Despite all the changes, in the end things remained the same. For all their new, promising faces, the Padres found themselves on Oct. 8 in the same spot they did last year: division winners, yet quickly knocked out of the postseason by the St. Louis Cardinals. Whereas this year they were sent packing after four games of the best of five division series “” an improvement over last year’s sweep “” it’s nonetheless a hard way to bow out.
And in the end, it came down to execution. The Padres stranded 35 runners on base throughout the series, including 14 in Game 3 alone. Conversely, the Cardinals had answers for everyone except new ace Chris Young, the 6’10” Princeton grad who was the best performer on the road this year, going 7-0. He blanked the Cardinals “” away, of course “” in Game 3 at St. Louis, pitching 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball and recording nine strikeouts. He stepped up when it mattered, keeping the Padres alive for one more game. Though it was away, San Diego’s better record on the road showed in their Game 3 and 4 performances, as each game they jumped out to an early lead.
Game 1 saw few bright spots for the Padres, as Jake Peavy got virtually no run support before getting shelled for three runs in the fourth. That was all it took, as the Padres couldn’t muster more than a run off of starter Chris Carpenter “” after St. Louis had put up two more on the board, no less. Similarly, David Wells, while turning in a solid Game 2 performance, allowed two runs with no answer from his teammates, who were facing Jeff Weaver. Following Game 2, in which they only managed four hits, and facing elimination, the Padres were surprisingly upbeat in the locker room.
“The change of scenery will help us out,” said Ryan Klesko, who recently returned from the disabled list. “This team’s been great on the road all year.”
“It’s a must-must-win,” said Brian Giles, responding to a reporter who commented on the must-win nature of Game 3.
Things did start coming together in Game 3. The first inning, however, looked to exemplify the entire series for the Padres, as they ended the inning empty-handed after so much promise. Dave Roberts led off with a base it, followed by Todd Walker reaching base on a fielding error. With both runners in scoring position, Giles hit a weak grounder straight to the pitcher, holding Roberts at third, followed by Piazza hitting into a fielder’s choice and Roberts then being thrown out at home. The Cardinals quickly got out of the inning when catcher Yadier Molina picked off Piazza at first base.
However, it started going right for the Friars in the fourth inning, when new third baseman Russell Branyan, who only joined on Aug. 24, hit a two-run double down the right field line off Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan. Geoff Blum then followed up with a sacrifice fly for a lead they would never relinquish.
Still in St. Louis, Game 4 saw the Padres going in with some momentum. They capitalized on this early off of Carpenter, who was clearly rattled in the first, after looking so strong in Game 1. He walked Giles home after loading the bases, then Mike Cameron drove in Adrian Gonzalez on a fielder’s choice. However, the Cards responded in the same inning off of Woody Williams, putting two runs on the board themselves. The game remained deadlocked until the sixth inning, when the wheels started falling off for Williams against his former team, who scored four more runs. It all ended in the ninth inning, when Dave Roberts grounded out to first, as the Padres saw their season end yet again at the hands of St. Louis.
Still, winning their division back-to-back is no small feat in major league baseball, and it is in fact the first time in club history the Padres had done so. With a roster of young talents like Young, Peavy, Gonzalez, Josh Barfield and Josh Bard mixed with their many capable veterans, the Padres remain entirely capable of making it three in a row next year.