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Mat Latos News & Rumors

Latos goes only five innings, again
May 18
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"Mat Latos was the victim of a blown save Thursday. But Latos put the bullpen in a tough spot. He did not retire a batter in the sixth inning. His day was done when the first two batters reached. Latos has gone only five innings in each of his last two starts. He needed 109 and 100 pitches to get through five. "I usually can get six, seven innings," Latos said. "It's just the way it's been going for me lately. Sometimes, I'm not executing my pitches which gets my pitch count up. Sometimes, I feel like we fall in love with the same pitch over and over. Guys battle. That's just the way it's been going." Latos did not allow a run over the first four innings. He gave up two runs in the fifth."
Latos strikes out 11 in Reds' 5-0 win against Pirates
May 7
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"Mat Latos woke up feeling bad -- not good on the day you're pitching. "I was not feeling good at all this morning," he said. "I woke up throwing up. It wasn't pretty." Neither was the first inning of Latos' outing. He hit the first batter. He walked two of three next three. He escaped, thanks largely to a great play by Todd Frazier that save a couple of runs. Getting out of the first was just what the doctor ordered. From there, Latos felt better. Good enough, in fact, to pitch the Reds to a 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates before a crowd of 20,042 at PNC Park."
Reds, Latos baffle Pirates in 5-0 win
May 7
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"This looked like a tale of two pitchers. Pirates starter Charlie Morton, who gave up two home runs among four earned runs over six innings and is searching for answers. And Cincinnati starter Mat Latos, who struck out a career-high 11 and combined with three relievers to shut out the Pirates, 5-0, Sunday at PNC Park."
Trouble started early for Latos in Reds' 11-1 loss to Cardinals
April 19
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"Maybe when the Reds saw that Mat Latos' turn in the rotation fell in the St. Louis, they should have juggled things. Latos got hit around pretty good in the Reds' 10-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night before a crowd of 35,907 at Busch Stadium. Latos went 5 2/3 innings and allowed eight runs on the nine hits. He walked three and struck out six. The place has been very unkind to Latos. He's 0-3 with a 19.63 ERA in three starts at Busch. "It wasn't not hitting my spots so much," Latos said. "It was not trusting my stuff. Take away the first two innings and look at the next three, four really, going into that six inning, I was trusting my stuff and rearing back and letting it"
Reds fall to Nationals in extra innings
April 13
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"Mat Latos' second start as a Red was better than the first. The problem is it was only one out longer. The Reds ended up losing 3-2 to the Washington Nationals in 10 innings before a sellout crowd of 40,907 in the home opener at Nationals Park. The game ended when Alfredo Simon, the last pitcher on the roster, threw a wild pitch. "We were in a tough spot," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We didn't have (Logan) Ondrusek because he's gone four out of five. We didn't have (Aroldis) Chapman because he went two innings (Wednesday). We were down to Billy Bray and (Sean) Marshall." Latos pitched five innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. He needed 99"
Mat Latos says he's fine
March 28
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"On the heels of Ryan Madson's injury, the Reds got a major scare Tuesday when right-hander Mat Latos had to leave the game against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning. Latos strained his left calf, but isn't worried it's serious. "I'm alive," he said. "I'm fine. I'm not one to talk about it. I'm fine. They looked at it. They iced it. This is just a precaution." Latos expects to make his next start, probably on Sunday, the day before the Reds break camp. Latos was two outs into the inning when he landed funny after throwing a pitch. "It felt like I landed on mud, then slipped.""
Latos exits game with strained left calf
March 27
MLB.com
 
"Reds starting pitcher Mat Latos left his game vs. the Cubs on Tuesday with a strained left calf. He is day to day. There were two outs in the fifth inning when Latos made a first-pitch delivery for a ball to Alfonso Soriano. Latos appeared to have some discomfort and was visited at the mound by manager Dusty Baker, pitching coach Bryan Price and trainer Paul Lessard. Following several moments, Latos walked to the dugout and looked disgusted. Expected to work six innings, he finished with three runs (two earned) and four hits allowed over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two."
