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Padres Press Clips Sunday, April 16, 2017

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Padres' early outburst answered in another loss to Braves UT San Diego Lin 2

Padres' Ryan Schimpf remaining effective through extreme UT San Diego Lin 4

patience

Leitner remains constant in San Diego sports UT San Diego Acee 5

Assessing the Padres' upper-level rotation depth UT San Diego Sanders 9

Richard making a living with ground-ball outs MLB.com Cassavell 11

Wearing No. 42 not lost on Braves, Padres MLB.com Bowman 12

Padres' back-to-back HRs fall short vs. Braves MLB.com Bowman/Cassavell 14

Hedges' hits coming at a faster clip MLB.com Cassavell 16

Cahill to test lower back against Braves MLB.com Cassavell 17

Leading Majors in walks a positive for Schimpf MLB.com Cassavell 18

Braves top Padres 4-2 as Dickey pitches in 3rd Atlanta park Associated Press AP 20

Andy’s Address, 4/15 Friar Wire Center 22

This Day in Padres History, 4/15 Friar Wire Center 24

Padres On Deck: Near Perfect Game For Double-AA San Friar Wire Center 25

Antonio

Franchy Cordero homers twice in El Paso win UT San Diego Center 27

Braves Lift Off to Beat Padres NBC 7 Togerson 9

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Padres' early outburst answered in another loss to Braves Dennis Lin

Two contrasting if not entirely dissimilar styles took the mound Saturday at SunTrust Park. On one hand, there was the Padres’ Clayton Richard, a sidearmer who relies on keeping the ball on the ground. On the other, the Atlanta Braves’ R.A. Dickey, a knuckleballer who aims for weak or befuddled attempts at contact.

At separate junctures during the Padres’ 4-2 loss, both pitchers were bested by the opposition. Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges, both of whom had never faced Dickey, launched back-to-back home runs. Brandon Phillips and Adonis Garcia, in unexpected turnabout, combined for the same feat off Richard.

What transpired in between helped sink the visitors in their second consecutive defeat.

Through two innings, things were going swimmingly for Richard. He shrugged off a two-out walk in the first, inducing a trio of groundouts. After watching Renfroe and Hedges pounce on Dickey in the top of the second, the left-hander zapped a one-out single with a double play.

The Padres’ lead evaporated in the bottom of the third. Chase d’Arnaud opened with a single. A balk by Richard moved him to second. Three more singles followed. The score was tied.

Richard’s frustration grew in the top of the fifth. After a one-out single by the pitcher, Wil Myers doubled down the left-field line. The ball took a funny bounce, winding up in the hands of an opportunistic bysitter. Due to the fan interference, Richard, who had been preparing to round third, was stopped 90 feet from home. The score remained tied as Yangervis Solarte grounded out.

“Who knows if I would’ve scored,” Richard said. “It felt like I was going to. I think I had too much momentum to stop, regardless of if I was or not. It’s disappointing. You have to be able to put yourself in their shoes — they’re excited to be at a game, they see the ball come and reach for it. But it was disappointing that it can influence a game like that. At that point, that’s a big run.”

The score would be unknotted in the bottom of the sixth. Richard fell behind to each of the Braves’ first two batters. In consecutive fashion, Phillips and Garcia deposited a baseball over an outfield wall. Richard finished with six innings of four-run ball.

“I was down (in the strike zone) for the most part,” said Richard, who recorded 14 groundouts and no fly outs. “Even the guys that got me, it was more so just falling behind before they swung that hurt. It was kind of disappointing to feel good like that and come away with those results.”

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Both of the sixth-inning home runs came on pitches that did not appear easy to lift. Richard’s ill-fated, 2-0 offering to Phillips arrived below the zone.

“It was a great pitch,” Hedges, the Padres’ catcher, said. “It was a good swing. You just tip your cap to Phillips there. Good job on his part. Clayton was outstanding today. That’s a pitch that if he throws it nine times out of 10, we’re going to get a ground ball.”

Dickey recovered from the Padres’ early outburst to post six solid innings. For the second night in a row, both of the visiting team’s runs were confined to the top of the second.

Hedges, who is 4-for-11 since starting the season 0-for-24, and Renfroe each finished with two hits, but the offense was otherwise held in check.

“I don’t know that we had ever completely figured him out by any stretch,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “(The home run swings by Renfroe and Hedges) were the types of swings we talked about taking before the game, which is very aggressive passes at it.”

The Padres threatened in the seventh when Rule 5 player Allen Cordoba, making his first start in left field, led off with a single. Christian Bethancourt, pinch-hitting for Richard, followed with an infield hit.

That opportunity soon vanished as Manuel Margot lined out and Myers bounced into an apparent double play. The Padres, who had unsuccessfully challenged a play at first in Friday’s loss, challenged again — again, to no avail.

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Padres' Ryan Schimpf remaining effective through extreme patience Dennis Lin

Through Friday’s games, the most extreme batting line in the majors belonged to a compact infielder who made his big-league debut last season and hasn’t stopped walking since.

Padres third baseman Ryan Schimpf was hitting just .148 with two home runs and as many singles, but he also led all players with 11 walks. While his average and .370 slugging percentage seemed certain to rise, his .375 on-base percentage appeared more sustainable. Schimpf, who recorded 20 home runs and a 12.7 percent walk rate in his rookie introduction, has remained an effective contributor by practicing uncommon discipline.

According to FanGraphs.com, he had swung at only 33.5 percent of the pitches he’d seen — the fifth-lowest rate in the game — including 17.8 percent of pitches outside the strike zone. Opposing arms, meanwhile, have continued to approach Schimpf with caution; only 39.2 percent of pitches to him had been inside the zone.

“You get few mistakes up here,” Schimpf said. “You want to be ready for a mistake, and you don’t want to hit (the opposing pitcher's) pitch.”

