Cashner won his fifth game of the season tonight. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

As the title states, the Padres took advantage of a stellar effort on the mound from Andrew Cashner and some timely hitting as they defeated the N.L. East-leading Braves by a score of 3-2.

I for one have to give a “tip of the cap” to Cashner for his efforts this evening.  For a guy who was supposed to start the season either on the Disabled List or in the bullpen, “Grizzly Adams” has emerged as a solid #2 starter in San Diego’s rotation.  The right-handed fire-baller has been a pleasant surprise this year out of the starting rotation, and he definitely had answers for the Braves’ stacked lineup tonight.

Overall, Cashner did a fantastic job for the Friars as he worked 8.0 strong innings and allowed two runs and six hits.  Best of all, Andrew only allowed one walk and struck out five as he held Atlanta’s hitters in check for a majority of the evening.  While San Diego’s offensive output was not particularly amazing (three runs on five hits), their hitters still gave Cashner enough run support so he could earn his fifth win of the 2013 season.

Chase Headley, who has struggled mightily at the plate as of late, belted a much needed home run in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1-1.  On the play, Chase received an elevated pitch from Tim Hudson which he promptly smacked over the right-center field wall.

San Diego then took the lead in the following inning when Nick Hundley blooped an “excuse me” double down the left field line which scored Kyle Blanks with two outs.  In the bottom of the third, San Diego scored their final run after Carlos Quentin singled home Everth Cabrera which gave the team a comfortable two-run advantage.

After Cashner left the game in the top of the ninth, Joe Thatcher and Luke Gregerson came on to preserve the win.  To their credit, both relievers did not allow their poor outings as of late get to them.  Both guys held strong and combined to pitch as scoreless top of the ninth to finish the 3-2 win.

Tomorrow, the Padres will go for the sweep and will send Edinson Volquez to the mound for the start.  Hopefully the veteran right-hander can maintain his control so the Friars can earn a much-needed sweep against a quality opponent.

Quentin hit a home run earlier today. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

To their credit, Arizona’s hitters jumped all over starter Jason Marquis from the beginning of the game and scored four runs in the first two innings.  Eric Chavez set the tone for the game after he hit a two-out, two-run home run to put Arizona in front 2-1 after Chris Denorfia scored in the top of the first for the Friars. The D-Backs then plated two more in the next inning with some solid situational hitting courtesy of Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra.

Marquis, who had pitched well over the last month, was pulled with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and the Padres were forced to use their bullpen for the rest of the way.  The Padres bullpen managed to limit Arizona’s offense to only two more runs over the rest of the game, but the damage had already been done.

Credit must also go to Martin Prado as he was an absolute nuisance for San Diego’s pitchers over the course of the series.  He proved to be too much for San Diego’s pitchers to handle on the day as he went 4 for 4 and played some slick defense to boot.

San Diego’s hitters tried their best to crawl back into the game, but they were held in check just enough by Patrick Corbin, who moved to 8-0 on the season, and the rest of Arizona’s pitching staff who did a nice job as they thwarted any chances for “big innings” by the Friars’ hitters.

Nevertheless, the Padres tied the game at four in the top of the fifth when Carlos Quentin hit a two-run home run.  Then in the top of the eighth, Kyle Blanks hit a two-out double to score Will Venable from second to close the gap to 6-5.  Unfortunately, the Padres were unable to score off of Heath Bell in the bottom of the ninth and the game ended in an Arizona victory.

Although the Padres lost two of the three games, they definitely looked like they could hang and stick with one of the division’s best teams.  While there is still much work to be done, San Diego is showing some signs of improvement and is continuing to play competitive baseball.

Tomorrow, the Friars (22-27) will head to Seattle for a two game set before they head home to play another two against the Mariners on Wednesday and Thursday.

Hopefully Headley and the Padres can get on the right track over the next 10 days. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego saw a 3-2 lead evaporate in the seventh inning on Friday night when Tampa Bay put up four runs to coast to the win.  On Saturday evening, Huston Street blew a save in the bottom of the ninth with two outs when Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run to win the game 8-7.  And yesterday, the wheels came off once again when in the bottom of the sixth for San Diego when starter Eric Stults allowed two runs to score after the Padres had built a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the Padres, they will not have much time to reflect on what transpired this past weekend.  In fact, over the next week and a half, San Diego will probably face their toughest stretch of opponents so far this year.

After today’s off-day, the Padres will stay back east and travel up to Baltimore to take on the Orioles for a two-game series.  Still hot off of their surprising run to the postseason last year, Baltimore has enjoyed similar success through the first month and a half of the 2013 campaign.

The Orioles sit in second place in a loaded American League East with a 23-15 record, and they are only one game behind the New York Yankees for the top spot in the division.  Native San Diegan Adam Jones (.321 batting average, 5 home runs, 14 doubles, 25 RBI’s), Manny Machado (.331 batting average, 5 home runs, 14 doubles, 24 RBI’s) and Chris Davis (.313 batting average, 11 home runs, 37 RBI’s) have all swung hot bats this year, and the Orioles currently rank third in the league in runs scored (184).

After their series in Baltimore, the Padres will head home to take on the Nationals for a four-game set in San Diego.  Like Baltimore, Washington has also carried their positive mojo over from the 2012 season.

The Nationals not only qualified for the postseason for the first time since the franchise was in Montreal (1981), the team came dangerously close to beating St. Louis in the ALDS last year.  And just like Baltimore, Washington sits in second place in their division, and they are only one game behind the Atlanta Braves.  While the Nationals aren’t nearly as formidable at the plate as the Orioles are, the team ranks 6th in team ERA (3.47) and starters like Jordan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg are always threats to turn in stellar outings on the mound.

As difficult as San Diego’s next six games will be, the Padres will really need to bring their “A game” when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals immediately following their series with the Nationals.  St Louis is one of the league’s hottest teams right now as they have won eight of their last 10 games.  Even without Albert Pujols for a second straight year, their offense is still a productive force as they rank ninth in the league in batting average (.263) and are led by veterans Yadier Molina (.343 batting average), Carlos Beltran (.298 batting average, 9 home runs, 22 RBI’s) and Allen Craig (.295 batting average and 27 RBI’s).

The Padres however should be more worried about St. Louis’ formidable starting rotation during their three-game series next week.  Shelby Miller (5-2 and 1.58 ERA), Adam Wainwright (5-2 and 2.30 ERA), Lance Lynn (5-1 and 2.72 ERA), Jaime Garcia (4-2 and 2.86 ERA), and Jake Westbrook (2-1 and 1.62 ERA) have all done a tremendous job in 2013, and the Cardinals rank first in the league in team ERA (2.89) and have complied 26 quality starts already this year.

Final Thoughts

Although the next 10 days will be anything but easy for the Friars, I for one am definitely intrigued to see how well that San Diego’s players can respond against some of the league’s best teams after such a crushing sweep in Tampa Bay.  The next week and a half should provide a some tremendous litmus tests for the Padres, and any and all learning experiences should serve this team well as they ready themselves for an arduous summer.

Stats Courtesy of: Baseball Reference and ESPN