July 2011
Strong start
Tim Stauffer continued his dominance on the mound last night with 6.0 innings of shutout ball, picking up his sixth win of the season and fourth in his last five starts. The Padres improved to 11-9 on the year when he takes the mound. Stauffer lowered his team-leading ERA to 2.83, ranking eighth in the National League. Since June 7, he has gone 5-2 with a 1.33 ERA (8 ER/54.0 IP) in eight starts without allowing more than two runs in any of his outings.
As for the Padres, they started their seven-game trip with a win last night pulling even with the Dodgers in the standings. Heath Bell picked up his 27th save of the season in his 29th opportunity following an offensive attack that saw four Padres tally two-hit games (Venable, Maybin, Ludwick, Hudson).
On the road again
The Padres kick off a seven-game road trip today with the first of three in Florida. The club will then travel to Philadelphia for a four-game set before returning home. Here is who the Padres will face this trip:
7/19-21 at Florida: RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Ricky Nolasco, RHP Javier Vazquez
7/22-25 at Philadelphia: LHP Cole Hamels, RHP Kyle Kendrick, RHP Roy Halladay, LHP Cliff Lee
In the 25 combined starts Sanchez, Nolasco and Vazquez have made against the Padres, San Diego has gone 14-11 with winning records against each of the three Marlins starters. The Marlins and Padres met nine times in 2010 with San Diego going 6-3.
Tim Stauffer takes the hill tonight with his team-leading 2.97 ERA (10th in the NL). He is making his first career appearance at Florida, having made two previous appearances (one start) against Florida at PETCO Park.
Dick Williams tribute
The Padres are wearing their 1983 jerseys today. The jerseys have had patches added in memory of former manager Dick Williams, who passed away on July 7.
The Padres’ manager from 1982-85, Williams led the Friars to a 337-311 record and .520 winning percentage over four years, finishing at .500 or better each season. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, in 2007 and to the Padres Hall of Fame in 2009.
Williams managed parts of 21 seasons in the Big Leagues, including stints with the Boston Red Sox (1967-69), Oakland Athletics (1971-73), California Angels (1974-76), Montreal Expos (1977-81), Padres (1982-85) and Seattle Mariners (1986-88). He posted a .520 career winning percentage (1,571-1,451), advancing to the postseason five times.
Primarily an outfielder, Williams played parts of 13 seasons at the Major League level with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1951-54, 1956), Baltimore Orioles (1956-57, 1958, 1961-62), Cleveland Indians (1957), Kansas City Athletics (1959-60) and Boston Red Sox (1963-64). He appeared in 1,023 games, hitting .260 (768-for-2,959) with 157 doubles, 12 triples, 70 home runs, 331 RBI and 358 runs scored.
