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Padres Press Clips Thursday, June 18, 2015

Article Source Author Page Padres blown out, lose fourth straight UT San Diego Lin 2 Myers to undergo left wrist surgery UT San Diego Lin 5 Padres promote Quirk to El Paso UT San Diego Lin 8 Minors: Pena hits third homer for El Paso UT San Diego Sanders 10 Friar Talk: Losses on and off the field UT San Diego Sanders 11 Amarista takes mound in 8th, flashes ‘fastball’ MLB.com Eymer 12 Padres struggle to contain A’s, drop 4th straight MLB.com Eymer/Hass 13 Myers to undergo wrist surgery, miss 8 weeks MLB.com Eymer 15 Kennedy aims to stop skid in Oakland finale MLB.com Eymer 16 Padres advance Minor League managers Quirk and Barajas Padres.com Center 17 Wil Myers to have surgery on bone spur in wrist, likely out 2 months Associated Press AP 19 Surgery scheduled for Padres star NBCSanDiego.com Togerson 20 Padres lose 16-2 to Oakland A’s NBCSanDiego.com Wood 21 Chavez strikes out 11 as A’s cruise to win over Padres Associated Press AP 22 Sherrington: Ex-Rangers exec A.J. Preller not taking old pal Jon Daniels’ cautious approach with Padres DallasNews.com Sherrington 25

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Padres blown out, lose fourth straight Athletics cruise in 16-2 laugher By Dennis Lin9:56 P.M.JUNE 17, 2015Updated11:24 P.M.

OAKLAND — Pat Murphy stood in the visiting dugout here Wednesday afternoon and tried to remember how much he'd slept. He knew he had, but not the amount.

"I've been on the job 36 hours. It's been the longest 36 hours of my life," Murphy said with a smile, drawing laughs from a group of reporters. He added: "There's nothing difficult about it. It's going to be time-consuming, and it is right now. People talk about how tough it is. It's not tough. It's a privilege."

On his second day as the Padres' interim manager, Murphy continued to do everything humanly possible to acclimate to his new surroundings, which, for the moment, was O.co Coliseum.

And on his second day as the Padres' interim manager, the team's challenges remained in plain sight. The A's scored four runs in the first, three on a home run by Billy Butler, and exploded again in each of the seventh and eighth innings of a 16-2 blowout. Padres shortstop Alexi Amarista made his major league debut as a pitcher in the second of those frames, mercifully inducing the third out.

It ended as San Diego's most lopsided loss of the season. The Padres (32-36) were 0-2 in their final two games before Murphy's promotion. They fell to 0-2 under Murphy.

Sitting in the visiting manager's office after the game, Murphy smiled wearily and attempted a dose of positivity.

"Sometimes, games like this happen, and it's unfortunate," he said. "You guys may laugh at this, but this is a little bit of a cleansing. You just get this stuff out. (Tuesday's) game was so tough because nothing went our way (the Padres lost, 5-4), and (the A's) are playing so loose and with such freedom that everything's going right for them. Take nothing away from how good they're playing, but maybe this is where it will come together."

After a pause, he added: "I'm going to choose to believe that."

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Here, still, is what happened:

The Padres had entered the game having struck out more often than all but the Astros and the Cubs. But both those clubs are well above .500, a testament to their balance.

The Padres struck out 11 times in seven innings against Oakland's Jesse Chavez, helping the right-hander set a career high.

"Their guy was tremendous," Murphy said. "He had the bottom of the zone, he was very good tonight, and we didn't have good at-bats, let's face it. We were trying to get back int he game, and we pressed a little bit."

Yangervis Solarte collected a one-out single in the top of the first, and then they didn't reach base again until Matt Kemp's two-out single in the fourth. They'd come in with a .301 on-base percentage, third-lowest in the National League.

Alexi Amarista's leadoff home run in the sixth meant the Padres had avoided their 11th shutout loss, but it merely trimmed the A's lead to 5-1.

Odrisamer Despaigne allowed a run in the third and was tagged with another in the seventh, but the first inning proved his undoing. While the Padres' funky right-hander has been a difficult matchup for first-time opponents, the A's (29-39) were undaunted.

Their first batter of the game, Billy Burns, doubled. Their second, Marcus Semien, singled. Two batters later, Ben Zobrist singled to drive in Burns. Two batters after that, Despaigne threw a 1-1 change-up down the chute. Butler hammered it over the fence in left-center for a 4-0 lead.

After Despaigne issued a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, Murphy summoned left-hander Frank Garces from the bullpen. Over his six-plus innings, Despaigne had allowed eight hits and a walk, striking out only two.

"They were trying to be aggressive early in the count," Despaigne, referring to the A's, said through an interpreter. "Not being able to command the first couple pitches kind of affected me in the first inning."

