SHILDT SAYS: Discussing a Variety of Subjects as Padres Open a Six-Game Road Trip in Arizona
Prior to Friday night’s opener of a three-game series in Arizona, Padres manager Mike Shildt touched on a number of subjects in his pre-game media session.
Shildt on having a day off after two straight wins against Cincinnati: “It’s always fun to win a game, have a day off win a series and have some momentum coming into this series.”
Shildt on Dylan Cease starting as Padres seek third straight win: “He’s the right guy. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to come out tonight and establish all his pitches and get after it.”
Shildt on Arizona’s running game: “We’re always looking to control the running game. First of all, don’t let them on. Control counts. Make routine plays. And then when they do have some traffic make sure we’re doing our part to hold them where they are at.”
Shildt on getting key home runs and the improvement in RISP hitting: “I love Victor Rodriguez, our hitting coach. We’re not trying to do too much … good swings in the middle of the field. Try to make good contact and the power will come. It’s worked out really well.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in good position and had the right approach with runners in scoring position. It’s two things really. It’s the right mental approach and understanding what you are trying to do … and then the ability to execute it. Both of those are going really well.”
Shildt on Manny Machado as the designated hitter Friday: “We’re just making sure he got two additional days to go after the day off as the designated hitter and continue the recovery process. He’s going good. It’s just a two-day window for the recovery that is taking place. He’s in a good place. He can go two in a row at third, then get a day off … it’s pretty fluid. We expect him to be at third tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at Sunday.”
Shildt on veteran Donovan Solano, who is with Triple-A El Paso after signing with the Padres as a designated hitter candidate: “I spoke with (Chihuahuas’ manager) Pete Zamora and pretty much got what I expected about Donovan. Solano is a complete pro. He’s locked in, taking great at-bats. He has a great approach. He’s having professional at-bats consistently. Him letting us know when he’s ready is definitely part of the equation, but that’s more of a discussion for A.J. Preller.”
Shildt on rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill’s recent slump: “I think Merrill is handling it fine. He’s really approach driven. The one thing is, he’s chasing a little bit more than he was before. It’s getting back to getting good pitches to hit and putting good swings on them … being on time with his eyes and body. I think the league has more awareness of what he’s doing. There’s more video going around. It’s a constant to this game — adjust, counter-adjust. I’m confident Jackson is in the process of doing just that … adjusting.”
Shildt on Ha-Seong Kim batting eighth in the order: “I think it’s more of a balancing act in the lineup. It’s just that some other guys are doing some things that we like. It’s a little bit the matchups relative to pitchers. It’s a combination of things. I mean if we’re hitting Kim eighth, that’s a pretty good lineup.”