Schimpf traced the origins of his approach to Jon Nunnally, who served as his hitting coach when he played for the Toronto Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate. Nunnally, a former outfielder, carved out a six-year major league career in which he hit .246 with a .354 on-base percentage.

“He taught me a lot about hitting,” Schimpf said. “We were similar players, and I realized that you can’t always go up there hacking, trying to hit a homer every time — you’ve got to be smarter and patient. And sometimes knowing when to take a single, if it’s that easy to just hit a single. But knowing when to be patient and take a walk.”

As has been well-documented, Schimpf, when he does swing, aims to do more damage than a single. That he had accumulated roughly five times more walks in the early going was somewhat fitting.

“Some guys can go up there and cover the whole plate and hit a lot of different zones,” he said. “For me, I just try to be patient and wait for the mistake in my zone.”

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Leitner remains constant in San Diego sports Kevin Acee

There are voices you hear in your head, that you can replay and assign to various phrases, voices whose words you can sometimes predict.

You heard one of those voices in the car almost every morning on the way to elementary school, along with your father’s laugh at what that voice said. You fell asleep listening to that voice dozens upon dozens of nights year after year. As an adult, that voice has accompanied you on countless drives home, comfortable and entertaining at the end of days that are usually too long.

And so it is that you know what is coming on a recent Sunday afternoon.

You are sitting in the home team’s radio booth at the Peoria Sports Complex as Jesse Agler reads the lineups for a game against the Cincinnati Reds late last month. As Agler is wrapping up the Padres order and Jarred Cosart is finishing his warm-up pitches, it is clear that a quick toss to the voice will have to occur.

“Here is Ted Leitner,” Agler said as Cosart went into his windup.

Then the voice said the three words you anticipated because you’ve heard this very salutation on so many days and nights. He doesn’t utter them before every game, but at the start of enough among the several hundred you’ve heard.

“Thank you, sir,” the voice says.

They were just three words at the beginning of a spring training broadcast. Nothing momentous, just a simple, familiar pleasure.

Then smoothly, without hesitation, “And the first pitch is…”

And there you are watching a voice. The voice.

The voice of San Diego sports was on the air.

A lot of things have changed in our sports landscape, especially this year, even this week.

But for almost a full four decades, one or another of our teams – often more than one of them, as often as not in overlapping seasons, occasionally on the same day – has been described for us by a baritone from the Bronx.

When the Padres play Sunday in Atlanta, it will mark the end of the second week of Leitner’s 38th consecutive season calling their games. He is also the play-by-play voice of San Diego State

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football and basketball, which he has been off and on (mostly on) since 1979. He spent a couple years in the mid-1980s, plus the last part of the ‘90s and early portion of the 2000s calling Chargers games on radio. He was the Clippers’ television play-by-play man the first two of their six seasons in town.

A Leitner call is simultaneously frenetic and soothing with its repeated words – “Good slide right there. Good slide.” – and occasional observations so out-of-the-blue it seems as if he is having a conversation with himself, responding aloud to a comment made or a question posed in his head.

Amidst the descriptions of pitches and plays are stories, movie references, John Wooden quotes, recollections of Jerry Coleman, a whole bunch of sentences you worry will never reach a logical conclusion but almost always do.

You probably love him. Or you hate him. Because it seems that it’s been one or the other for most folks since Leitner arrived at KFMB in 1978 and introduced an East Coast intensity and off-the-cuff caustic wit to local sports television well before ESPN made that cool.

However you feel about Leitner, you know him if you have been a San Diego sports fan for any length of time.

And that means something. Especially now.

He’ll certainly be inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in the next couple years. Someday perhaps he’ll join Coleman, his longtime radio partner and the man he considered a second father, in Cooperstown.

“I honestly don’t think about stuff like that,” Leitner said. “Like with Jerry, when he won the Frick award, he said, ‘Hey, you’ll be in some day.’ I don’t put myself in that category. They say, ‘All you gotta do is hang around.’ I don’t want to wear people out – ‘Well, he had great staying power and he waited long enough.’ “

If honor is an inevitability, Leitner will have to live with it. Thankfully, he plans to be doing this forever, or as long as forever pertains to a man who will be 70 in July.

“I don’t have Jerry’s genes,” he said, referring to Coleman, who passed away in 2014 a few months shy of his 90th birthday. “I’m not going to live into my 80s. I understand that. I’d like to go into my 70s and keep doing this. I have no intention of ever – I couldn’t walk away. I love it so much that the idea of not doing it and wishing I were there every day is not exactly what I have in mind.

“I love the play-by -play. The TV sports made much more money. I got much more known for that. More famous and infamous, liked a disliked, loved and hated. But play-by-play – there’s nothing like being at the place, show time, live.”

That’s how a good number of Leitner’s sentences meander, start and stop and ultimately end. A thought leads to a story, which reminds him of a time the Padres were in Cincinnati and a Seinfeld episode was just like when Jerry did this or that and then the next pitch is a breaking ball in the dirt.

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It’s been a glorious way to listen to a mostly lousy team over the years.

His style is not for everyone. It’s for us.

“They tell me I’m different,” Leitner said. “OK, I’m different. A lot of that is from television. A lot of that is from being a talk show host, even the non-sports talk show host that I’ve been. And some of that gets into the radio broadcast. Hopefully not too much. But when you think about a team that has not been a winner every year, that makes more sense for a guy like me than somebody else.”

Make no mistake, Leitner loves the Padres. (“My Padres.” “The boys.”) But he knows what they are and what his role is in sharing their feats and foibles.

Perhaps more astonishing than the fact he has worked with no fewer than 10 radio partners is that Leitner has worked for so many bosses. The Padres’ current home on 94.9 FM is their fourth. The current owners are the team’s fifth since Leitner began calling games in 1980.

It’s not that none of those owners – or the five team presidents or too many listeners to count – haven’t quibbled with Leitner’s stream of consciousness manner or his endless supply of anecdotes about Ray Charles and Mickey Mantle and Jerry Lewis. It’s not that no one has ever wondered if the game is getting in the way of Leitner’s stories.