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Things did not improve. A walk, a single, a double and another single later, the A's had a 9-1 lead. Murphy made his second pitching change of the inning, going to righty Nick Vincent.

In the eighth, the A's sent 12 batters to the plate. Cory Mazzoni allowed seven runs on eight hits -- two doubles and six singles -- while recording only two outs. In his first 8 2/3 innings in the majors, Mazzoni has a 20.77 ERA.

Behind by 14 runs, the Padres went to Amarista, who threw two pitches, getting Burns to fly out on the second. Amarista, who is generously at 5-feet-6, last pitched regularly as a 14-year-old. His first pitch, ball one, was clocked at 81 mph. His second was 79 mph. Before that at-bat, Burns was 3-for-4.

"I picked the guy lowest to the ground," Murphy joked. "Got to make your decision somehow."

In another moment of rare levity, Amarista was asked if he'd thrown two change-ups. Though he had a translator by his side, he smiled and answered in English.

"That's my fastball," he said.

At the plate, Amarista's sixth-inning solo shot ended Chavez's shutout bid. The A's starter settled for seven innings of three-hit ball.

Aside from Amarista's drive and Will Middlebrooks' solo home run in the eighth, the Padres failed to put a single runner in scoring position.

The A's totaled 18 hits and went 11-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

The Padres will try to avoid a four-game home-and-away sweep Thursday afternoon.

"It hurt the way we lost (Tuesday), and we lost today, but after we get together as a team, we have to take this like it's just like any other loss," Despaigne said. "We don't want to lose like we did today, but we just have to come back tomorrow and forget about what happened today.

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Myers to undergo left wrist surgery Padres center fielder-first baseman expected to be out eight weeks By Dennis Lin5:40 P.M.JUNE 17, 2015Updated8:09 P.M.

OAKLAND — What had been feared has become reality for the Padres, who Wednesday played another of what figures to be many games without Wil Myers. While Will Venable started in center field and Yonder Alonso started at first base, Myers, who’s played both positions this season, was headed for surgery.

Thursday in Arizona, Myers will have a bone spur in his left wrist trimmed. The Padres hope he can resume baseball activities in six weeks, but eight weeks might be more realistic. By then, it will be mid-August, Myers will need a significant amount of rehab games and sitting out whatever remains of the season could be the wiser course of action.

“Obviously, this kid’s special,” Padres manager Pat Murphy said. “It’s a big blow, and that’s obvious. It’s been a big blow. That caliber of player leaves the puzzle without a piece, and everybody’s got to step up a little bit.”

The Padres, 32-35 to begin Wednesday, were 13-18 in games Myers hadn’t started since May 12. Left wrist tendinitis put him on the disabled list that day. Then Myers returned after a month. Then, after only three games, he returned to the DL with the same diagnosis.

All along, the bone spur, which Myers has had since middle school, has exacerbated the problem.

“The main issue is the bone spur,” Padres General Manager A.J. Preller said. “When that gets jarred or when he finishes his swing, that ends up pushing on a tendon there. That’s what’s causing the pain.”

Myers, who was seen last month by team hand specialist Dr. Lorenzo Pacelli, received a second opinion from another hand specialist, Dr. Donald Sheridan, Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“They both feel pretty certain that it’s a pretty easy surgery,” Preller said, “and that bone spur doesn’t sound like it comes back for eight to 10 years, at the minimum, and sometimes never. So it sounds like it can be something he can take care of right now.”

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Which raises a couple questions: One, why wasn’t it taken care of earlier? And two, why did the Padres even activate Myers from the DL?

This much is known: The Padres knew of Myers’ wrist injuries from last season with the Rays -- he jammed his left wrist early, later suffering a stress fracture in the other wrist -- and had him undergo an MRI in January to establish a baseline. On May 10 in Arizona, Myers fell to the ground running the bases and braced himself with his left wrist. He missed the next 28 games.

“He hasn’t had an issue with it until last year,” Preller said of the bone spur. “We looked at the same thing when we traded for him, but it’s hard when he’s swinging the bat well and he feels healthy at that time. Our doctors felt like he could get through the year and be OK with it. The first month, we felt like he was.”

As for why they signed off on an attempted return, Preller referenced the battery of tests that Myers passed. There were stress and pain tests, an off-the-tee progression, a soft-toss progression, sliding drills, a shorter bat first, then a normal bat, then batting practice, then three rehab games, one in which Myers hit a prodigious home run for Triple-A El Paso.

“I saw a great player that was seemingly very healthy,” said Murphy, who was still El Paso’s manager at the time. “He did have (Myers’ left wrist) heavily taped, but he was seemingly healthy.”

No longer.

“We needed to find out, anyway,” Preller said. “Like, if this thing was going to be an issue, let’s find out. … We did that, and it bothered him again, so we decided it was time to do this.”

While the procedure sounds straightforward, Preller acknowledged that the location can make things delicate.