Latos is now Cincinnati's to deal with
March 14
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
""Business," he said, over and over. Nothing personal. Indeed, with every question about the circumstances around the pre-Christmas trade that sent Mat Latos from the Padres to the Cincinnati Reds, the often-playful pitcher's expression goes as cold and unfeeling as the business side of baseball. His eyes turn to slits, same as they do when he stands on the mound and peers over the fingertips of his glove before the next delivery, the quality of which was worth a quantity of four Reds players with major-league qualities of their own. If he wanted to, Latos could take it as a grand compliment, the fact that Cincinnati was so willing to give up such a bounty for him. Some would. He won't. Not"
Latos concentrates on dealing, not on trade
March 7
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"Mat Latos appreciated the advice Reds manager Dusty Baker had for him early in camp. "From a person that was on the forefront of a major trade myself, I've had some advice for him," Baker said. "Be yourself, don't put any pressure on yourself. He doesn't have to prove anything. Just pitch. And hopefully he'll get better through progression of experience and time." Latos was the Reds' biggest acquisition of the offseason. They gave up last year's Opening Day starter, Edinson Volquez, plus No. 1 draft picks Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger to get Latos from the San Diego Padres. "For the first month, I thought about it," Latos said. "Holy crap, they gave up four guys for me."
Reds get Latos at steep cost
December 18
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
"The Reds got their top-of-the-rotation starter, but they paid a huge price. The Reds acquired right-hander Mat Latos from San Diego for first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-handers Edinson Volquez and Brad Boxberger. "Our No. 1 goal was to find a top-of-the-rotation starter," general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We felt that Mat Latos, of the potential pitchers available, was the best guy out there for a number of reasons. He's still young at (24). He's a power pitcher who we think will pitch well at our park. He's under control for us for four years. He's definitely a top-of-the-rotation guy who will slot in well behind Cueto. We think in time (Latos) will"
Latos both boffo and baffling
July 24
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Against the Phillies on Saturday, Mat Latos demonstrated both the raw talent that makes him a potentially dominant pitcher and the inconsistency that baffles many inside the organization. The good Latos: after giving up a three-run home run to Chase Utley in the first inning, the 6-foot-6 right-hander didn't allow another run his last five innings. He was particularly resilient in the sixth. With the Padres having just scored three runs to tie the game, Latos allowed leadoff singles to Shane Victorino and Chase Utley. But he escaped the jam, retiring the next three batters, finishing the day with his seventh strikeout. The bad Latos: the three-run first. Jimmie Rollins led off with a"
Latos stops winless streak in Denver
May 16
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"The Padres joined the National League in 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, "Sesame Street" debuted on TV and gas cost 35 cents a gallon. Those Padres lost a franchise-record 110 times, finishing a whopping 41 games out of first. Gary Ross lost 11 consecutive decisions. Why the look back? Because on an ugly, gray afternoon in Denver's historic Lower Downtown on Sunday, Mat Latos avoided making history. Looking like the Latos of old, the 23-year-old right-hander steered the Padres to an 8-2 victory before 38,109 at Coors Field. Latos pitched 5?2/3 innings, allowed one earned run, recorded his first win since Sept. 7 of last season, and stopped his"
Latos fighting to right slow start
April 27
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Officially, hitting streaks don't carry over from one season to the next. Mat Latos feels the same should hold true when it comes to losing streaks for a pitcher. Dating back to last season, Latos has lost eight consecutive starts. "I didn't lose eight straight starts because I had four months off," Latos argued. Bottom line, though, when Latos takes the mound this afternoon against the Atlanta Braves, he will have lost his last eight starts. His struggles at the end of last season can be attributed to fatigue. He worked 189 2/3 innings, 66 2/3 more than in 2009. He's off to a slow start this season (0-3, 5.94 ERA), in part he said, because of a spring training shoulder injury that landed"
Latos sharp early, but homers ruin Padres season debut
April 12
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Monday night's game at Petco Park was a tale of two pitchers. Mat Latos got off to an impressive start in his 2011 debut, striking out five without allowing a hit over his first three innings. But over his next two innings, Latos gave up three runs on a pair of two-out homers by Cincinnati's Jonny Gomes (solo) and Chris Heisey (two-run). Meanwhile, the Reds' Edinson Volquez again struggled at the start of his start, giving up two runs in the first inning. But he got stronger as the game progressed, retiring 15 of the last 18 hitters he faced. The result was a 3-2 Reds win — largely because Padres again failed to get runners home from second with less than two outs in their final two"
Padres optimistic as Latos looks sharp in rehab
April 5
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"The Padres will re-evaluate Mat Latos status today after the right-handed starter again looked sharp Monday during a 70-pitch simulated game in the Padres spring training base in Peoria, Ariz. "All the reports are good," said Padres manager Bud Black of the session thrown under the eye of Padres minor league pitching coordinator Mike Couchee. Latos faced four Padres, including outfielder Eric Patterson. He pitched 5?2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out three. Black wouldn't say when Latos might be activated from the 15-day disabled list. Latos, whose injury was described as bursitis in his shoulder, is eligible to be reactivated on Friday. The injury updates"
Padres encouraged by Latos' throwing session
April 1
MLB.com
 
"Pitcher Mat Latos said he felt fine after throwing off the mound Thursday, three hours before the Padres faced the Cardinals on Opening Day. Manager Bud Black said the right-hander looked fine in his first time throwing off a mound in 10 days. In other words, the bursitis that landed Latos on the disabled list to start the season is all but in the rearview mirror now. "From what I saw, he looked fine and he looked healthy," Black said. Black indicated that Latos will throw a light side session on Saturday in St. Louis. If he comes out of that feeling fine, Latos will then fly to the team's Spring Training facility in Arizona on Sunday."
