Padres don't lose, can't win

Undefeated team remains half-game behind Dodgers

The San Diego Padres completed a four-game sweep against the Braves to open the season, have taken the first two against Cleveland, reached 6-0 for the first time in franchise history, and still find themselves looking up at the Dodgers. The third-place Giants have won four of their first five games.

Such is life in the NL West, where the Rockies became the first team in MLB history to be mathematically eliminated on April 1.

Yes, the sample sizes are small. But they’re the only samples we’ve got this early in the season.

Southern California baseball teams are 17-1. The Angels are 4-1 and Mike Trout is hitting .118.

This Time With A Crowd

During the earliest days of WTP, we took a look at some players who debuted during — and because of — the pandemic. COVID outbreaks often made it challenging for teams to field a healthy, protocol-abiding lineup; rookies were called upon at a record rate.

One of those rookies was Kyle Hart, who posted a 15.55 ERA in 11 innings of work for the Red Sox in 2020. Here’s what I wrote about him four years ago:

Hart had a rough debut, giving up seven runs (five earned) to the Rays. Walks and homers plagued him in his other three appearances... His season ended unceremoniously with a hip impingement, and he was outrighted off the 40-man roster in November. But any time a 19th-rounder becomes a big leaguer, both the player and the organization deserve credit.

Well, on Monday, Hart earned his first Major League win in his first start with the Padres. After the 2020 season, Hart pitched in the minors for the Red Sox, Mariners, and Phillies. Last year, he pitched for the NC Dinos in Korea, where he won the league’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

Hart’s next start will likely come Sunday against the Cubs at Wrigley.

Meanwhile, White Sox starter Sean Burke shut down the Angels on Opening Day, tagging the Anaheim team with their only loss of the young season. I watched some of the game and saw a lot of what Burke showed in his Spring Training appearance against the Diamondbacks. He struggled early but pitched out of trouble before settling in. Burke faces the Twins today in a game that won’t get much attention given the other starters going today, including Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Hunter Greene, Blake Snell, Zack Wheeler, and MacKenzie Gore.

That’s a great day of baseball, and I failed to mention Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray, and Jack Leiter.