As rough as this season has been for the Friar Faithful, all the frustration of a lost season took a backseat to elation as the Padres blew out the Cubs in the rubber game to win the final series of 2011. The win put the Padres at 71-91 on the season, a 19-game drop-off from last year’s second place finish.

The Padres saw great second half play from Nick Hundley, Mat Latos and Kyle Blanks, as well as the emergence of Jesus Guzman as a legitimate major league hitter. The Future also looks bright for the Padres in 2012 based on Cameron Maybin’s breakout season and the young bullpen of Josh Spence, Anthony Bass and Brad Bach in a bullpen led by veteran mentor Heath Bell.

Bud Black’s staff will look to bounce back next spring, and might have more reinforcements with an expected increase in payroll.

So sit back and enjoy reading about the Padres final series of the season.

September 26^th, 2011 Padres 2, Cubs 0

WP Mat Latos (9-14) 7IP 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 9K 0HR

LP Casey Coleman (3-9) 5.2IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 7K 1HR

S Heath Bell (43) 1IP 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 1K 0HR

Mat Latos ended his 2011 season in dominating fashion, dismissing 21 of the 24 batters he faced. Latos had a no-hitter going through five and a third innings before giving up a triple to opposing pitcher Casey Coleman. He tied his season high of nine strikeouts while walking only one.

The next inning after the no-hitter was lost, the Padres picked up their pitcher with a couple runs. Will Venable led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homerun (8). Two batters later Jesus Guzman hit a deep drive to left that one-hopped over the fence and off the Western Metal Supply Building for a ground-rule double (22). Two batters after that Cameron Maybin knocked him home with a double (23) of his own.

Chad Qualls pitched a pefect eighth inning and Heath Bell came out in the ninth. Bell retired the side in order for his 43^rd save of the season.

September 27^th, 2011 Cubs 6, Padres 2

WP Matt Garza (10-10) 7P 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 8K 0HR

LP Chad Qualls (6-8) 1IP 3H 3R 3ER 2BB 0K 1HR

Anthony Bass and the Padres were cruising along to another victory, up 2-1 over the Cubs until the dreaded 8^th inning. Chad Qualls surrendered three runs, all three on a one out homer by Alfonso Soriano (26) after he walked two batters. The Cubs would score two more on a bases loaded grounder to center by Tony Campana, pushing the lead to four runs.

The Padres jumped to a 2-0 advantage in the second when Kyle Blanks creamed a double (7) to left-center off Matt Garza, scoring both Chase Headley and Orlando Hudson. Garza would settle down and not allow a run to the Friars or the next five innings.

Aramis Ramirez put the Cubs on the board when he went deep off Bass in the fourth inning with a solo homer (26). That cut the lead in half until the Cubs took control in the eighth.

The Loss clinched last place for the Padres a season after they won 90 games.

September 28^th, 2011 Dodgers 6, Padres 2

W Wade LeBlanc (5-6) 7.IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 3K 0HR

LP Ryan Demptser (10-14) 5.2IP 8H 9R 9ER 4BB 7K 2HR

Wade LeBlanc was masterful over seven innings and the Padres offense showed up in full force to help the Padres beat the Cubs 9-2 in the final game of their season. LeBlanc gave up only two runs on five hits, walking only three. Wade’s fifth win was also the 71^st for San Diego.

Ryan Dempster retired the first eight Padres batters he faced before watching Wade LeBlanc. Cameron Maybin then doubled (24) LeBlanc in from first to put the Pads up, 1-0. Maybin then stole third base for his 40^th theft of the season. Will Venable then drew a walk to bring up Nick Hundley. Hundley hit an 85 mph slider deep to left field, almost into the Frazee Paint Can for a three-run homer (9).

The Cubs scored in the top of the fourth when Tony Campana hit a screaming grounder down the first base line that was snagged by a diving Anthony Rizzo. Anable to make a play at first, Rizzo opted to try to throw out Jeff Baker at the plate. His throw was wide allowing the run to score yet his play in the field prevented another run from scoring.

The Padres loaded the bases with no outs yet only managed one run on a botched pickup on a would-be double play by Starlin Castro off the bat of Andy Parrino. After Wade LeBlanc struck out, Maybin hit a grounder to the pitcher, who went home-to-first to end the inning with a double-play.

Castro got the run back for the Cubs with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Steve Clevenger from third.

The Padres started a two-out rally in the sixth with back-to-back singles by Parrino and LeBlanc. Maybin then walked to load the bases for the Padres for the third time of the game. Will Venable then knocked a 1-1 fastball over the fence in left-center for a grand slam (9). The home run put the Padres ahead 9-2 and they never looked back, sending the Petco Park crowd home with a smile on their faces and hope in their hearts.