Questions shadow Padres' starting pitching
March 30
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos is in full delivery mode on the Padres' pocket schedule, looking over his left shoulder, eyeing a runner on first base. Petco Park serves as a backdrop. It'll be some time before Latos replicates the pose. The team's marquee starter will begin the 2011 season on the disabled list. Taking his spot on Opening Day will be Tim Stauffer, who didn't join the starting rotation last year until September. Number two starter Clayton Richard battled shoulder problems in the spring, finishing with a 9.56 earned run average. Number three starter Dustin Moseley sports a lifetime 5.28 ERA. And fourth starter Aaron Harang was a combined 18-38 the past three seasons. On a team that battled the"
Matt Latos to begin season on disabled list
March 29
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos' shoulder injury is serious enough that the Padres' ace right-hander will open the 2011 season on the disabled list. The team, though, doesn't expect him to be there long. "He's turned a corner on this thing," manager Bud Black said Monday. "Our medical staff feels good about where this is." Latos' injury, which has been diagnosed as bursitis, will be dated retroactively to March 22. If he's healthy, he could be activated April?6, the team's second home game against the World Series champion Giants."
Latos a candidate to start season on DL
March 27
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos might begin the season not atop the mound in St. Louis, but on the disabled list. Latos missed what was scheduled to be his final spring training start Saturday with a shoulder injury, and manager Bud Black said there's no timetable for when Latos will resume throwing. Asked whether Latos is a candidate for the disabled list, Black said, "Sure, oh yeah. It's an option." Black confirmed that Latos' injury is an inflamed bursa sac. "This, from what I've been told," said Black, "can turn (in a positive direction) quickly. And it can also be a little bit of time.""
Padres ace Latos to miss scheduled start Saturday
March 26
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos' topsy-turvy spring training has hit another pothole. The 23-year-old ace of the Padres' pitching staff has suffered a shoulder injury and will not make his scheduled final spring start today. Latos said the team's medical staff described the injury as an inflamed bursa sac. The bursa sac is a pocket of fluid on top of the rotator cuff. "He's a little sore," manager Bud Black said. "It just sort of popped up." It's unknown how severe the injury is or when Latos will pitch again. He was expected to start Thursday's season opener in St. Louis. Latos said his shoulder started hurting when he lifted his arm to open a car door Wednesday, two days after his last start. He said that by"
Latos learning sometimes cooler heads prevail
March 22
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos got off to another shaky start Monday night. He fell behind the first hitter he faced, then had to back up third as Juan Pierre doubled to the base of the wall in right. Gordon Beckham rolled a single to left through a hole vacated by Everth Cabrera in a communication lapse between the pitcher and shortstop. Alex Rios then put the Chicago White Sox ahead with a homer to left. Three hitters into the game, Latos was down 3-0. But this time, there was no throwing of the glove, no questioning the umpire, no verbal outburst. The 23-year-old righted himself. He went to work. He started throwing his breaking pitches for strikes and his fastballs for effect. He broke bats. He worked out"
Latos wild in spring debut
March 2
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"As Mat Latos was leaving the mound Tuesday following his first exhibition start of the spring, he said something to Chris Guccione that "drew a chuckle" from the home-plate umpire. Latos wouldn't divulge the nature of his comments, although one might guess that it had something to do with the right-hander's control. Or lack of it. Latos threw 34 pitches. Only 15 of those went for strikes - and up to a half dozen of those could have gone the other way. In the first inning, Latos walked four Kansas City Royals and threw only 11 strikes in 30 pitches. The only thing that saved him from a run was catcher Nick Hundley throwing out a would-be base stealer. Latos returned to open the second,"
Bell, Latos tie for 8th in Cy Young voting; Halladay wins
November 17
