Padres Drop 4th Straight As Rick Renteria Wins Petco Homecoming

San Diego Padres Seth Smith. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Renteria won his first game at Petco Park as the manager of the Chicago Cubs where he spent the previous six seasons on Bud Black‘s coaching staff. The Padres lost their 4th straight game by a final score of 5-1. Eric Stults fell to 2-5 on the season after allow 5 runs on 6 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a 2-run home run in the fourth inning for his eighth on the season. The Cubs would add three more runs in the fifth inning to secure the victory and improve to 17-28 on the season.

The Padres’ lone run was scored on a first inning solo home run by Seth Smith, who continues to play at an MVP level. When Padres GM Josh Byrnes traded RHP Luke Gregerson to the Athletics for Smith, Byrnes likely was hoping for for the strong offensive output that Smith has had so far this season. He currently owns a slash line of .339/.437/.598 on the season. That is an OPS of 1.036. Only Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki has a higher OPS on the season.

The Padres will play their second game of their 4-game series on Friday. The Padres will send Tim Stauffer (1-0, 2.41 ERA) against Chicago’s Edwin Jackson (3-3, 3.98 ERA).

Keep the Faith.