“Anytime you’re talking about a wrist or hand for a hitter, it’s always obviously a pretty important deal,” he said. “Wil’s a pretty wristy hitter.”

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An effective one, too. In 35 games this season, Myers has batted .277 with five home runs, 19 RBIs and three steals. Venable and Melvin Upton Jr. can capably cover center field, and Alonso first base, but none of those players approaches Myers’ upside at the plate.

While Myers’ defense in center has been heavily scrutinized, the Padres’ inconsistent offense is arguably a larger problem. Without Myers, solving it will be far more challenging.

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Padres promote Quirk to El Paso Former Double-A manager replaces Pat Murphy in Triple-A By Dennis Lin11:50 A.M.JUNE 17, 2015Updated8:19 P.M.

The trickle-down from Pat Murphy's promotion to Padres interim manager has begun. On Wednesday, Jamie Quirk was named the new manager at Triple-A El Paso.

Quirk replaces Murphy, who Tuesday, following the firing of Bud Black, became the Padres' manager for the rest of the season. Quirk had been in his first season managing Double-A San Antonio, posting a 28-35 record.

The 60-year-old is in his second season in the Padres' organization and his 43rd in professional baseball. In 2014, he managed High Single-A Lake Elsinore, guiding the Storm to a 75-65 record and a playoff berth.

Quirk played for the 1985 World Series-winning Royals among his 18 seasons as a catcher in the majors. He has been a member of big-league coaching staffs with the Rockies, Astros and Cubs.

Replacing Quirk as San Antonio's manager is another former major league catcher, Rod Barajas. Like Quirk, the 39-year-old is in his second season with the Padres.

Barajas was promoted from Lake Elsinore, where he was in his first full season as hitting coach. He joined the Storm last June after beginning the season as manager of the rookie-level Arizona League Padres.

The Rancho Santa Fe resident played in parts of 14 major league seasons, most recently with the Pirates in 2012.

You again?

A's infielder Eric Sogard texted Murphy after Tuesday's game at Petco Park, in which Sogard provided the winning hit. The former Arizona State player told his former college coach, among other things, that he looked forward to catching up with him the very next day.

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Tuesday's moment was bittersweet for Murphy, who expressed frustration at losing in his Padres managerial debut but also counts Sogard as one of his closest proteges.

"Sogie's one of my favorite guys I've been involved with," Murphy said in the visiting dugout at O.co Coliseum before Wednesday's game. "One of my biggest thrills if to see Sogie in the big leagues."

He added with a smile: "I pull for him, except for yesterday."

Notable

• As of Wednesday night, the Padres were still attempting to determine the next course of action for right-hander Josh Johnson, who had a simulated game Monday cut short and reported a tingling sensation in his fingers. "We're still talking about where he's at with everything," General Manager A.J. Preller said.

• San Antonio outfielder Tyson Gillies has been named to Team Canada for the 2015 Pan American Games, which will be held July 10-26 in Ajax, Ontario. Gillies played for Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

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Minors: Pena hits third homer for El Paso Recapping Wednesday's Padres minor league games By Jeff Sanders8 A.M.JUNE 18, 2015

Shortstop Ramiro Pena continued an impressive start to his season, hitting his third homer and collecting

three more hits in Triple-A El Paso's 8-4 win over host Albuquerque on Wednesday night.

The 29-year-old Pena, a switch-hitter, drove in two runs, scored three and his hitting .326 in his first year

in the organization.

Rymer Liriano (.280) and Abraham Almonte (.296) each drove in two runs as well and left-hander Jason

Lane (5-4, 4.46) allowed four runs in six innings to earn the win in his return from the disabled list. Right-

handers Jay Jackson (2.20) and Marcos Mateo (1.93) combined for seven strikeouts over three scoreless

innings in relief.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (28-35)

• The Missions were rained out. RHPs Bryan Rodriguez (3-8, 4.22) and Colin Rea (1-2, 1.29) will start Thursday's double-header for San Antonio.

HIGH SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (27-39)

• Stockton 9, Storm 3: RHP Rafael De Paula (4-5, 4.32) allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings, while RHP Adys Portillo (27.00) allowed two runs on three walks in 2/3 of an inning in his season debut. 3B River Stevens (.319), 2B Fernandez Perez (.252) and 1B Marcus Davis (.268) each had two hits.

LOW SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (28-36)

• West Michigan 5, TinCaps 2: LHP Thomas Dorminy allowed four runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings. 3B Luis Tejada went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a fielding error in his 2015 debut.

ROOKIE DSL PADRES (9-7)

• DSL White Sox 5, DSL Padres 1: RHP Emmanuel Clase (1.42) struck out five over five scoreless innings. C Jose Lezema (.345) collected two of the Padres' six hits.