It’s not that Leitner hasn’t heard them.

“I become self-conscious about it because I understand some people don’t like that,” he said. “I try to rein it in. … If I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I’d do a speech like that – ‘And by the way I know when I get off a bit and take a left turn, I know I drive you nuts. That’s just me. That’s what I do in conversation. I drop in a story. That’s what I do in a broadcast. I appreciate you putting up with me, and I apologize for diving you nuts.’ ”

Things is, a radio announcer’s style is intrinsic to a franchise’s identity. And if you ever roll your eyes at another Leitner rant or ramble during another interminable the fifth inning, stop to remember there are 162 of these every year and consider he just might be the perfect announcer for a perennially boring baseball team.

“I don’t think serious – ‘Ball one. Ball two.’ – when you’re out of it in June is a real smart model when you’re talking radio,” Leitner said. “I can do that act. I’ve developed this style with a team that’s been bad more often than not. I’d like to think maybe somebody will listen when it’s 9-1 with the other team leading in the fifth inning, and we might be able to hold the audience.

“If you don’t have the steak, sell the sizzle. Try to make it entertaining radio and maybe they’ll listen. If I were doing the Red Sox through all their winning years and other juggernauts, I wouldn’t do what I do.”

He has called just 13 winning seasons, six in the last 20 years. Maybe if the Padres had been to the postseason more than five times he would let the game flow.

Maybe not. Hopefully not.

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He is who he is, has been since he showed up here and his nightly sportscast – no notes, no teleprompter, just a guy looking in the camera giving you sports and opinions as if he were your slightly angry uncle from New York.

He could have left. He didn’t. He’s as addicted to San Diego as the rest of us.

For that, we say simply, thank you, sir.

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Assessing the Padres' upper-level rotation depth Jeff Sanders

The Padres turn to their bullpen (Jarred Cosart) and their organizational depth (Zach Lee) when they lost Trevor Cahill and Luis Perdomo to early trips to the disabled list. While their most promising starting pitching prospects have opened the season in the low minors and in extended spring training, the arms they have in Triple-A El Paso and Double-A San Antonio will be called on throughout the year to pick up the slack, whether it’s as injury replacements (Padres still waiting on Christian Friedrich) or fill-ins following the summer trade deadline.

Here are the names to keep an eye on (some of whom have already made their 2017 debut with the Padres):

ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER

RHP Zach Lee: The 25-year-old former first-rounder threw five shutout innings at the Rockies this week, his first MLB action since he was rocked for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his debut in 2015. Claimed off waivers over the offseason, Lee owns a 4.29 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP across 794 2/3 minor league innings.

RHP Jake Esch: He walked the only two batters he faced this week and was optioned back to Triple-A El Paso, where he’s still awaiting his first minor league appearance since the Padres claimed him off waivers from the Marlins earlier this month. The 27-year-old Esch allowed eight runs in 13 innings in the majors last year and has a 4.02 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 582 1/3 innings in the minors.

RHP Tyrell Jenkins: Also claimed off waivers this offseason, the 24-year-old Jenkins is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA, five strikeouts and a 1.45 WHIP through his first 10 1/3 innings at Triple-A El Paso. Jenkins made his MLB debut with the Braves last year, going 2-4 with a 5.88 ERA and 11 homers allowed in 52 innings.

RHP Walker Lockett: Ranked 28th in the Padres’ farm system by Baseball America, has been a mixed bag through his first two starts at Triple-A El Paso. He struck out eight over six innings of one-run ball in his debut and then allowed six earned runs in four innings without recording a single strikeout his next time out. The 22-year-old Lockett went 10-9 with a 2.96 ERA, 123 strikeouts and a 1.06 WHIP in 164 innings across four levels in 2016.

PROSPECTS

RHP Dinelson Lamet: He allowed an unearned run in 2 1/3 innings Friday in a rain-shortened start and has six strikeouts, four walks and five hits yielded through his first 7 2/3 innings this year at Triple-A El Paso. Ranked ninth in the organization by Baseball America, Lamet went 12-10 with a 3.00 ERA, 158 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP in 150 innings across three levels a year ago.

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RHP Enyel De Los Santos: The 21-year-old struck out eight over six perfect innings for Double-A San Antonio on Friday. Ranked 16th by Baseball America, De Los Santos – the return from Joaquin Benoit – has 13 strikeouts, one run, two hits and two walks through his first 12 innings of 2017.

IN THE ORGANIZATION

RHP Matt Magill: The 27-year-old minor league signee has allowed two runs – one earned – on eight hits, three walks and three hit batters in 12 innings at Triple-A El Paso. He has struck out 10.

RHP Cesar Vargas: Designed for assignment at the end of spring, the 25-year-old Vargas has allowed five runs through is first 5 2/3 innings at Double-A San Antonio. He’s coming off an elbow injury that ended his 2016 season.

AROUND THE FARM

EL PASO (AAA): 1B Jamie Romak, a minor league signee, is the early organizational leader with three homers. The 31-year-old is batting .286/.333/.643 through the first eight games.

San Antonio (AA): SS Jose Rondon is on the seven-day DL with a strained hamstring. Rondon is 3-for-14 to start the season. Meanwhile, 19-year-old SS Luis Urias leads the Missions with seven RBIs after belting a grand slam this week. His two home runs are also tied for the team lead.

Lake Elsinore (A+): CF Michael Gettys (.220/.267/.366) leads the Cal League with 17 strikeouts. SS Javier Guerra (.143/.211/.200) is tied for second with 13.

Fort Wayne (A): RHP Jesse Scholtens, a ninth-rounder last year, is 1-0, with a 1.64 ERA, 17 strikeouts and four walks through his first 11 innings.

