They don’t flinch. Not against Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom. Not against Clayton Kershaw or Noah Syndergaard. Not on the road. Not when runs prove scarce. Not when a game opens with a double and a run-scoring single, as it did Wednesday against the Mets at Petco Park.
The sturdy, unflappable confidence of Padres’ starting pitchers – the youngest group in all of baseball – has been an unrivaled head-scratcher for a franchise uncomfortably accustomed to digging fatal win-loss pits by the time May arrives.
Collectively, they’re a starting pitching metronome – dependably in rhythm from one day and one arm to the next.