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Friar talk: Losses on and off the field Padres lose Wil Myers to wrist surgery, then their fourth straight game By Jeff Sanders5 A.M.JUNE 18, 2015

Yonder Alonso won't have to sweat third base for quite some time.

The Padres on Wednesday announced that Wil Myers – the leadoff hitter who floated between center field and first base – would miss at least the next eight weeks due to a procedure that will shave down the bone spur causing irritation in his left wrist.

He landed on the disabled list for a second time Monday as the Padres announced the end of Bud Black's managerial tenure. They haven't won since Saturday – Wednesday's 16-2 laugher in interim manager Pat Murphy's second game was their fourth straight defeat – and life won't get easier without Myers, whose offensive contributions outweighed his defensive shortcomings in center field as the Padres went 19-17 in games he played (the team dropped to 32-36 Wednesday).

In 35 games, Myers was hitting .277, with five homers, 19 RBIs and three steals.

Alonso' shoulder injury in early May allowed the Padres to move Myers to first base. The plan, at least according to Black, was to give Alonso at-bats at third base to keep Will Venable in center field when both Myers and Alonso returned from their disabled list stints earlier this month.

Needless to say, a lot has changed since then.

AROUND THE WATER COOLER

• Because we can't get enough Black talk: In his piece for Grantland.com, "It’s Not Him, It’s Them: Manager Bud Black’s Dismissal and the Padres’ Itchy Trigger Finger," Bed Lindbergh via Elias notes that Black was just the third manager to debut since 1900 to hold a job with one team for more than eight seasons despite never making the playoffs or winning more than 90 games in a year. The other two: Jimmy Dykes with the White Sox in 1934-46 (.489 winning percentage) and Bill Rigney with the Angels in 1961-69 (.469). Black finished with a .477 winning percentage.

• The early trickle-down effect of Murphy's promotion to the majors went down like this: Double-A manager Jamie Quirk will now manage Triple-A El Paso and Lake Elsinore hitting coach Rod Barajas will manage Double-A San Antonio.

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Amarista takes mound in 8th, flashes 'fastball' Padres shortstop retires Burns, hits homer in loss to A's By Rick Eymer / MLB.com | 2:48 AM ET OAKLAND -- Alexi Amarista, who hasn't pitched since he was 13 years old, was actually hoping for the

opportunity to take the mound some day.

Amarista finally got his chance Wednesday night, in the Padres' 16-2 loss to the A's. San Diego has lost

four straight and seven of its last nine.

The A's scored seven runs in the eighth and had runners on first and third when Padres interim manager

Pat Murphy brought in shortstop Amarista, who needed just two pitches to get Billy Burns on a fly ball

to Matt Kemp in right field.

"That's my fastball," Amarista said of his pitches, which were clocked at under 80 mph. "I always thought

I would get the opportunity and now that I did, I'm happy."

It was quite a night for Amarista. He also hit his second home run of the season, the only dent made

against A's starter Jesse Chavez, who allowed three hits in his seven innings.

"I was looking for a certain pitch," Amarista said. "I noticed he was throwing the same kind of pitches and

I tried to move a little closer to the plate."

Amarista may be a candidate to play all nine positions during a game. Starting pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne said he thought Amarista could play anywhere but catcher.

When asked about it, Amarista said "maybe next time."

Murphy said he chose Amarista because he was the "guy lowest to the ground. You have to make your

decision somehow. Unfortunately sometimes games like this are going to happen. Maybe this is where it

will come together. That's what I'm choosing to believe."

Amarista extended his season-best hitting streak to seven games. Clint Barmes also has a seven-game

hitting streak, which remains intact despite his appearance as a defensive replacement in the ninth.

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Padres struggle to contain A's, drop 4th straight By Rick Eymer and Trevor Hass / MLB.com | 4:15 AM ET OAKLAND -- The A's scored. Then they scored some more. Then they scored even more, running away with a 16-2 win over the Padres on Pride Night at the Coliseum on Wednesday.

A's starter Jesse Chavez entered the day with the worst run support in the Majors (1.76). On Wednesday, the A's scored more than enough for him, plating four in the first, one in the third, four in the seventh and seven in the eighth.

"We had 20 hits," Billy Butler said. "That doesn't happen too many times, and it was a real good win for us at home."

Chavez struck out 11 and allowed just one run in seven innings. The A's took the first game of a two-game set and will look for a season-high fifth straight on Thursday.

"We couldn't figure out their guy," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said. "Let's face it, we didn't have very good at-bats." Butler hit a towering three-run shot in the first, and Ben Zobrist added a two-run double off Frank Garces in the seventh, finishing the night 3-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a home run away from the cycle. The A's did so much damage in the eighth that shortstop Alexi Amarista came in to close out the inning. Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne gave up six earned runs in six innings, including an RBI single to Zobrist in the first and a sacrifice fly to Stephen Vogt in the third. Amarista and third baseman Will Middlebrooks provided the lone offense for the Padres with a solo home run apiece.

