Luebke to get start against Braves

The Padres return home this weekend for a three-game set with the Braves that marks the third meeting between the two teams this season. The two clubs have split the six games they have played so far, with each team taking two of three on the road from each other.

Bud Black today announced his rotation for the series, with Cory Luebke making his first start of the 2011 season after 29 relief appearances.  A starter throughout his minor league career, Luebke made three starts (in four appearances) for the Padres last season. As a starter, he went 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA, earning his first Major League win on 9/8/10 vs. LAD after 6.0 shutout innings of two-hit ball.

Here are the projected matchups for the series against the Braves:

RHP Tim Stauffer (2-5, 3.13) vs. RHP Derek Lowe (3-5, 4.10)

RHP Dustin Moseley (2-6, 3.02) vs. RHP Jair Jurrjens (9-3, 2.11)

LHP Cory Luebke (1-2, 3.23) vs. RHP Tim Hudson (6-6, 6.73)

On the bright side…

Chase Headley is tearing it up this road trip, hitting .533 (16-for-30) with four doubles. Last night marked his third four-hit game of the trip. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, last MLB player before Headley with at least three games of four or more hits on one road trip was (former Padre) Marcus Giles for the Braves in 2003.  Atlanta had a brief road trip of four games (a four-game series in Montreal) and Giles had three four-hit games in that series.

The Padres will look to turn the tide tonight with Mat Latos taking the hill. He was slated to face Josh Beckett, who has been scratched due to illness. RHP Alfredo Aceves will start in his place. Tonight’s game will be Latos’ fifth career Interleague start. He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA (7 ER/25.2 IP) in his four previous outings against the American League.

In other news from Boston, it has been a busy homecoming for General Manager Jed Hoyer. He was swarmed by media on the field prior to last night’s series opener:


Boston bound

The Padres continue the Interleague slate with a three-game set in Boston that begins today. The series marks the return of Jed Hoyer to Boston along with Anthony Rizzo’s first appearance against the team that drafted him in the sixth round of the 2007 Draft. In addition, Adrian Gonzalez will face the Friars for the first time since moving to the American League following the 2010 season.  Here are the projected pitching matchups for the series:

LHP Andrew Miller vs. LHP Wade LeBlanc

RHP Josh Beckett vs. RHP Mat Latos

RHP John Lackey vs. LHP Clayton Richard

With tonight’s game, the Pads are looking to snap a five-game losing streak and grab their first Interleague win of the season. Despite the struggles in the win column, the Padres bats have been showing some life on this trip. Chase Headley (.480, 12-for-25), Chris Denorfia (.320, 8-for-25) and Jason Bartlett (.292, 7-for-22) have all been swinging a solid bat and will look to continue that trend as they take on the Red Sox.

SAVE THE DATE – Pads retiring #51 on August 21

We have all known for over a decade that this was coming.  Well…now it’s here.

Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader, future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest Padres in franchise history (both on and off the field) decided to hang ’em up following the 2010 season. On August 21, the Padres will pay tribute to Hoffy with a postgame ceremony.  As part of the celebration, the club has plans to retire his iconic #51.

We can’t wait for it. It will truly be a must see for all of the Friar Faithful. Be sure to grab your tickets so you can share in the excitement and say “thanks.”

Bass master

According to the Elias Sports Bureau…Anthony Bass made his Major League debut with a start for the Padres last night at Colorado and got the win by pitching 5.0 innings and allowing only one run.  Bass is the first pitcher to win his Big League debut with a start for San Diego in which he gave up no more than one run since Sept. 17, 2001, when Jason Middlebrook beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles, allowing only one run in six innings.

In addition, Bass became only the second player in MLB history to make his Major League debut at Coors Field and work at least 5.0 innings while allowing one or fewer runs. The only other player to do so was Rockies starter Juan Nicasio, who allowed one unearned run over 7.0 frames on May 28 of this year.

Here is audio of Anthony Bass joining Ted and Andy for a postgame interview on XX 1090:

Anthony Bass postgame interview on XX 1090