Don't tell Bruce Bochy that his Giants can spoil the Padres' playoff bid by winning several of the remaining five games between the clubs.
As manager of the Padres, Bochy often disparaged the role of spoiler, and he did so again yesterday before the last-place Giants faced the second-place Padres.
“I despise the word spoiler because it means your season hasn't gone the way you would have liked,” Bochy said. “It doesn't matter who we are playing. We want to play good ball and win. It's important that we play these games the way they're supposed to be played and to try to finish strong.”
Bochy, who is in the first year of a three-year contract, said the season has been “disappointing but not discouraging.” From Aug. 16 through Monday, the Giants went 16-10, tying the Mets and Dodgers for the best record in the National League in that span. They also had the NL's best ERA (3.77) in the 26 games.
Cassel for Germano
Monday against the Pirates, Padres right-hander Jack Cassel will make the start for slumping No. 4 starter Justin Germano.
Manager Bud Black said that Germano, who was 1-6 with a 5.71 ERA in his past 10 starts, should benefit physically from the time off. “He'll catch his breath, miss a turn, then we'll re-evaluate,” Black said.
In his other major league start, against the Dodgers at Petco Park on Aug. 31, Cassel went 5 2/3 innings and allowed 10 hits and three runs. Seventy-three percent of his pitches were strikes, an exceptionally high ratio. Cassel was bypassed on the last trip, when Black started Jake Peavy on short rest.
Notes
Last night's game was the Padres' first against a team with a losing record since Aug. 19, when they defeated the Astros. In the stretch of 22 games against teams with winning marks, the Padres went 12-10.
Black said the Padres, coming off a 2-6 stretch that dropped them from first place to four games off the pace, didn't meet as a team before last night's game. “We've been a pretty consistent team all year,” he said. “That's been a strength of our guys – consistency and the day-to-day preparation of our guys.”
Pitcher Greg Maddux wasn't surprise to see 23-year-old James Loney go 9-for-15 against the Padres the previous three games. “I played with the Dodgers. The guy's real good,” Maddux said. A few months ago, when Loney was in Triple-A, Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said Loney should be L.A.'s first baseman or traded to a club that would start him in the majors.
Tom Krasovic: (619) 293-2207; tom.krasovic@uniontrib.com