"After the first I just tried to forget about everything and keep the game where it was," Despaigne said. "I felt good, but it just happened so fast I couldn't do much about it. I just tried to make pitches." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Way of the K: Chavez's 11 strikeouts were a career high. His career high entering the game was

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nine, and his season high was seven. He surrendered just three hits, one walk and one run on 103 pitches.

"He was going to go out for the eighth until we scored a few more runs," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "I'm sure he was thinking, 'Why don't you save a few of these for me for a little bit later? You don't have to do it all in one day.'"

A little bit of power: Amarista hit the first pitch of the sixth inning well up into the right-field bleachers to put the Padres on the scoreboard. It was his second home run of the season and his first since April 26. He extended his hitting streak to a season-best seven games.

Running away with it: The A's have scored 39 runs in their last four games and have outscored their opponents 304-266 this season, yet they are last in the American League West. Finishing strong: It wasn't Despaigne's best night, but he was much better after the first inning, giving up just three hits and keeping the damage at a minimum. He completed six innings for the eighth time in 10 starts. QUOTABLE "I asked him if he was sore from playing the field yesterday, and we just talked about how he had ran a lot in the last two days. He's going to probably be sore tomorrow, too." -- Billy Burns on Butler, who had two infield singles WHAT'S NEXT Padres: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (3-5, 3.84) starts Thursday's afternoon special at 12:35 p.m. PT and is coming off a good outing in which he received a no-decision. Kennedy is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA over his past three starts. He's facing the Athletics for the first time since allowing seven runs over 5 2/3 innings in July 2011. Athletics: Kendall Graveman (3-3, 4.22) will pitch for the A's, who are looking for a season-high fifth straight win. Graveman has tossed seven or more innings and allowed one run or fewer in each of his last two starts but has a no-decision and a loss in those two games. He is coming off his first career complete game, a 1-0 loss to the Angels on Saturday.

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Myers to undergo wrist surgery, miss 8 weeks 'This will be a big blow,' Padres interim manager Murphy says

By Rick Eymer / MLB.com | June 17th, 2015 OAKLAND -- Padres outfielder Wil Myers will undergo surgery to remove bone spurs in his left wrist and will be out about eight weeks.

Myers missed 28 games with left wrist tendonitis and was reinstated from the disabled list last Thursday. He played three days before returning to the DL.

Myers sought a second opinion and will have the surgery on Thursday.

"This kid is special. This will be a big blow," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said before Wednesday's game against the Athletics. "Everybody will have to step up."

Murphy was at Triple-A El Paso last week when Myers was rehabbing there.

"I saw a great player who was seemingly healthy," Murphy said. "He had it heavily taped."

Murphy said Myers will be able to start baseball-related activities again in eight weeks but he would not rule out a quicker recovery. Worth noting

• Murphy has experience replacing long-tenured coaches, as he took over for Arizona State's legendary Jim Brock, who coached Barry Bonds among others, 20 years ago. "I'm very sensitive to change like that," Murphy said. "I learned from that situation." • Catcher Derek Norris is playing his first game in Oakland since the Athletics traded him to the Padres. "It will definitely be different," he said. "Even coming into the parking lot was different."

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Graveman aims to extend A's streak vs. Padres By Rick Eymer / MLB.com | 1:50 AM ET Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy (3-5, 3.84) has faced the Athletics just once in his career and he'd just as soon leave that outing where it belongs: stuffed inside a shoebox that's hidden in the corner of some dusty closet.

Kennedy, who is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA over his past three starts, last saw the Athletics in July 2011 and it wasn't pretty. He allowed seven runs over 5 2/3 innings. He did strike out six.

Kennedy has pitched well since ending a four-start losing streak, giving up six runs over his past 18 innings, including just one in seven innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start. He'll look to build on that strong outing and help the Padres snap their losing streak at four games.

Kendall Graveman (3-3, 4.22) starts for the red-hot Athletics, who have won four straight, and will make his first appearance against the Padres and his first start in an Interleague game.

Graveman is 2-1 with a 2.20 in five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville on May 23. Things to know about this game

• Padres manager Pat Murphy, who coached at Arizona State, saw Kennedy pitch for USC against his Sun Devils, and he coached A's infielder Eric Sogard.

• The Padres are a combined 4-12 on Mondays and Thursdays. They have won at least five games on each of the other days of the week.

• The Athletics have allowed 34 unearned runs to score on 63 errors. Both figures are the most in the Majors.

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Padres advance Minor League managers Quirk and Barajas Short-season Single-A Tri City opens season Thursday By Bill Center / San Diego Padres | 12:18 PM ET

The Padres Wednesday advanced two former Major League catchers as managers in their minor league system and set the roster for short-season Tri-City as the Dust Devils prepared to open the Northwest League season Thursday night.