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos and Heath Bell of the Padres tied for eighth in the voting for the National League Cy Young Award. Both received four points in the weighted voting (7-4-3-2-1) conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Bell received one third-place and one fifth-place vote. Latos received one fourth-place and two fifth-place votes. Two writers in each city vote on the award. Roy Halladay of Philadelphia was the unanimous first-place choice on all 32 ballots. Adam Wainwright of St. Louis finished second with 122 points based on 28 second-place, three third-place and one fifth-place vote. Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez was third with 90 points based on four second-place votes, 19 thirds,"
Latos looks more like Latos of old in defeat
October 4
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Although his first full major league season ended Sunday with a fifth straight loss, Mat Latos was no longer answering "what's wrong" questions in his post-game briefing. Because Latos performed more like the Latos of mid-summer than the Latos whose troubles paralleled the Padres late-season plunge. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks over six innings -- his best performance since Sept. 7. "Mat pitched well," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He kept us right there. He held up his end of the bargain." The Padres hitters did not. Latos had no margin for error. When he gave up two runs in the third, the game was basically over. "That was not the outcome I"
Latos comments draw quick rebuttal
September 30
San Francisco Chronicle
 
"Padres starter Mat Latos is 22, so some might dismiss his rip on the Giants as a youthful indiscretion, though one San Francisco player called Latos' comments "asinine." After losing to the Cubs on Tuesday night, Latos suggested the Padres are more of a team and the Giants more a collection of mercenaries. "Baseball works in funny ways," Latos was quoted on cbssports.com. "The only way I could honestly put it is, we could be like the Giants and go and change our whole lineup, put guys with 'San Francisco Giants' across their jerseys. We didn't. "We added two guys (Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick). We've been the same team all year. We haven't just gone and grabbed guys from other teams.""
Dodgers add to Latos' woes in 3-1 win over Padres
September 24
L.A. Daily News
 
"San Diego Padres rookie pitcher Mat Latos might have discovered what his lone weakness is: the month of September. Latos, who has been instrumental in the Padres' surprise run to the top of the National League West, is stumbling his way to the finish line. His latest obstacle came in the form of the Dodgers' 3-1 victory over the Padres on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. The loss was the third in a row for Latos and it dropped his record for the current month to 1-3 with a no-decision. His lone victory this month came in a 14-5 shellacking of the Dodgers on Sept. 7. Latos pitched seven innings in that game, allowed one run and struck out 10. Thursday's effort wasn't bad but it wasn't good"
Latos must be part of any Cy Young conversation
September 8
San Diego Union-Tribune
 columnist Tim Sullivan
"Mat Latos is dominance defined. He is excellence embodied. He is raw talent and refined results. He is pure hell on the hitters. The Padres' pitching phenomenon returned from a brief bout with a stomach virus Tuesday night with seven more innings of sustained brilliance. He held the Los Angeles Dodgers to four hits and one run in a taut 2-1 victory that preserved the Home Team's one-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the suddenly suspenseful National League West. Latos went back on the job a day behind schedule and made it look, for the most part, like child's play. He struck out 10, walked none, and established a major-league record by limiting his opponent to two runs or less for"
Latos leads Padres past Dodgers
September 8
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"The three constants for the Padres this season have been Mat Latos, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell. Tuesday night, all three delivered, leading the Padres to a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers before 20,071 at Petco Park that kept San Diego a game ahead of San Francisco in the National League West race. Latos allowed the Dodgers one run on four hits over seven innings, setting a major league record in the process. Bell came on in the eighth to freeze the tying run at second and struck out four in 1?2/3 innings to successfully convert his 26th straight save. And Gonzalez figured in both Padres runs on a pair of opposite-field hits as the Padres defeated the Dodgers for a second straight night."
