Padres Shutout Again Against Arroyo and the D-Backs

May 2, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman

(44) scores during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, the San Diego Padres were shutout Friday night against Bronson Arroyo and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres squandered another excellent pitching performance by Andrew Cashner in the 2-0 loss.  Cashner was solid at home again allowing only 2 earned runs and 4 hits over 6 innings before handing the ball off to the bullpen.

Friday night’s game was a battle between Major League Baseball’s worst offense and the league’s worst pitching. The Diamondbacks came into the game with the majors worst ERA but one could not tell from the way Arroyo shutdown the Padres. Over the last six games, the Padres have now been shutout three times.

Arizona’s only runs came in the top of third when second baseman Aaron Hill‘s 2 RBI single to center field scored Gerardo Parra and Paul Goldschmidt. Arroyo was excellent Friday night allowing only three hits over 7 innings before closer Addison Reed notched his seventh save of the season.

For the first four innings of the game, the Padres were hitless  before Yonder Alonso‘s single in the bottom half of the fifth inning broke up Arroyo no hitter. They managed only two more singles in the sixth and seventh innings and were never a threat to score.

As Hall of Famer Ted Williams once said, “Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.” However, for just over a month of the 2014 season, the San Diego Padres offense has shown that the current slump is redefining William’s statement because they are downright bad.

The Padres hope to break this slump tomorrow night in the second game of the three game series against Arizona when red-hot Ian Kennedy (2-3, 3.16)  faces-off against the struggling Brandon McCarthy (0-5, 5.54). This will be the first time Kennedy will face his former team since the trade that brought him to San Diego last season. First pitch is set for 5:40 pm Pst.