In their first game against the rival LA Dodgers, the Padres got great production from utility man, and current left fielder, Tyler Wade. He tripled in the bottom of the third against Dustin May and pushed the Padres into the lead, 6-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Lockridge pinch-hit for Wade when reliever Anthony Banda took over for May. The preference would be to use a right-handed pinch hitter in that situation as Lockridge is a light-hitting, defense-first bench piece. That person doesn’t exist on this team.
This scenario has played out multiple times in key situations over the season.