Padres' Mat Latos dominates Dodgers in 2-1 win
September 8
Los Angeles Times
 
"The Dodgers' clubhouse was silent, so much so that the humming of a stationary bicycle in an adjacent room was audible. About the only other sounds that could be heard came from the showers. The Dodgers lost their fourth consecutive game on Tuesday night, their 2-1 defeat to the first-place San Diego Padres at Petco Park dropping their season record to 69-70. They were 10 games behind the Padres in the National League West, 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card race and the end of the offensive hibernation felt like it was nowhere in sight. Andre Ethier was planted in front of a laptop computer at the back end of the clubhouse, presumably watching videos of his at-bats. Casey"
Latos scratched from Monday start against the Dodgers at Petco Park
September 7
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"It's raining in San Diego. Maybe not on all of San Diego. But definitely on the Padres. Mat Latos has been scratched from his Monday night start against the Dodgers due to a stomach virus and will be replaced by Tim Stauffer. And San Francisco has defeated Arizona 2-0 in 11 innings Monday afternoon in Phoenix -- meaning an 11th straight Padres loss willthem into a virtual tie with the Giants for first in the National League West. The first order of business for the Padres, however, is to halt the 10-game losing streak -- which equals the longest ever by a first-place team, and you have to go back 78 years to find the last time it happened. The 1932 Pittsburgh Pirates lost 10 straight from"
Latos: From a coach's headache to Padres ace
August 27
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Shaun Lancaster can recite the sportsmanship speech from memory, so his eyes were free to focus on Mat Latos. The president of Florida's Broward Baseball Umpires Association remembers delivering pre-game platitudes before a district playoff while staring straight at the pitching prodigy from Coconut Creek High School. He remembers, too, that he did so deliberately. "I knew," Lancaster said Thursday, "that I was only going to have a problem with him that day." Before Latos became as hard to hit as a butterfly's bunion, he owned one of the hardest heads in the Western Hemisphere. He was a handful. He was a headache. He was a real-life Nuke LaLoosh, a right-armed thunderbolt seemingly bent on"
Latos grudgingly accepts Padres' cautious approach
August 26
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"The Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg has been placed on the disabled list for the second time in a month. The Giants' Tim Lincecum has been struggling and his velocity has decreased. With that as a backdrop, Mat Latos was asked if it helps him accept that the Padres are being cautious about the number of innings he's pitching. Latos' next scheduled start, Friday against Philadelphia, was pushed back two days to give him extra rest. "I'm never going to accept that I'm being pushed back," said the 22-year-old right-hander, who is 13-5 with a 2.33 ERA, fourth best in the National League. "Nobody can tell you what you're capable of. The way I see it is that I feel perfectly fine." In"
Latos already a record-setter
August 20
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"It is not surprising that Mat Latos is setting personal bests at the age of 22. But franchise records? Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Latos picked up his 13th win, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings. He struck out a career-high 10 Cubs. Latos also allowed two or fewer runs in a 12th straight start since June 10. That's the longest such streak in Padres history. Jake Peavy allowed two or fewer runs in 10 straight starts in 2004. The Latos streak also equals the second-longest in the major leagues this season behind Florida's Josh Johnson's 13 (May 13-July 22). Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez also had a 12-start streak of two or fewer runs in each start (April 5-June 6). Latos"
Padres weigh Latos' workload
August 16
Foxsports.com
 
"Padres manager Bud Black says he is in "ongoing conversations" with GM Jed Hoyer and pitching coach Darren Balsley about rookie right-hander Mat Latos' workload. But the Padres, rather than shut down Latos again, instead plan to limit his throwing between starts and give him extra rest when possible down the stretch. Latos, 22, has thrown 135-2/3 innings, and the Padres' goal is for him to pitch no more than 180. Black is managing him carefully — Latos, even after throwing a career-high 108 pitches against the Giants on Saturday, is averaging 97.9 per start. Giants manager Bruce Bochy pays Latos a high compliment, comparing him to Curt Schilling, "a horse who keeps coming at you with his"
Latos picks up Padres - again
August 9
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos has an attitude. "I love the feeling I get when someone says they doubt us as a team or calls us an underdog," the 22-year-old right-hander said Sunday evening as the Padres prepared to head home on another winning note. "I heard it this morning, one of those guys on TV saying we were in trouble. I wanted the ball right then." Surprise, Sunday afternoon also happened to be Latos' day. And like every other time this season when it's been his turn in the rotation when the Padres have lost two straight - Latos stopped the bleeding. Backed also by the biggest run support he's had as a major league starter, Latos pitched six innings of two-hit, shutout ball as the Padres routed"
Lilly tops Latos in L.A. victory
August 4
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos wasn't accepting any excuses. "This one was on me," said the losing pitcher. "I didn't have my best stuff. I didn't do a good job attacking hitters. I don't feel I had my command. "That one was there for the taking." Latos was talking as though he had been routed Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. In truth, the 22-year-old right-hander had one bad inning. But when the other pitcher is retiring 20 straight hitters, the margin for error is miniscule. Ted Lilly outpitched Latos as the Dodgers edged the Padres 2-1 Tuesday night to even the four game series at 1-1 and reduce the Padres' lead over the streaking San Francisco Giants to one game in the National League West. Latos allowed"
For Padres, it's better Latos than never
July 25
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"You'd think Mat Latos would have been happy. Back in the rotation after a 15-day hiatus on the disabled list, Latos picked up his sixth straight win Saturday night, holding the Pirates to two solo homers over six innings. But at the age of 22, Latos has already set high standards for himself. "I was happy to be back in there, but I wasn't happy with what I did," said Latos after the Padres defeated Pittsburgh 9-2 around a 42-minute thunderstorm delay. "Everything felt different. I felt my mechanics were off. I let little things affect me. I was frustrating myself. It was a little like early in the season."
