Good Morning San Diego: Goodyear was not so good to Padres; Position battles heating up in spring camp

It was a rough day for San Diego Padres pitchers in Goodyear, Ariz. on Saturday. The Padres were on the road to face the Cleveland Guardians with one of their top pitchers on the mound in Michael King. It was only King’s second start of Spring Training and after a diving attempt by center fielder Bryce Johnson on a ball that landed in the outfield and rolled all the way to the wall allowing Steven Kwan to reach third base, it looked as though it was not going to be a good day. King would allow Kwan to score in the bottom of the first but limited the damage to one run. He would finish his day on the mound with 3.2 innings pitched with three earned runs allowed on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Garrett Hawkins, who had been having a solid spring season, followed King and allowed two runs on two hits in 0.2 innings pitched. He also allowed a walk and failed to record any strikeouts. Carter Loewen did not fare much better following Hawkins. He also worked 0.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout.

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The first three pitchers for the Padres combined with the San Diego offense, which had one run on 10 hits, took the loss in Goodyear at the hands of the Guardians, 7-1. The Padres will look for better performances from the pitching staff when they play the Cincinnati Reds at the Peoria Sports Complex on Sunday at 12:10 p.m.

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Position battles have been the story of Spring Training for the Padres. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides a snapshot of each competition and some insight with regard to how she believes each position will be decided. AJ Cassavell of Padres.com, like Bell, looked at the competitions in Spring Training for the Padres. He focused on the players competing for the fifth starter spot in the rotation.

The Padres have a new manager who appears young and energetic in his dealings with the media. Craig Stammen took the job as the San Diego skipper and brought in many of his own coaches and the Padres players seem to be enjoying the new atmosphere of the clubhouse.

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