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Richard making a living with ground-ball

outs By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | April 15th, 2017

ATLANTA -- For the better part of six innings Saturday, Clayton Richard did what he does best: He got

the Braves to hit into outs on the ground -- 14 times, to be exact.

That run of ground balls was briefly interrupted in the sixth inning, when Atlanta's Brandon

Phillips and Adonis Garcia lifted consecutive flyballs. Both left the yard -- and they proved to be the

difference in a 4-2 loss, the Padres' sixth straight against Atlanta.

In terms of batted balls, Richard put forth one of the strangest pitching lines you'll see. He recorded 14

ground outs and not a single flyout, while allowing two home runs.

"I was ... just keeping it down," said Richard, who allowed four runs over six innings. "Even the guys that

got me, it was more so just falling behind that hurt. It was kind of disappointing to feel good like that, and

come away with those results."

From the time Richard signed with the Padres last August, no pitcher in baseball has induced ground balls

at a higher clip. He posted a 64 percent ground-ball rate during the second half last season, leading the

Major Leagues.

That number has gone up this year. Through three starts, Richard has induced 36 ground outs (including

five double plays), to just four flyouts.

So what makes his sinker -- the pitch that has rejuvenated his career -- so tough to hit?

"It's just late [movement]," Padres catcher Austin Hedges said. "You don't really see it. He lives at the

bottom of the zone, and it's got late movement downward. Guys catch the top half of the ball, and just

beat it into the ground."

Of course, Phillips was the first Brave to get under it. And he made it count.

"It was a great pitch," Hedges said. "It was a good swing. You just tip your cap to Phillips there. Good job

on his part. Clayton was outstanding today. That's a pitch that if he throws it nine times out of 10, we're

going to get a ground ball.”

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Wearing No. 42 not lost on Braves, Padres By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | April 15th, 2017

ATLANTA -- As Braves outfielder Matt Kemp spent the early portion of his career with the Dodgers, he

gained a genuine appreciation for that one day every season when he and every other Major League

manager, coach and player would wear No. 42 to celebrate and commemorate all that Jackie Robinson

gave the baseball world.

"Honestly, that was the only day I wore my pants up," Kemp said. "I tried to imitate everything

[Robinson] did during that day. That was always one of those special days."

Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day again Saturday to recognize the 70th anniversary

of when Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. The historic moment occurred on April 15, 1947, when

Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers and became MLB's first African-American player.

Before Saturday night's game against the Padres, the Braves unveiled Robinson's No. 42 along the wall

that displays each of the organization's retired numbers.

"When I was playing for the Dodgers, they always had special guests, and the ceremonies were just crazy

with legends and people I always wanted to meet," Kemp said. "Getting to be around Don Newcombe all

of the time and guys who actually knew Jackie Robinson, I got to sit down and actually hear their

personal stories. It was just unbelievable what they had to go through just to play a game that they love to

play."

While spending each of the past 41 seasons within the Braves' organization, Braves manager Brian

Snitker has developed a strong friendship with Hank Aaron, and along the way heard many chilling

stories about the inequalities and hatred Aaron, Robinson and many other African-American players

experienced while integrating the game and the United States.

"It's as impactful as anything that's ever occurred in the game of baseball, and also in our country," Padres

manager Andy Green said. "It's the kind of story that when you stop and contemplate it, still gives you

chills, brings tears to your eyes -- what [Robinson] went through, what he endured, what he

accomplished, and how much it means to this game that all of us love. It's an honor every day you get to

celebrate it."

Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran and his good friend Christian Bethancourt, who is now serving as

a catcher/pitcher for the Padres are among the game's Latin American-born players who understand they

are among the countless many members of the baseball world who continue to benefit from Robinson's

bravery.

"Let's put it this way -- It means everything to African-American players and players like me from Latin

America," Bethancourt said. "[Robinson's] basically the reason we're here in professional baseball. He

meant so much to the game, that it's not only the African-American players or the Latin players who are

grateful to him. It's everybody. He's the only player who we wear his number for one day. … I feel like I

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get to be Jackie Robinson for one day, that day I'm putting on Jackie Robinson's jersey and I get to

represent Jackie Robinson."

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Padres' back-to-back HRs fall short vs.

Braves By Mark Bowman and AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | 12:30 AM ET

ATLANTA -- R.A. Dickey overcame back-to-back home runs and benefited from those Brandon

Phillips and Adonis Garcia produced as the Braves recorded their third straight victory with Saturday

night's 4-2 win over the Padres at SunTrust Park.

Phillips and Garcia opened the sixth inning with back-to-back homers off Clayton Richard to provide

sufficient support to Dickey. The Braves starter surrendered consecutive one-out homers to Hunter

Renfroe and Austin Hedges in the second inning before blanking the Padres over the remainder of his

six-inning stint.

"There's a lot of great things going on right now for us," Dickey said after the Braves improved to 4-6.

"We just have to keep the momentum. It's all about us finding the rhythm early on. Now that we have a

little more of a routine and not so many days off to navigate around, our guys are getting in a little bit of a

groove and we're seeing more of what they're capable of."

After receiving the early advantage courtesy of the home runs by Renfroe and Hedges, Richard allowed

four singles and committed a costly balk during the game-tying two-run third inning produced by the

Braves, who have now won the first two games played in their new stadium.

It was a vintage outing from Richard, who recorded 14 groundouts without a single flyout. After he

allowed four runs in six innings Saturday, Richard has now picked up 36 outs on the ground this season --

and just four in the air.

"His stuff was good, got a ton of ground balls," Padres manager Andy Green said. "Even the hits, for the

most part, until the home runs, were on the ground."

While keeping the Padres scoreless over the final three innings, the Braves bullpen extended its scoreless

streak to 10 consecutive innings. The relievers have allowed just two hits within this span.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Swanson delivers: Before Nick Markakis delivered the game-tying, two-out single in the third

inning, Dansby Swanson put the Braves on the board with an opposite-field single that scored Chase

d'Arnaud, who had singled and advanced to second on a potential pickoff that was erased when Richard

was charged with a balk. Swanson is batting .159 (7-for-44).

