Black, Padres looking to jump on 'deceptive' Lincecum

By foxsports
Published

No one pitcher has no-hit the Padres more than Tim Lincecum has.

He did it again less than a year later in the confines of AT&T Park.

"We're going to try and get him off the strike zone," Padres manager Bud Black said to the media before Friday's game. "Lay off the split, make sure that secondary pitches in the strikezone. He's got a great advantage with his secondary stuff and his great arm action. He's got a lot of motion, he's very deceptive so we're going to have to lay off the ball down, lay off the split finger down, elevate the fastball and get the fastball in a good place to hit. (We) have to take advantage of mistakes that he leaves in play."

Friday's game highlights a few different things for the Padres: starting pitcher Brandon Morrow makes his regular-season debut and Cory Spangenberg makes his first start on the year at third base.

The San Diego skipper said Spangenberg's versatility in the infield made him an obvious candidate for an Opening Day roster spot.

"When the season starts you like to get the entire roster involved as quickly as possible, you don't like to wait too long before they get a start or their at-bats," Black said. "Players are anxious to get out there and get their feet on the ground. With Spangy, I think he's a good low-ball hitter."

The Padres enter Friday night's game having made a few roster moves, the most notable being placing Ian Kenendy on the 15-day DL with a hamstring issue while recalling former Mariners relief pitcher from Triple-A El Paso.

"It's probably the best thing to do is to put him on the DL. His (hypothetical) start won't be for another four days, next Tuesday," Black said. "Now we can really make sure that the he's healthy and 100 percent and has a great deal of confidence going in his leg as it affects his arm and his stuff.

"We're going to miss him, obviously for a couple starts when he's out there but injuries are a part of this game. We'll get through this one, but this looks to be a short-termer as far as the hamstring goes."