San Diego Padres Need Edinson Volquez To Throw Better Than .500


Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres are a .500 team at 40-40 and Edinson Volquez is a .500 pitcher at 6-6.

Obviously, they make a perfect match.

The Padres are sticking around in MLB action with that .500 mark, which they reached after Friday’s 9-2 victory over the Miami Marlins with a splendid 15-hit offensive attack. Volquez gave up two runs in six innings to get the job done.

He’s 6-6 with a 5.50 ERA, which is obviously way too high. But the Padres had to be happy with what they saw Friday night. Volquez fanned eight batters and only walked one player.

His control was awful in his last start when he gave up seven walks against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Volquez has been getting his fair share of strikeouts, but his control sometimes counteracts that.

In his last 10 starts, he’s 3-3 with a 5.50 ERA. He’s been s0-s0, as those figures would suggest. The Padres need him to be better. If he is, the team becomes better as a result.

Give Volquez credit for the poise he showed on Friday. He allowed runs in the first and third innings, but then sailed the rest of the way with shutout ball. Padre coaches were happy to see how he responded after giving up those early runs.

The Padres have been getting strong performances from Volquez like what they saw on Friday night, but not all the time. The Padre coaches need to keep his control on a consistent basis. If they can keep him throwing on a consistent basis, he’s likely to have success for the rest of the season on a steadier basis.


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