Slumping Padres fire pitching coach Larry Rothschild

The slumping San Diego Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Monday as the franchise tries to stop its freefall in the National League playoff race.

The 67-year-old Rothschild has been with the Padres for the past two seasons. San Diego has lost nine of its past 11 games and has fallen to third place in the NL West, 13 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants.

The Padres fell one game behind the Cincinnati Reds for the second and final NL Wild Card after losing on Sunday.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler said he's discussed the struggles of the pitching staff — particularly the starting rotation — for a few weeks with general manager A.J. Preller and other front office staff.

But Tingler was adamant that the move to fire Rothschild was “100%” his decision.

“Instead of waiting and seeing what's going to happen and staying stagnant, I thought the best thing to do for this team moving forward is to bring in a different voice, different message, different perspective right now," Tingler said.

Ben Fritz — the team's bullpen coach — will be the interim pitching coach for the rest of the season.

“He's done a great job with our bullpen,” Tingler said. “He's one of the reasons our bullpen has performed very well this year. With his experience, knowing the system, knowing the guys, being able to provide his perspective, ultimately I think is going to give us our best chance to pitch to our capabilities down the stretch.”

After a good start to the season, San Diego's pitching staff has regressed, especially in recent weeks. The group has a 4.82 ERA in August.

Three of the Padres' main starting pitchers — Yu Darvish, Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet — are currently on the injured list. So is Drew Pomeranz, one of the team's top relievers.

Tingler praised...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Slumping-Padres-fire-pitching-coach-Rothschild-16406017.php