Tagged: Venable

Catch me if you Cam

After leading the Majors with eight stolen bases and tying for the Big League lead in hits, Cameron Maybin was named National League co-Player of the Week for July 18-24, sharing the honor with Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton. Maybin notched 14 hits and hit .538 (14-for-26) while scoring eight runs. As part of the monster week, he tallied his third four-hit game of the season on July 21, the most by any center field in the Majors.

Additionally, Maybin broke a franchise record by stealing at least one base in each of his last six games, breaking the previous mark of five set by Dave Roberts (2006) and Allan Wiggins (1983). Over the six-game stretch, Maybin has swiped a total of eight bags, becoming the second Padre crack the 20-steal plateau this year (also Jason Bartlett). 2011 marks the first season since 2006 that the Padres have had more than one player reach the 20-steak mark. It was accomplished by Roberts, Mike Cameron and Josh Barfield that year. The club has not had four players reach 20-steals since 1999.

Will Venable currently has 18 stolen bases and Orlando Hudson has 13.

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).

That’s more like it

With a big Fourth of July win yesterday, the Padres continue to inch closer to the .500 mark. Each of the starting nine collected at least one hit in yesterday’s win, handing Tim Lincecum his seventh loss of the season. Yesterday was also interesting in that each of the Padres pitchers was credited with either a win (Richard), hold (Frieri, Spence, Qualls, Adams) or save (Bell). The four holds match the most by any team this season (14th time) and tie for the most ever in a single game by the Padres (6th time).

The Friars are 9-3 in their last 12 tilts and have not lost consecutive games since June 19-20. Over the current 12-game stretch, the Pads are posting a 2.68 ERA (31 ER/104.0 IP) and have held opponents to three or fewer runs in 10 of those contests (including two shutouts). The starting rotation has been credited with seven of the nine wins, recording a 2.57 ERA (20 ER/70.0 IP).

On the offensive side, Cameron Maybin (.341), Chase Headley (.368) and Will Venable (.323) are each hitting over .300 during the 12-game stretch.

After being optioned to Triple-A Tucson in late May, Venable has had a strong showing in his return to the Big Leagues. Since beening recalled on June 9, Venable is hitting .326 with a.385 OBP and .478 SLG (.863 OPS).