Jamie Quirk, 60, was named the manager of Triple-A El Paso and Rod Barajas became the manager of Double-A San Antonio. The moves were made in the wake of Pat Murphy being promoted from the manager at El Paso to managing the Padres.

Quirk, who played parts of 18 seasons in the Major Leagues, was in his first season at the helm of the San Antonio Missions after managing high Single-A Lake Elsinore in 2014 during his first season with the Padres organization. Quirk was the bench coach of the Chicago Cubs in 2012-13. This is his 43rd season in professional baseball.

Rod Barajas, 39, was named the manager at San Antonio to replace Quirk. He had been serving as the hitting coach at Lake Elsinore in his second season in the Padres organization. The veteran of parts of 14 Major League seasons was the manager of the Arizona Rookie League Padres in 2014.

Meanwhile, the Padres have relocated their Northwest League affiliate from Eugene to 3,700-seat Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Wash. Anthony Contreras will manage the Dust Devils.

The 34-player Tri-City roster includes 20 pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and five outfielders. Eleven players on the roster are already signed players from the 2015 draft.

Among the most notable Tri-City players are catcher Austin Allen (fourth round pick, 2015 draft); outfielders Mason Smith (fourth round, 2013) and Justin Pacchioli (10th round, 2015); infielders Luis Urias (18 years old from Mexico) and Ty France (San Diego State, 34th round, 2015), and pitchers Jerry Keel (ninth round, 2015), Brett Kennedy (11th round, 2015) and Walker Lockett (fourth round, 2012).

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AROUND THE FARM:

TRIPLE-A EL PASO (32-34): Chihuahuas 8, ALBUQUERQUE 4 - Left-handed starter Jason Lane (5-4, 4.46 earned run average) came off the seven-day disabled list to allow four runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in six innings. RHP Jay Jackson (2.20 ERA) allowed a hit with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings. RHP Marcos Mateo (1.93 ERA) struck out the side around allowing a hit in a scoreless inning. SS Ramiro Pena (.326) was 3-for-5 with a double, his third homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. RF Rymer Liriano (.280) had two doubles in three at-bats with two RBIs and a run scored. CF Abraham Almonte (.296) was 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (28-35): The Missions' game against Midland, which would have been Barajas' debut as manager, was rained out and will be made of as part of a doubleheader Thursday.

HIGH SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (27-38): Stockton 9, LAKE ELSINORE 3 - Starting RHP Rafael DePaula (4-5, 4.32 ERA) allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. 1B Marcus Davis (.268) had a double and a triple in three at-bats with a RBI. 2B Fernando Perez (.252) was 2-for-4 with a RBI. 3B River Stevens (.319) was 2-for-5 with a double, a steal and two runs scored.

LOW SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (28-36): WEST MICHIGAN 5, TinCaps 2 - 3B Luis Tejada was 2-for-4 with a double, a RBI and a run scored in his first game with Fort Wayne. Starting LHP Thomas Dorminy (5-5, 4.41 ERA) allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. LHP Kyle McGrath (3.51 ERA) allowed a hit with two strikeouts in two scoreless innings. RHP Seth Lucio (4.25 ERA) had two strikeouts in 1 1/3 perfect innings.

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE PADRES (9-7): WHITE SOX 5, Padres 1 - Starting RHP Emmanuel Clase (1.42 ERA) allowed five hits with five strikeouts over five scoreless innings. RHP Jonathan Guzman (0-1, 5.40 ERA) allowed five unearned runs on two hits and two walks with a strikeout in just two-thirds of an innings. RHP Luis Perez (4.25 ERA) struck out two in 1 1/3 perfect innings. C Joel Lezema (.345) was 2-for-3 with a walk.

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Wil Myers to have surgery on bone spur in wrist, likely out 2 months Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. -- San Diego Padres center fielder Wil Myers will have surgery to remove a bone spur in his left wrist and is likely to miss the next two months. Myers has been bothered by soreness in his wrist for most of the season and missed 28 games while on the disabled list. He was reinstated last week and played in three games before going back on the DL on Monday.

An MRI was taken of Myers' wrist before the decision for surgery was made.

Interim Padres manager Pat Murphy said Myers will undergo surgery Thursday and will be out eight weeks before resuming baseball activities.

Will Venable and Melvin Upton Jr. are likely replacements for Myers. Venable started in center field for the Padres in Oakland on Wednesday.

