Padres' Wieland can give up homers to the best of 'em
San Diego Padres right-handed rookie starter Joe Wieland is taking some lumps.
Monday night at Petco Park, Wieland gave up the first two of the park-record three homers hit by Milwaukee's Ryan Braun. In his major league debut on April 14, Wieland gave up two homers to Matt Kemp at Dodger Stadium.
That's right, now four games into his major league career, Wieland has given up two homers to each of the players who finished 1-2 in the National League MVP voting last season, Braun and Kemp, respectively.
Wieland, 22, also has the distinction of becoming the first pitcher in Padres history to lose each of his first four games and only the third to be 0-4 after his first four major league starts. The first two were Joe McIntosh (1974) and Dave Wehrmeister (1976).
However, manager Bud Black doesn't see the events of the first four starts leaving any lasting scars on Wieland, who has a 4.91 ERA.
"Joe is a confident kid," Black said. "He's pitched some pretty good ballgames. The experience he is gaining now is invaluable."
In fact, Wieland called Monday night's game a "learning experience," particularly when it came to Braun.
"A great hitter like that is going to make adjustments," Wieland said. "He got me. He made me pay."
