SAN DIEGO — You could call it a homestand. But for the Padres
Authentic Oren Burks Jersey , it’s a chance to get a fresh set of clothes before hitting the road again.
The Padres return from a 10-game road trip Tuesday to host the Oakland A’s for two games at Petco Park before hitting the road again for seven more road
games until they come back home on June 29.
“We’ll learn a lot about ourselves in June,” Padres manager Andy Green said before departing San Diego for the first 10 games, which the Padres split.
The Padres are expected to send rookie left-hander Eric Lauer (3-4, 6.20 ERA) Tuesday night to face Oakland right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-1, 11.05) in a
match of former first-round draft picks.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Blackburn, 24, was the 56th overall pick of the Chicago Cubs as a supplemental pick in the 2012 draft. The 6-foot-3
Authentic Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , 227-pound Lauer, 22, was the 25th overall pick of the Padres in the 2016 draft.
Lauer and Blackburn will be facing the other team for the first time in their brief major league careers.
Lauer will be making his 11th start, with all coming this season, and tis will be Blackburn’s 13th start. He was 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in 10 starts last
year and is 4-2 overall with a 4.09 ERA.
Blackburn was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list on June 7 after being out since spring training with a right forearm strain. He was 0-3 with a 6.75
ERA in six games, including three starts, this spring before being placed on the
10-day disabled list March 28. He was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on
April 5. He was activated after one rehab start.
Blackburn was the losing pitcher in his last start, a 13-5 A’s loss to Houston in Oakland. He gave up eight runs
Authentic Ronnie Harrison Jersey , eight hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings.
Lauer has lowered his ERA in four of his last five starts. During that span, he has allowed 12 runs, 32 hits and 11 walks with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings
for a 4.50 ERA. Before that, Lauer had an 8.14 ERA after his first five
starts.
He has blown hot-and-cold in his last five starts. On May 28, he allowed five runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. Two starts ago, he issued seven walks in
five innings. He didn’t walk a hitter in his most recent start.
“Lauer has to trust his fastball,” Green said recently. “It’s had better carry, better life in his past two starts than it had earlier in the year. He’s
attacking better with it. Those are positives. The fastball is his main weapon.
But he’s dropped in some off-speed pitches that have kept people off
balance.
“His velocity has been up a little bit. He’s done a nice job preparing himself for those starts. Those are probably the biggest things I’ve seen. He’s
still searching for that secondary pitch he can rely on consistently. I think
when he finds that
Authentic Logan Cooke Jersey , he’s going to turn the corner and move really quickly.”
Jon Gruden hopes he’s a candidate to return for a second stint as coach of the Oakland Raiders and believes a final decision will be made next
week.
Gruden made his most specific comments about the opening in Oakland in an interview Tuesday with the Bay Area News Group . The Raiders fired coach Jack
Del Rio on Sunday following a disappointing six-win season
”My understanding is they’re interviewing candidates this week and they’re going to let everybody know sometime early next week or whenever they make their
decision,” Gruden told the paper.
When asked specifically if he was a candidate, Gruden replied: ”Well, I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I’m a candidate.”
The Raiders are not commenting on the search beyond a statement issued Sunday night from owner Mark Davis thanking Del Rio for his tenure.
Gruden spent four seasons as coach in Oakland from 1998-2001. After leading the Raiders to 8-8 records his first two years, Gruden helped the team reach the
AFC title game following the 2000 season and got Oakland back into the playoffs
the following season.
Gruden’s tenure ended shortly after the ”Tuck Rule” loss to the New England Patriots when he was traded the following month to Tampa Bay for two first-round
draft picks, two second-rounders and $8 million.
Gruden beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers but didn’t win another playoff game for Tampa Bay in his final six
seasons. He has a 95-81 career record.
Gruden has spent the past nine seasons working as an announcer for ESPN and is scheduled to work the playoff game Saturday in Kansas City between the Chiefs
and Tennessee Titans. ESPN first reported the likelihood of Gruden returning to
Oakland on the eve of the season finale that Oakland lost.
Del Rio was fired following the 30-10 defeat to the Chargers, leading to the current search.
The Raiders will be required to comply with the ”Rooney Rule” and interview at least one minority candidate or otherwise face discipline from the NFL.
John Wooten
Authentic Armani Watts Jersey , the head of the Fritz Pollard Alliance which monitors the NFL’s minority hiring, said he is confident the Raiders will follow
the rules and doesn’t consider the process a sham despite reports Gruden would
get the job before it even opened.
Wooten pointed to the Raiders’ history under late owner Al Davis and his son, Mark, in hiring minority candidates, from making Art Shell the first
African-American head coach in modern NFL history in 1989 and then bringing him
back for a second stint in 2006.
Tom Flores was the first Hispanic coach to win a Super Bowl and the team also hired Hue Jackson as coach in 2011 and currently employs Reggie McKenzie as
general manager.
”I trust the integrity of Mark Davis and Reggie and what they have done,” Pollard said. ”I trust they will follow the rule and I believe that.”
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