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Surgery Scheduled for Padres Star Wil Myers to have a procedure done on his wrist By Derek Togerson I’m already starting to feel really bad for Padres manager Pat Murphy. Since he arrived on an interim basis he’s had to share almost nothing but bad news. Before Wednesday's game against the Oakland A's, he informed us that Wil Myers will have surgery to remove a bone spur from his left wrist on Thursday, hoping to eliminate a condition that has bothered him since his junior high school days. Myers is expected to be able to resume baseball activities in eight weeks and should rejoin the team in early September. Myers was leading the National League in runs scored when the spur caused ligaments in his hand to become inflamed, hindering his ability to swing the bat. Wrist ailments have cut short each of Myers’ last two seasons. He had moved from the outfield to first base and said he was feeling comfortable on the infield before the wrist flared up again. Despite playing in only 35 games, Myers is still 4th on the Padres in runs scored this season. While he is gone Yonder Alonso is the everyday starting 1st baseman while Melvin Upton and Will Venable will share time in center field.

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Padres Lose 16-2 to Oakland A's By Matthew Wood The Padres remained winless since firing manager Bud Black, losing 16-2 to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night. It’s the second straight loss for new manager Pat Murphy and third straight since Black got the axe earlier this week. Things got so bad on Wednesday, shortstop Alexi Amarista came on to get the last out in the eighth inning. “I thought I’d pick the guy lowest to the ground,” Murphy joked about the 5-foot-6 Amarista. “You gotta make the decision somehow. Sometimes games happen like this.” Amarista had one of the lone offensive highlights for the Padres (32-36) with a solo home run in the sixth inning. Will Middlebrooks also homered. Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne gave up six runs in six innings, allowing a three-run homer to Billy Butler in the first that got things going for the A’s. Cory Mazzoni took the brunt of the damage for the Friars’ bullpen, giving up seven runs while getting just two outs. The two teams finish their series tomorrow afternoon in Oakland.

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Chavez strikes out 11 as A's cruise to win over Padres

AP JUN 18, 2015 1:12a ET

Jesse Chavez had already reached double digits in strikeouts for the first time in his career and was prepping to go out for the eighth inning when Athletics manager Bob Melvin decided to go to the bullpen. With Oakland's offense in the midst of a four-run seventh, Melvin didn't want to trot his starter out for another inning following the long break. It was about the only respite San Diego's hitters got. Chavez struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings to win for only the second time in his last eight starts, Billy Butlerhad four hits including a three-run home run and the A's beat the Padres 16-2 on Wednesday night. "This was the best changeup we've ever seen him throw, and he threw a bunch of them tonight," Melvin said. "He was going to go out for the eighth until we scored a few more runs. I'm sure he was thinking, `Why don't you save a few of these for me for a little bit later.'" Chavez (3-6) went into the game with the eighth-lowest ERA in the AL but had gotten little to no run support in his previous 10 starts. Against the Padres, however, Chavez got more than enough backing and was dominant while allowing three hits over seven innings. He fanned seven of the first 11 batters, walked one and didn't allow a runner past first base until Alexi Amarista homered on the first pitch leading off the sixth. Chavez said he decided to ride the changeup after getting a good feel for it while warming up. "I felt it down in the bullpen," Chavez said. "It's a pitch that I've had most of the year. As the game went on (catcher Stephen) Vogt started having confidence and started calling it to both sides of the plate." Ben Zobrist drove in three runs with three hits for the A's. Stephen Vogt added two RBIs.

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Will Middlebrooks homered for the Padres, who lost their third straight since firing manager Bud Black on Monday. Oakland, which went into the game with the worst record in the AL, set season highs for runs and hits (20) while extending its winning streak to four. It got so bad for San Diego that interim manager Pat Murphy used Amarista -- the Padres' starting shortstop -- to pitch and get the final out of the ninth. Amarista needed two pitches to retire Billy Burns on a fly out. "Sometimes game happen like this," Murphy said. "You guys may laugh at this but I think this was a little bit of a cleansing. Just get this stuff out." The A's staked Chavez to a 4-0 lead in the first inning capped by Butler's fifth home run of the season. The former Kansas City slugger, who signed with Oakland in the offseason, had been mired in an 8-for-42 funk before homering off San Diego starter Odrisamer Despaigne (3-5). Butler also singled three times. "We just started feeding off each other, hit some balls hard and found some holes," Butler said. "I haven't had the greatest first half but this helps things turn around." Zobrist had an RBI single in the first, tripled in the third and added a two-run double in the seventh. Sam Fuld and Brett Lawrie drove in two runs apiece during Oakland's seven-run eighth. Despaigne struggled in his first career start against the A's. He gave up six runs and eight hits in six innings with two strikeouts and one walk. Former Oakland All-Star catcher Derek Norris went 0-for-4 in his first game back at the Coliseum since being traded to San Diego in December. TRAINER'S ROOM Padres: CF Will Myers will undergo surgery Thursday to remove a bone spur in his left wrist. Myers missed 28 games on the disabled list earlier this season because of soreness in the wrist.

