team last season, including the Padres. Contrary to the tale of 2017, the Cubs outscored the Padres 28-22 with a 4-2 record against San Diego in 2016.
Next: Can Mike Moustakas say “Bye Bye” to Balboni?
The Padres travel to Wrigley Field later this month and hope their success against the Cubs is not limited to the confines of Petco Park.