The San Diego Padres split a doubleheader in Wrigley, losing the first game 2-1 in extras and winning the second 5-4.
Ryan Ludwick had a breakout day, going 2-4 with a walk in game one and 3-4 with a homer and two doubles in game two. On the season his numbers are slowly approaching respectability — .200/.314/.350.
Brad Hawpe’s struggles continued, however, as he went 0-5 in game one with three strikeouts. He didn’t play the second game. Hawpe is in a 1-19 slump (wrapped inside a season long slump); he’s k’ed nine times during that stretch while mustering just two walks and no extra base hits.
As we’ve discussed recently, Ludwick, despite his struggles, has shown plenty of positive signs. Hawpe has not. We must, of course, remember a couple of things. One, we’re still talking about a ridiculously small sample (45 plate appearances). Two, we’re also talking about a ridiculously bad performance.
Hawpe hasn’t just struggled, he’s been completely overmatched. He’s struck out 4...
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