Latos might be placed on disabled list
July 13
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"During his June 27 start against Florida, Mat Latos felt a tug in his side. Although he has pitched 18 scoreless innings since, that "tug" could lead Latos into going on the disabled list this week as part of the Padres' desire to limit his innings and appearances over the second half of the season. Latos might be placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 9, the day after his last start. That would make him eligible to return July 24 in Pittsburgh - which, given the fact that the Padres have two days off in the first 11 days of the second half, is the next time the Padres will need a fifth starter. Given the timing of his last start, Latos essentially would miss three starts - which"
All-Star break and a favorable schedule gives Latos 'extended breather'
July 12
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"The Padres are implementing the All-Star break as part of their overall Mat Latos strategy, maximizing the amount of time they're giving the 22-year-old sensation between starts, putting off his next outing until at least a week after the Midsummer Classic. Manager Bud Black said the first three Padres starting assignments after the break — a weekend series at Petco Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks — will go to Jon Garland , Clayton Richard and Kevin Correia. The Padres get an immediate day off before opening a six-game road trip to Atlanta and Pittsburgh, meaning the Padres could push Latos' next start back yet another time through the rotation. "Our thinking is, this is a great"
Latos, Padres wallop Nats, 7-1
July 9
Washington Examiner
 
"The Nationals could push their luck only so far. After scoring 13 runs and hitting seven home runs against Major League Baseball's best pitching staff in 2010, Washington saw order restored by San Diego Padres right-hander Mat Latos. The Alexandria, Va. native pitched seven scoreless innings on Thursday evening at Nationals Park as the Padres avoided a sweep of the three-game series with a 7-1 win. Latos allowed five hits and walked just two. The 22-year-old also cranked his first career home run – one of two solo shots for San Diego in the fourth inning and four on the night. Latos later singled and scored on a homer by teammate Chase Headley. "[Latos] has had a real good year, All-Star"
Latos stars vs. Astros
July 3
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"On paper, it was the classic matchup -- young lion Mat Latos paired against one of the game's ranking veterans in Houston's Roy Oswalt. And for 7?1/2 innings, the matchup lived up to its billing with one small problem -- neither team had scored at Petco Park. Then the Padres pushed across three runs with two out in the eighth to give Latos his ninth victory of the season, 3-0, before a fireworks-enhanced turnout of 30,691. "For what he did, we wanted to have the opportunity to get him the win," said David Eckstein, who drove in the decisive run - chasing home Tony Gwynn from first with a double into the left field corner. After a pair of walks loaded the bases, Scott Hairston hit a two-run"
Latos doesn't act his age
June 23
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Seeing was not enough to totally believe. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon wanted more proof. "I want to check his birth certificate," said Maddon after Mat Latos Tuesday night held the Rays scoreless on three hits and a walk over seven innings. "I don't think he's 22. He pitched with a lot of poise, confidence and feel. Very unusual for that age. He knew when to add, he knew when to subtract and had great command of all his pitches. "He was very impressive. He's one of the better young pitchers I've seen. He's not 22." Mat Latos is 22. But he is maturing rapidly. Tuesday night was another example as Latos picked up his seventh win in his last eight decisions as the Padres defeated the Rays"
Padres' Latos burns up Jays
June 16
Toronto Sun
 
"A year ago, Mat Latos was pitching in the 105-degree heat for Cito Gaston's hometown team San Antonio in the double-A Texas League. The San Diego Padres right-hander was on the mound Tuesday night throwing high heat, against the team from Gaston's adopted home town, "your Toronto Blue Jays." His first pitch of the game was 97 m.p.h., and his final pitch was 95 m.p.h. -- see, he was losing it -- with two out in the seventh as Latos overpowered the Jays 8-2 before 15,266 fans at Petco Park. The Jays have now dropped eight of 10 games to National League teams going back to 2009. Latos retired the first 11 Jays hitters he faced, three via strikeout. Put that together with his consecutive"
