Normally the "trust Jake" plan that the Padres imploy works. It failed them last night.

Is it over yet? What inning are we in now?

Okay, the game did not go that long, but it sure seemed that way, ending after midnight here on the East Coast in the bottom of the thirteenth inning. What had been a strength for both teams after their starters left failed them when they needed them most, with both Jorge Julio failing the Rockies and Trevor Hoffman of course failing the Padres. While Hoffman does not need to worry about what he will or will not do in his next outing, but the Rockies definitely need to worry about what Julio will, or will not, do in his.

Our bet? He does not pitch at all in the playoffs barring a blowout. Once a solid closer for the Orioles, Julio has progressively gotten worse as time has gone on despite possessing great stuff. This season, Julio was 0-5 with a 5.23 ERA in 68 appearances, with 56 strikeouts and 31 walks in 62 innings. He had pitched better leading in to last night’s outing, with 11 strikeouts and just one walk in his last ten appearances, but it was not to be when it mattered most. Considering the Rockies used Taylor Buchholz, Ryan Speier, Jeremy Affeldt, and Matt Herges, along with the obvious Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas, before they went to Julio, so the Rockies were not buying his most recent performances as the real deal.

One does wonder though why, with a bullpen filled with arms, that the Padres stuck with Jake Peavy for as long as they did. Yes, he is their ace, and, yes, he is likely the Cy Young winner, but the Padres did themselves more harm than good by leaving Peavy on the mound. At no point in the game did he look as dominating as he normally would, and the line bears that out, with ten hits, four walks, and six earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Peavy tossed 118 pitches, only 68 of which were for strikes – clearly, with that pitch count and his four walks, the Peavy-like control just was not there. Two runs in the first, one in the second, one in the third, one in the fifth, and one more in the sixth – at no point was Peavy settling down, and at no point was there a sign that his troubles were over. Instead, the Padres kept turning the ball over and over to him hoping their ace would come around, and he never did. There were other options, and they chose not to use them. That cost the Padres the game.

Now, the Rockies need to prepare for the Phillies, and they have little time to do so. Taking the mound for the Rockies will be their ace, Jeff Francis, who was 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA in 34 starts this season, with 165 strikeouts and 63 walks in 215 1/3 innings. Francis cannot be happy to see the Phillies though – in his two starts against the Phillies this year, Francis has a record of 0-1 with a 15.12 ERA. In his first start against the Phillies, at home, Francis lasted just five innings, and he was tagged for twelve hits, one walk, and six earned runs. And that was his good start. His other, which was in Philly, and just happened to be just a few short weeks ago, saw Francis surrender eight hits, four walks, and eight earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings. There were probably a few other teams – like 28 others – that Francis would have liked to face instead.

For the Phillies, taking the mound is their ace, Cole Hamels. Hamels was 15-5 this season with 177 strikeouts and 43 walks in 183 1/3 innings. We would love to show you Hamels’ splits this year against the Rockies, but he has been able to avoid them this year. Hamels did miss time down the stretch, but he was quite good when able to take the mound, going 5-1 with a 2.78 ERA in ten starts, with 53 strikeouts and 14 walks in 64 2/3 innings.

The announcers will of course have fun with the dueling MVP candidates in this one. On one side, we have Matt Holliday, whose defensive blunder in the eighth inning could have cost the Rockies the game, but his bat ended up winning it for them in the end. On the other side, we have J-Ro, Jimmy Rollins, who hit .296 with 30 home runs, 94 RBI, and 139 runs scored, and he successfully swiped 41 bases in 47 attempts. Which one will end up on top? The votes are now being sent in, so this series will not determine it, but that does not mean that there will not be any debating.

Tomorrow, we will preview the two other series kicking off Wednesday, the underdog and hopelessly outclassed Angels taking on the heroic, mighty, valiant Red Sox (me, biased? Heck no.) and the Cubbies taking on the Diamondbacks. See you there.

Questions and comments may be sent to markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com