"The kid has confidence, and it wasn't like he's been out there striking out a lot," Braves manager Brian

Snitker said. "He's had some good at-bats and made solid contact. There's going to be a learning curve.

He's fine. That was just a really nice stroke he put on it for that RBI."

Instant rally killer: After squandering doubles hit by Wil Myers in the fifth inning and Hedges in the

sixth inning, the Padres chased Dickey with two on and none out in the seventh. But the potential rally

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ended when Jose Ramirez induced a Myers grounder that Swanson fielded in front of second base before

flipping to Phillips, who made a barehanded grab before bouncing a throw that Freddie Freeman picked

just before Myers reached the bag. The Padres challenged the call, but the double play stood after a replay

review.

"We're having fun," Phillips said. "The [double play] we turned today was very beautiful, and Freddie

made a nice pick. That was like a game-changer. So, I'm glad Freddie made us look good."

QUOTABLE "Who knows if I would've scored. It felt like I was going to. I think I had too much momentum to stop,

regardless of if I was or not." -- Richard, on the fan interference during Myers' fifth-inning double, which

may have cost the Padres a run

"We're playing a lot less sloppy than we did early on, and it's showing." -- Dickey, exactly one week after

saying the Braves' 1-4 start was influenced by sloppy play

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Each of the first four starting pitchers within SunTrust Park's history have recorded a hit. Following the

lead Julio Teheran and Jhoulys Chacin provided as they marked in the hit column Friday, Dickey

singled in the fourth inning and Richard produced a single in the fifth inning.

GOLD STAR CATCH Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte's unexpected homer streak was snapped at two games, but the Gold

Glover added yet another defensive gem to his portfolio as he covered 54 feet in 3.6 seconds to make a

diving catch of Renfroe's sinking liner in the fourth inning. Per Statcast™, it was a four-star play that had

only a 32 percent catch probability.

WHAT'S NEXT Padres: Trevor Cahill is slated to return after missing his most recent start with a lower-back strain. He

gets the ball for the third game of the four-game set, with first pitch slated for 10:35 a.m. PT. Cahill was

mostly sharp in his Padres debut, allowing two earned runs over 5 2/3 frames at Dodger Stadium.

Braves: Bartolo Colon will make his first home start of the season as he opposes Cahill when this series

resumes Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. Colon cruised through his season debut against the Mets, but lasted just

four innings in Miami on Tuesday.

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Hedges' hits coming at a faster clip By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | 12:10 AM ET

ATLANTA -- It took Austin Hedges 24 at-bats to record his first hit of the 2017 season. Now, it seems,

they're coming in bunches.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a double and a homer in the Padres' 4-2 loss to the Braves on Saturday. He

crushed a 1-2 curveball from Braves starter R.A. Dickey into the left-center-field seats for his first homer

of the season in the top of the second inning.

"I made a few adjustments yesterday with [hitting coach Alan Zinter] and felt a lot more under control in

the box," Hedges said. "Our approach today was to be aggressive, try to pull him. I got a mistake

curveball, and put a good swing on it."

Thing is, Hedges has put good swings on quite a few pitches this season. It's only recently that he's been

rewarded. During his 0-for-24 stretch, Hedges hit six outs with exit velocities of 100 mph or harder,

according to Statcast™.

"It's a part of baseball, you can only control what you can control," Hedges said. "It's good to have a few

fall. You just kind of trust the process, because it's a long season ahead of us. But, yeah, it's good to have

some results."

Hedges, who took over as the starting backstop this season, will likely never be known primarily for his

bat. He's one of the game's premier defensive catchers, and the Padres pitching staff has raved about

working with him.

"He's very intelligent," said left-hander Clayton Richard, who allowed four runs over six innings

Saturday. "He does his work preparing for games. It's good to have that. We have a good correspondence

before the game starts, and understand, going in, what we want to accomplish."

Offensively, however, there are still questions surrounding Hedges -- who received very limited playing

time at the Major League level the past two seasons. Hedges batted .161 for the Padres in 2015-16 (in

only 161 at-bats). Contrast that with his .326 average at Triple-A El Paso last season, and the Padres

would gladly take the middle ground.

Still, Hedges' long-term value to the club comes primarily from his ability behind the plate. And Hedges

has always put that aspect first.

"The homer, the double, good swings from him," Padres manager Andy Green said. "I know he wants to

come through every time with the bat in his hand. But I know he takes the other side of the game very

personally."

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Cahill to test lower back against Braves By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | April 15th, 2017

In his ninth season, Padres right-hander Trevor Cahill certainly qualifies as a big league veteran. Thing is,

when Cahill debuted in 2009, Bartolo Colon was already beginning his 13th year in the Major Leagues.

The two veteran righties -- one fitting that description to more of an extreme than the other -- square off

Sunday in the third game of a four-game series to open SunTrust Park in Atlanta.

How impressive is Colon's longevity? He's now officially outlasted Turner Field. Colon debuted with the

Indians on April 4, 1997, the same day the Braves opened Turner Field. Now, he's a part of the opening

series at SunTrust Park. The new ballpark will mark the 44th stadium in which Colon has pitched a Major

League game.

Things to know about this game

• Cahill missed his most recent start with a strained lower back and was placed on the 10-day disabled list

last week. (He will return from the DL before Sunday's game.) Braves fans won't have many fond

memories of Cahill, who posted a 7.52 ERA in 15 appearances for Atlanta before being released in June

2015. Cahill would later join the Cubs and serve effectively in a relief role, before the Padres converted

him back into a starter.

• It's an admittedly small sample size, but Yangervis Solarte has had success against Colon, with four hits

in five at-bats. In fact, players on the Padres' current roster are hitting .364 against Colon.

• The Padres have lost five straight and 10 of their last 12 in Atlanta.