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Athletics: RHP Edward Mujica (broken thumb) will pitch for Single-A Stockton on Thursday and could be activated from the DL as soon as Friday. ... Switch pitcher Pat Venditte (right shoulder strain) is doing strengthening work but has not been cleared to throw. UP NEXT Padres: RHP Ian Kennedy (3-5) starts the Thursday afternoon game and has a 3.00 ERA over his previous three starts after carrying a 7.15 ERA through his first eight starts. Athletics: RHP Kendall Graveman (3-3), who has a 2.20 ERA since getting called back up from the minors in late May, will make his first career interleague start.

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Sherrington: Ex-Rangers exec A.J. Preller not taking old pal Jon Daniels' cautious approach with Padres Kevin Sherrington Follow @KSherringtonDMN ksherrington@dallasnews.com Published: 17 June 2015 11:50 PM Updated: 17 June 2015 11:50 PM

San Diego was only a game under .500 and a half-dozen games out of first when widely respected manager Bud Black got the gate, but the Padres’ general manager, A.J. Preller, late of the Rangers, is not a patient man, as we’ve only recently learned.

No sooner had he taken his new job last summer than he turned the organization on its head. Players came and went amid wild applause.

The Padres were subsequently crowned Kings of Winter, which, unfortunately, does not fill out a trophy case.

Preller’s haste in San Diego crystallizes for me what Jon Daniels’ cabinet meetings must have looked like.

Preller apparently was the one always raising his hand, shouting “Oh! ... Oh! ... Oh!”

The reason I bring this up is that the Padres only have a couple fewer wins than the Rangers, yet perceptions run radically different.

Expectations have a lot to do with it. After the Rangers lost Yu Darvish and Derek Holland and most of April, we basically wrote them off.

Now here they are, one of baseball’s hottest teams going on six weeks, brimming with optimism, while the Padres get ready to launch lifeboats.

Hard to say how different the Rangers’ position might be if Preller were still a member of Daniels’ brain trust. But clearly management has retrenched, particularly since the big-ticket offseason of 2013, when the Rangers signed Shin-Soo Choo and traded for Prince Fielder, among the splashiest moves of Daniels’ decade on the job.

So is a return to a more conservative approach because of the budget or circumstances or a different management team?

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“I think all three,” Daniels said.

As previously noted in this space, Daniels has been at his best on low-risk, high-reward deals. You could count Josh Hamilton twice. Certainly the additions of Delino DeShields and Wandy Rodriguez fit the description, and where would the Rangers be without them now?

As for what it’s like working without Preller, formerly the Rangers’ personnel chief, Daniels says it’s allowed other voices to be heard. All are reminded to challenge Daniels, he said, but Preller needed no encouragement. They’ve known each other since they were teenagers.

Delta Chi frat bothers and roommates at Cornell. While in college, Daniels sometimes accompanied Preller to his Arbitration in Sports classes. Once he made a career with Allied Domecq overseeing Dunkin’ Donuts franchises, Daniels lived vicariously through his old college pal, who, in his position with MLB, got Daniels into the winter meetings, which led to an internship with the Rockies at a cool $275 a week.

Once they teamed up with the Rangers, it wasn’t exactly an overnight success. But together they built back-to-back World Series teams and a legitimate farm system basically from scratch.

Over time, Preller’s alignment with Don Welke — an old scout and mentor since their days with the Dodgers — led to a different dynamic in the management team. The irrevocable split with Nolan Ryan was only part of it.

“There were deals we made that he wasn’t on,” Daniels said of Preller’s agreeability. “There were ones where he was the catalyst.

“He drinks, eats and sleeps the job. He’s got great passion for it and an unbelievable memory.”

And now that Preller’s fingerprints are all over a new organization, we can get a better idea of how he might have handled things here if he had his way. Conceding the fact that he had no allegiance to Black or the farm system in San Diego, which he’s basically gutted, he nevertheless acted quickly. Like many GMs these days, he wants a manager who not only wins but will help develop young talent.

Black didn’t exactly fit that description. Neither did Ron Washington. Daniels occasionally clashed with Washington over his reluctance to play young talent. But he never fired him. Washington quit, and not because of his boss.

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Washington would still be the manager, in my opinion, if not for his resignation. On several occasions, Daniels said he was as responsible as anyone for the club’s swoon the last two years, and he was just as surprised by Washington’s decision.

Once presented the opportunity, though, Daniels found a manager who more closely represents what he wants from the position.

As we like to say in the department of qualifications, it’s still early, but Jeff Banister checks more boxes than any manager I’ve seen around here in 30 years.

He’s played the hand Daniels dealt him and won with it so far. He’s been creative with his lineup in ways I don’t think Washington would have been. Except for a flare-up with Choo — mark me on Banister’s side — his style has gone over well in the clubhouse.

At least for now, the patient, cautious approach goes over better here, where the manager makes all the headlines. Time enough for the GM to make his own.