Padres Offense Racking Up The Shutouts

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing.

That’s what you say for the score when a team gets shut out. “Two to nothing”. “Seven to nothing”. It describes not only the score, but also the general feeling of what the offense accomplished in the game. Nothing.

Last night, the Padres’ ‘nothing’ offense was shut out for the 8^th time this season, wasting Tyson Ross’ fine pitching performance. It was the third time this season the team has lost 2-0. They have not lost any 1-0 games. Yet.

Are the Padres just facing unusually good pitching? The NL West is known for having more than its share of great pitchers. Are the Pads being shut down by Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Madison Bumgarner?

While the Friars have been shut out by aces Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, Johnny Cueto of the Reds, and James Shields of the Royals, the rest of the starters who have blanked the Padres are less likely to be listed in a “who’s who of pitching” than they are to elicit a “who’s that?”

Zach McAllister –5.89 ERA

Tanner Roark – 3.42 ERA

Yusmeiro Petit – 4.76 ERA

Bronson Arroyo – 4.45 ERA

Phil Hughes – 3.15 ERA

The Padres are making ordinary pitchers look extraordinary. McAllister and the Indians held the Pads to 6 hits. They squeaked out three hits against Petit and the Giants, Roark and the Nats, and Arroyo and the pitiful D-Backs.

The eight shutouts are the worst in baseball this year. It seems that the Padres keep finding new ways to define their offensive futility. In addition to leading the majors in times being shut out, they are last in almost every offensive category.

Eight shutouts in 47 games is certainly bad, but how bad is it in a historical sense?

The Padres on a pace to be shut out 28 times this year. The all-time record for futility is held by the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals, who were shut out 33 times.

So they’ve got that going for them, which is nice.