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Leading Majors in walks a positive for

Schimpf By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | 1:59 AM ET

ATLANTA -- Almost nothing about Ryan Schimpf's game is conventional. He's a 5-foot-9 infielder with

immense power. He hits the ball in the air more often than any other player (and it's really not that close).

But even by Schimpf's standards, his numbers this season are outliers, specifically when it comes to plate

discipline. Schimpf has as many homers as singles (two apiece) -- and nearly three times as many walks

as hits combined. Those 11 free passes are tied for most in the Major Leagues.

"I would like to be squaring up a few more balls," said Schimpf before going 0-for-4 with one strikeout

and no walks in the Padres' 4-2 loss to the Braves on Saturday. "But as for the walks, I feel good and I'm

seeing the ball well. You always ha've to try and take the positives. If you're walking, you're seeing the

ball well. I'll take that right now over having a low average with not so many walks."

Schimpf hasn't gotten many pitches to hit this season. Through 11 games, no Padres hitter had seen more

pitches outside of the strike zone. To further solidify Schimpf's immaculate eye, no Padres regular has

swung at fewer of those pitches.

That said, Schimpf still doesn't feel as though he's found his groove at the plate. He's hitting only .129,

and one of those hits was an infield single.

But Schimpf isn't ever one to compensate by changing his approach.

"You just keep telling yourself you're seeing the ball well," Schimpf said. "Keep doing the same thing,

and it's going to come. You always want to take something positive away. I'm seeing the ball well and

being patient. ... You're doing something to put things in motion for the team to get something going, and

right now, the only thing that matters is what the team's doing."

Perdomo on the mend Luis Perdomo played catch at 120 feet before Saturday's game. If all goes according to plan, the ailing

right-hander could throw off a mound before the Padres leave Atlanta.

Perdomo is battling shoulder inflammation, and was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday.

The Padres wouldn't set a specific timetable for his return, given the unpredictable nature of shoulder

injuries. But they're optimistic that he'll be back this month.

"We're hopeful he's not too far behind his 10 days to return to the active roster," Padres manager Andy

Green said.

Capps to El Paso

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Righty reliever Carter Capps will join Triple-A El Paso on Sunday after a pair of scoreless rehab outings

for Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore.

Capps is recovering from March 2016 Tommy John surgery. Before he returns to the big league level, the

Padres would like him to go through his regular relief routine in the Minors for at least a week.

"He's going to be available out of their bullpen, much like he would be out of our bullpen," Green said.

"When we feel like he needs a day [off], he'll have a day. When we feel like he needs to pitch back-to-

back, he'll pitch back-to-back. We'll take care of him health-wise, but we need to start getting him in the

flow of pitching like it's the regular season."

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Braves top Padres 4-2 as Dickey pitches in

3rd Atlanta park Associated Press

ATLANTA -- After giving up a home run on his only curveball, R.A. Dickey went back to his knuckleball. He knows that pitch is the reason he's still in the major leagues at age 42. Winless at Turner Field, Dickey got a victory in his first appearance at SunTrust Park as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 4-2 Saturday night behind home runs from Brandon

Phillips and Adonis Garcia.

Dickey said he threw about 90 percent knuckleballs. He said the pitch "was really moving," especially in his last two innings.

"The thing was dancing around pretty good," Braves manager Brian Snitker said,

Atlanta won its third straight following a five-game losing streak, including its first two games at SunTrust Park.

Dickey (1-1), who left Toronto to sign an $8 million, one-year contract with the Braves, gave up two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings with six strikeouts. He allowed consecutive home runs in the second to Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges.

Hedges knew he should take advantage of what he said was a mistake.

"Your game plan was to be aggressive on the knuckleball," Hedges said. "A lot of us hadn't seen it before."

Dickey was pitching in his third Atlanta ballpark. He got two victories for the U.S. team that won the 1996 Olympic bronze medal at Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium but was 0-3 against the Braves at Turner Field in six starts and three relief appearances for Texas, Seattle, the New York

Mets and Toronto. Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his third save. Phillips and Garcia homered in the sixth off Clayton Richard (1-2), who allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings. Padres manager Andy Green said Richard "got a ton of ground balls" before making a mistake with an inside fastball to Phillips, who grounded out to the pitcher in his first two at-bats.

"I was very mad about those two at-bats," Phillips said. "I went up there and said, `You know what, I'm going to try to hit this ball as far as I can,' and the next thing you know I did."

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Dansby Swanson and Nick Markakis had run-scoring singles off Richard that tied the score in the third. Dickey had a fourth-inning single but drew a few boos in the sixth when he failed to run out a grounder that was bobbled and then recovered by Will Myers at first base.

Fans applauded when Dickey was lifted after allowing infield hits to Allen Cordoba and pinch-hitter Christian Bethancourt in the seventh. Jose Ramirez retired Manuel Margot on a flyout, then got Will Myers to ground into a double play.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo (right shoulder inflammation) threw from 120 feet and is expected to soon throw off a mound. Green said he is encouraged Perdomo should miss only two starts and get activated from the DL. Braves: OF Matt Kemp (right hamstring strain) had a more strenuous run on the bases before the game. Snitker said Kemp, eligible to return from the DL on Tuesday, remains "day to day."

PLAY DAY

Former Braves players Brian Jordan and Johnny Estrada participated in the team's "Play Day" celebration of the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. The team and a local YMCA coordinated the day of skill competitions and games for youth in metro Atlanta. Simon Kwon, the winner of the skills competition, wore a 42 jersey as he threw out the first pitch.

FIRST START

Cordobo, taken in the winter-meeting draft, had a walk and an infield hit in his first start in left field.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Trevor Cahill (back) is expected to return from the DL Sunday to make his second start this season. Braves: RHP Bartolo Colon (0-1) is 3-3 with a 4.12 ERA in seven starts against the Padres.

