smooth sailing

The San Diego Padres gave free agent Drew Pomeranz a nice chunk of change — $34 million over four years – to bolster their bullpen. They have to be pleased with the investment. The 6-foot-6 lefty out of Ole Miss is almost perfect in five appearances for a team that has won six of its first eight games. Pomeranz, nicknamed “Big Smooth,” has allowed one hit, one walk and no runs in 4 1/3 innings, notching two holds and two saves. He got the final out Friday night in a crazy 8-7 win at Colorado. After struggling as a starter in San Francisco early in 2019, Pomeranz moved to the pen and then to Milwaukee in a trade and was outstanding as a reliever for the Brewers. He had a 2.39 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings for the playoff-pound club, parlaying that success into a nice contract with the Padres. This is his second stint in San Diego, one of the six MLB teams the former first-round pick has pitched for since making the majors in 2011. He was an All-Star as a starter with the Padres in 2016 and won a ring with Boston in 2018, though he had a rough time that year. It’ll be interesting to watch how the Padres deploy the 31-year-old Pomeranz, who has a 4.02 career ERA as he has bounced between starter and reliever. He’s never been a closer, per se. P.S. Kudos to Madison Central High product Spencer Turnbull, who notched his first victory since May 31, 2019, going six innings (3 hits, 2 runs, 6 K’s) for Detroit to beat Cincinnati 7-2. Turnbull, now 1-0 in two starts, went 3-17 in 2019 and lost his last 13 decisions.