When asked after the game what Manager Kirk Gibson saw from Trevor Cahill today, he said, "What kind of question is that? It was not good. Unable to locate his ball where he wants to locate, when he needs to make a pitch. Just wasn't very good." In the same light, Gibson praised the bullpen by saying that they were "exceptional," as they only gave up one run in five and one-third innings of work.
Even Cahill admitted that he didn't throw the ball very well today. He also said that the Padres are swinging the bats good, and playing good baseball right now. When asked about changing his start to today with the sudden trade of Joe Saunders, Cahill said, "I wasn't on my normal program," but he also admitted that he is not using that as an excuse for his performance. "I had plenty of time to get ready and prepare. I just wasn't able to execute." Cahill first heard about the possibility of starting in today's game last night, and went home expecting to get the nod today.
Cahill continued his struggles in the first inning by walking two batters and giving up three hits, along with the two runs. Cahill had a 6.12 ERA in the first inning of games heading into today. Cahill lasted only three and two-thirds innings, which was not a good sign of things to come. When Diamondbacks starters work less than six innings, they are 10-30, make that now 10-31 on the season. What made the loss even more frustrating for Cahill and the Diamondbacks is that all the Padres runs were scored with two outs.
The middle infielders for the Padres made some exceptional defensive plays throughout the game, robbing what easily could have been base hits for Aaron Hill, Ryan Wheeler, and Justin Upton. Gibson felt overall the team played a pretty good game, and that the players continue to play hard, they were just not able to complete the comeback. It has been a trend all season, as the Diamondbacks are 5-49 when trailing after six innings.
The Padres have now beaten the Diamondbacks on their home turf six games in a row. Although Gibson said it was a frustrating loss, he remains positive and insists that the team can beat the Reds in their next home series that starts tomorrow.