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Andy’s Address, 4/15

Andy addresses Jackie Robinson tribute day, 10-day

disabled list, knuckleball

Bill Center

With Saturday being the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in the Major Leagues, Andy Green, like so many managers today, was asked about Robinson’s impact on the game as the player who broke the color barrier.

“I just saw the movie again a couple days ago, it was on in the hotel,” said the Padres manager.

“It is as compelling a story as you could ever come up with. It’s as impactful as anything that’s ever occurred in the game of baseball and also in our country. It’s a story that when you stop and contemplate it, it gives you chills and brings tears to your eyes — what he went through, what he endured, what he accomplished and how much it means to this game that all of us love.”

“It’s an honor that you get to celebrate it.”

Green turned to discussing the 10-day disabled list that, in a rule change, replaced the 15-day disabled list this season.

“It definitely has its advantages in being able to care for the players better,” said Green. “Players are going to resist you if they think they are going to miss three starts. With the 10-day disabled list, they feel like ‘hey we can get you back retroactive three days and miss only one start.’”

“Then they are going to listen a lot more and you get more of the details about how they actually feel rather than them hiding something. It helps in not having a player try to play through a problem, then missing a month or two months.”

“Trevor Cahill comes off the 10-day list Sunday to pitch and will miss only one start. (Luis) Perdomo being able to slow down, hey if he’s healthy, he’ll get back on the mound in 10 days.”

“We’re hopeful it plays out that way and hopeful it allows us to take care of players better. I like it better because it creates honest dialogue with players. It has played out nicely for us.”

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Green said Perdomo threw from 120 feet Saturday. “He feels great,” said Green. “We’ve got him on anti-inflammatories and on a mobility program for his shoulder. We’re optimistic he’ll get off the mound in a day or so. Hopeful he’s not too far behind his 10-days schedule.”

Green said rehabbing, right-handed reliever Carter Capps will be joining Triple-A El Paso Saturday and will pitch for the Chihuahuas on Sunday. He will then stay with El Paso next week as the Chihuahuas return home. “We want him to feel like he’s pitching in the regular season,” said Green. “going back-to-back if needed, getting a day off it he needs it.”

Green talked about right-hander Jered Weaver, who will start in Atlanta Monday after giving up four homers over 11 innings in his first two starts. “Weaver was outstanding in Colorado,” said Green. “That’s a tough place to pitch. He allowed only three hits. The two home runs, those were mistakes he did make. By and large he was fine. He pounded inside well with his fastball, opened up away, mixed speeds and pitched how he’s always pitched to be successful.”

Green then talked about knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who will be pitching for the Braves Saturday against Padres’ left-hander Clayton Richard.

“Dickey is not an easy guy to plan for,” said Green.

“Most of our guys don’t even know what a knuckleball looks like. They haven’t been in the league long enough. We’ve got a couple guys who have seen him. Most of our guys — ‘what does a knuckeball look like?’

“You don’t prepare for that, not with our limited roster experience. You don’t generate a game plan for it.”

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This Day in Padres History, 4/15

Swinging Friar debuts, Jackie Robinson’s number

retired, 3 straight shutouts

By Bill Center

April 15, 1962 — The “Swinging Friar” logo first appears in Padres programs at the home opener of the Pacific Coast League season.

April 15, 1973 — Right-hander Mike Corkins allows a run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in a complete game as the Padres defeat Atlanta 5–1 at San Diego Stadium.

April 15, 1985 — Left fielder Carmelo Martinez is 3-for-3 with two homers, including a grand slam, and five RBIs as the Padres defeat the Giants 8–3 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

April 15, 1986 — Garry Templeton is 3-for-3 with a walk-off RBI single and pitchers Eric Show, Gene Walter and Lance McCullers combine on a four-hitter as the Padres defeat the Dodgers 2–1 in 12 innings at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

April 15, 1997 — As part of a Major League-wide tribute, the Padres retire Jackie Robinson’s №42.

April 15, 1998 — Left fielder Greg Vaughn homers and right-hander Kevin Brown allows four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in a complete-game shutout as the Padres score a 1–0 win over the Giants in San Francisco.

April 15, 2002 — Phil Nevin is 4-for-5 with three RBIs capped by a walk-off homer in the 10th as the Padres defeat the Giants 4–3 in 10 innings at Qualcomm Stadium.

April 15, 2004 — Second baseman Mark Loretta hits the Padres first homer at Petco Park in the first inning against the Dodgers.

April 15, 2008 — Pitchers Randy Wolf and Kevin Cameron combine on a two-hit shutout as the Padres defeat Colorado 6–0 at Petco Park. It is the Padres’ franchise record third straight shutout win. Wolf allows one hit and four walks with nine strikeouts over seven innings. Cameron allows a hit with three strikeouts in two innings.

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Padres On Deck: Near Perfect Game

For Double-AA San Antonio

Infield single in 9th ends bid by De Los Santos,

Weir, Yardley

By Bill Center

Three pitchers for Double-A San Antonio came within two outs of the first perfect game in Missions history Friday night.

The bid ended with one out in the ninth when Northwest Arkansas’ Ruben Sosa dribbled an infield single in front of reliever Eric Yardley. A second NW Arkansas runner reached on an error before Yardley completed the 2–0 shutout and earned his first save of the season.

Right-hander Enyel De Los Santos, the Padres’ 17th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, started the game for the Missions and retired all 18 hitters he faced with seven strikeouts. De Los Santos picked up his first win while lowering his ERA to 0.75 for San Antonio, which is off to a 6–2 start.

Right-hander T.J. Weir (0.00 ERA) worked the next two perfect innings with a strikeout. Yardley struck out three in the ninth after giving up the game’s lone hit.

Second baseman Noah Perio (.261) was 1-for-3 with his second homer and a walk. Center fielder Auston Bousfield (.200) was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Shortstop Luis Urías (.233) had a RBI double in four at-bats. Left fielder Nick Schulz (.333) was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The San Antonio near perfect game was not the lone outstanding pitching effort in the Padres’ system Friday. Led by right-handed starter, four Triple-A El Paso pitchers combined on a three-hitter but lost on a pair of unearned runs.

