Mat Latos

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THE NUMBERS GAME
 
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Now that the trade deadline has passed, the final two months of the season begin to take their course. Now that the All-Star break has passed, it's interesting to see if any frontrunners have fallen or any new faces have made shocking gains.

Except for Ubaldo Jimenez, this is not really the case. The NL frontrunners remain the same top four as it has been all season, though the rankings of the AL may be a surprise.

Poor Mat Latos.  Right in the middle of a breakout season in his second year with the Padres, the baseball gods have dealt him a blow with a truly bizarre injury.

Latos landed on the DL Friday with a strained left side. He suffered the injury a week ago after a win over Colorado when he tried to hold in a sneeze while going down the dugout steps.

We were entertained by the rockets’ red glare as these pitchers were having their own pyrotechnic shows from the hill.

1. Felix Hernandez, Seattle

Hernandez tossed the ball hard for nine innings only gave up two hits with 11 strike outs. He earned a .000 ERA and the deserved victory.

In week 13, he was dominated, and the Monday that followed Independence Day, he was equally good. However, his bullpen gave up the win he deserved.

The popular Seattle ace is 6-5 with 122 strikeouts and a .301 ERA for the season.

We were entertained by the rockets’ red glare as these pitchers were having their own pyrotechnic shows from the hill.

It's the same conversation, just a different year.

Every season, virtually every Major League roster has players deserving of All-Star selections that get left on their sofas for the weekend.

This year, the Padres pitching staff may be the most distinguished of the All-Star snubs.

The Padres have the best record (49-34) in the National League and boast the best team ERA (3.05) in the NL by a long shot (St. Louis is next at 3.28), yet couldn't command enough respect to land a pitcher on the roster.

The San Diego Padres are not only in first place in the National League West at 31-20, but they also have the best record in the National League by a full game over the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.

It's not exactly where most people and experts thought they would be at this point in the season. Yet, the Padres have gone from potential cellar dwellers and "sellers" at the trade deadline to buyers and possibly being able to take on salary above their $38 million payroll.

Not only is Mat Latos living up to high expectations, he is also quickly becoming the Padres' most efficient and effective starting pitcher.

Latos outdueled Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, whose solid outing wasn't enough to derail Latos and the Padres' belated bats.

Latos (4-3) allowed a run and four hits over six innings while striking out six as the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Sunday before a crowd of 33,315.

Less than a week ago Mat Latos was three outs away from his first career shutout in Houston. It did not take long for him to get another shot at it.

Latos came within one hit of a perfect game Thursday, yielding only an infield single in the sixth inning to Eli Whiteside while overshadowing Jonathan Sanchez yet again as the first-place Padres won 1-0 to complete a three-game sweep at AT&T Park.