Padres, despite rough patch, battling in tough NL West – ‘best division in baseball’
Fernando Tatis Jr bats in the second inning during against the Tigers on Monday April at Comerica Park in Detroit He is off to a hot start for the Friars Photo by Steven King Icon Sportswire Welcome to the National League West which the Padres know is far from a one-team show four weeks into the season Going into Saturday s games the Padres - Giants - Dodgers - and Diamondbacks - are all off to a good start foreshadowing a potentially heart-pounding summer race The Friars are playing well largely thanks to Fernando Tatis Jr who is off to a torrid start with a batting average eight homers and RBIs He added two more hits Saturday and drove in the Padres lone run in a - loss to the Rays Dylan Cease gave up two earned runs to take the loss Veteran starting pitchers Nick Pivetta and Michael King though have led the rotation while closer Robert Suarez hasn t given up a run this season and leads the NL with saves Obviously we re aware to specific degree of what is taking place in the division and in the league but our strength my force is not about what anyone else is doing It is on what we do manager Mike Shildt announced We re spending our time and efforts on taking care of ourselves because if we don t do that nothing else is going to matter The big-spending Dodgers have not underperformed this season Los Angeles has a winning percentage through games which translates to a -win pace That s right where everyone pretty much expected them to be const iframe document getElementById newspack-iframe-iqLXstaULT v const timerId setInterval function iframe src iframe src iframe onload function clearInterval timerId Instead it s the great play from the Padres and Giants and to a lesser extent the D-backs that has set up a dramatic summer Since baseball split the NL and AL into three divisions in the AL West has the record for the highest winning percentage with a mark For us who are so close to it not surprised Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted They re all very good teams I think it s the best division in baseball So far the version of the NL West is off to a start and that s including the Colorado Rockies who at - have the worst record in baseball Take out the Rockies and the other four teams have combined for a winning percentage It s gonna be a battle the entire season Giants third baseman Matt Chapman declared We knew the Dodgers are the Dodgers the Padres are really really good and so are the Diamondbacks The Dodgers continue to be the undeniable favorites to win the division Los Angeles is off to a quality start despite injuries and ailments that have struck Mookie Betts Freddie Freeman and former Padre Blake Snell A good first month from Tommy Edman Will Smith and Teoscar Hern ndez at the plate have showcased L A s depth Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks like a prospective NL Cy Young award winner and superstar Shohei Ohtani has slugged six homers with his return to the mound looming The Giants they won Saturday to move a half-game ahead of the Padres in the NL West are arguably the division s biggest surprise led by a productive lineup that includes Jung Hoo Lee Mike Yastrzemski Wilmer Flores and Chapman Right-hander Logan Webb has been dominant The D-backs have been more inconsistent than their division rivals but are still lurking Outfielder Corbin Carroll like Tatis is off to an MVP-caliber start with a batting average and nine homers Manager Torey Lovullo echoed others when he revealed he s aware of the division s excellence but tries not to dwell on it Being in the NL West might prove particularly stressful but fun this summer At the end of the day it makes everyone crazy Lovullo declared grinning