Around The Farm:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (4–5) — TACOMA 2, Chihuahuas 1: Lamet (0.00 ERA) and three relievers allowed only three hits and both Tacoma runs were unearned following two errors by second baseman Carlos Asuaje in the rain-interrupted game. Lamet allowed an unearned run on no hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. RHP Logan Bawcom (1.35) allowed a hit and a walk with six strikeouts in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. RHP Andre Rienzo (1.80) allowed two hits and two

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walks with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings. LHP Keith Hessler (0–1) didn’t allow a hit but gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth. He walked three with a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. LF Rafael Ortega (.211) was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a RBI. RF Collin Cowgill (.261) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

ADVANCED SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (3–6) — RANCHO CUCAMONGA 5, Storm 4: C Miguel Del Castillo (.571) was 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored. RF Taylor Kohlwey (.321) was 2-for-4. 1B Josh Naylor (.171) was 1-for-5 with two RBIs. The Storm committed four errors leading to three unearned runs. Starting RHP Pedro Avila (5.87 ERA) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings. RHP Zech Lemond (0.00) gave up two unearned runs on four hits with four strikeouts in three innings. RHP Jose Ruiz allowed two hits but struck out three in a scoreless ninth.

SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (2–7) — BOWLING GREEN 6, TinCaps 1: Starting RHP Austin Smith (0–1, 9.45 ERA) allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings. RHP Emmanuel Ramirez (4.50) allowed a hit and a walk with four strikeouts in three scoreless innings. RHP Wilmer Torres (9.00) struck out two in a perfect inning. 2B Reinaldo Ilarraza (.233) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (.171) was 2-for-4 with a RBI. RF Jorge Oña (.281) was 2-for-4.

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Franchy Cordero homers twice in El Paso win

Jeff Sanders

Franchy Cordero is beginning to get comfortable in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The shortstop-turned-center fielder homered twice and drove in five runs Saturday in Triple-A El Paso’s 10-5 win over host Reno. Cordero’s blasts gives him four on the season, tops in the Padres’ farm system.

The 22-year-old Cordero is hitting .222/.243/.639 with 13 strikeouts against just one walk. His eight RBIs are also tops in the system.

Jose Pirela (.421) went 4-for-4 with two doubles, his first homer and two RBIs. Cory Spangenberg (.303), Collin Cowgill (.296) and Tony Cruz (.333) all had two hits.

Right-hander Bryan Rodriguez (1-0, 0.75) allowed three runs – one earned – on five hits and a walk in six innings. Right-hander Mike Dimock (3.00) turned in two scoreless innings and right-hander Phil Maton (6.75) allowed two runs – one earned – in the ninth inning.

The Chihuahuas are 5-5.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (6-3)

NW Arkansas 2, Missions 1: RHP Brett Kennedy (2.70) allowed a run on four hits and a walk and struck out three in six innings in a no-decision. RHP Adam Cimber (0-1, 4.50) allowed a run in two innings. 3B River Stevens (.148) drove in San Antonio’s lone run.

HIGH SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (3-7)

Rancho Cucamonga 5, Storm 3: RHP Jean Cosme (0-2, 7.36) allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. RHP Colby Blueberg (3.00) struck out four over two scoreless innings in relief. The Storm struck out 20 times, including four by SS Javier Guerra (.128) and three by RF Taylor Kohlwey (.313). CF Michael Gettys (.244) and LF Edwin Moreno (.250) each had two hits.

LOW SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (3-7)

TinCaps 12, Bowling Green 7: 3B Hudson Potts (.139) and C Marcus Greene Jr. (.261) and 1B Brad Zunica (.238) hit his second. Greene drove in five runs on two hits, Zunica drove in three runs and walked twice and RF Jorge Ona (.297), 2B Eguy Rosario (.194) and C

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Webster Rivas (.214) each had two hits. LHP Jerry Keel (1-0, 2.38) struck out five and allowed two runs over five innings. s

29

Braves Lift Off to Beat Padres Atlanta uses back-to-back homers to beat San Diego

By Derek Togerson

Padres lefty Clayton Richard is at his best when he keeps the ball down and gets opposing

batters to hit the ball on the ground. But that may have gone just a little bit too far on Saturday

night in Atlanta.

Richard recorded 18 outs against the Braves: 16 by ground ball, two by strikeout, zero by

flyout. When the ball did get in the air it did not end well; two of the fly balls he allowed left

the ballpark in a 4-2 loss at SunTrust Park in suburban Atlanta.

The Padres only runs came in the 2nd inning when rookie outfielder Hunter Renfroe and

catcher Austin Hedges hit back-to-back home runs off Braves knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Both Renfroe and Hedges had a pair of hits but the rest of the San Diego lineup had just four

knocks.

The Padres had chances to score but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Atlanta evened the game with a pair of runs in the 3rd inning on a series of singles and took

the lead for good in the 6th when Brandon Phillips and Adonis Garcia hit back-to-back home

runs off Richard.

Interestingly, Jose Torres and Brad Hand came on in relief and neither of them recorded a fly

ball out either but Hand did get Garcia to hit a line drive to Renfroe in right field for the last

out of the 8th inning.

San Diego’s best chance to even it up came in the top of the 7th inning. Allen Cordoba, who

at the age of 21 is exactly half the age of the man he was facing, led off with a single off

Dickey. Pinch-hitter Christian Bethancourt also singled to put two runners on with nobody out

but Manuel Margot lined out to right field and Wil Myers grounded in to a double play to kill

their last real threat.

Game three of the 4-game set is Sunday with a 10:35 a.m. start time for fans on the West

Coast. Vista High School alum Trevor Cahill will come off the disabled list to make his

second start of the season against another seasoned starter, 43-year-old Bartolo Colon.