Black not putting a limit on Latos
June 15
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos is maturing as a pitcher. But can the 22-year-old carry his current workload over an entire season? Padres manager Bud Black isn't ready to look into what hypothetically might happen in August and September. The Padres, however, are tracking Latos' pitches as well as his innings. "We can be creative as we move forward," Black said Monday on the eve of Latos 13th start of the season. Latos has already pitched 72?1/3 innings this season. He is on pace to make between 30 and 33 starts and pitch between 180 and 198 innings. The Padres shut down Latos last September after he pitched 123 innings at three levels, including 50?2/3 innings in 10 starts as a rookie with the Padres. Latos"
Rainout portends doubly long day for Pads
June 10
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos had the good sense to come in out of the rain. Just not the sense that the rain was hard enough to wash out Wednesday's game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. A few times in the course of the late afternoon, Latos stepped out of the visitors' clubhouse and down into the dugout, which is where he was when he got official word that he wouldn't be pitching that night. Instead, the Padres will play a split doubleheader today, with Latos pitching the afternoon game (10:10 a.m. PDT) and veteran right-hander Jon Garland going in the nightcap (4:10 PDT). "I'm ready to go," said Latos. "I've seen worse. Lot worse." Indeed, while the precipitation was constant throughout Wednesday"
It's not easy rationing rising Latos
May 25
San Diego Union-Tribune
 columnist Tim Sullivan
"The flavor of the month is bittersweet. The more Mat Latos dominates May, the less difference he might make in September. The Padres' 22-year-old prodigy is on a pace to pitch 204 innings this season and under a strategic mandate to be used more sparingly. Management is committed to the preservation of its prized right-hander, but its rationing program is still sketchy after nine mostly scintillating starts. When you find a horse of this caliber, you don't want to pull too hard on the reins. Yet the risk of a career-threatening injury is so acute at this stage of a pitcher's development that the Padres plan to lighten Latos' workload even if it means making him a spectator during the"
Despite migraine, Latos gives Mariners headaches
May 24
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"Mat Latos learned Sunday afternoon what it must be like to face Mat Latos. He made his first start ever against the Seattle Mariners while battling a migraine headache. The result: six innings pitched plus one hitter, one run allowed on four hits and two walks. Latos' headache is nothing compared to that of the Mariners, who lost a second straight game to the Padres while scoring only one run. "The headache popped up about 20 to 30 minutes before we went out to stretch," said Latos after the Padres broke open a tight game with five runs in the eighth to defeat the Mariners 8-1. "It was there the whole game," Latos continued. "I tried everything to get it to go away, but it got worse when"
Complete works for Padres' Latos
May 14
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"This time, even just five days later, there was no question. No doubt. No brainer. The only power of persuasion that Mat Latos needed for permission to finish his own shutout — a 1-0, one-hit, complete-game win that also completed the Padres' second three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants this season — was the sound of his fastball arriving in the catcher's mitt of Nick Hundley in the eighth inning. "I thought his stuff was the best in the eighth," Hundley said. "He was going well, throwing the ball good, but in the eighth inning he turned it up a notch. I noticed it catching, thinking like, 'Wow. Here we go.'?" Between innings, Hundley asked manager Bud Black the question on"
Latos' rookie season ends on a downer
September 6
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
"As expected, Mat Latos' rookie season ended last night. However, it didn't end as hoped. The 21-year-old right-hander didn't go out on a high note in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium. Although it wasn't all his fault, Latos struggled over his final three innings, as the patient Dodgers worked him for five walks (one intentional) while scoring four runs (two earned) on three hits. Latos also had two balks and threw 80 pitches, with only 56 percent going for strikes in a game the Padres lost 7-4."