Padres Swept By Phillies

Jun 10, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (23) reacts after striking in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies defeated the Padres, 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres (28-38) were out-scored by the Phillies (28-36) 15-5 in the 3-game series. The Padres’ offense has hit rock bottom. Speaking of rock bottom, the Padres are also now in last place in the NL West. Only the Cubs have a worse winning percentage in the National League.

The Padres as a team hit .188. They were absolutely shut down on Wednesday by Cole Hamels. He pitched 8 innings of shutout ball, while striking out 11. Two of the starters for the Padres struggled against a Phillies’ offense that hasn’t been much better than San Diego’s. Ian Kennedy was tagged for 5 runs in 7 innings. Eric Stults continues his year-long struggles, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings. Tyson Ross was the lone exception, pitching 7 innings of shutout ball while striking out 7. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 9th that the scoreless tie was broken by a walk-off home run by Reid Brignac.

Chase Headley had a hit in each game of the series. There were two home runs this series, Will Venable hit his 2nd of the year and Yasmani Grandal hit his 6th, breaking a long drought. Otherwise, the Padres did nothing offensively, striking out 25 times in the 3 games.

All in all, it was a rough series for San Diego. The Padres have now lost four in a row, which is now the longest losing streak in the majors. Twice during this series, the Padres’ squandered the lead after an early start. Marlon Byrd spoiled the lead in Game 1 with a 3-run shot, and John Mayberry Jr. played villain in the finale, with a 3-run home run of his own. The offense just could not get it going. The struggles continue offensively. “I’ve been in this game 35 years. I’ve seen it a lot. It’ll turn around…When you go through it, it’s tough. It’ll turn around,” Bud Black told mlb.com’s Eric Bacharach. 

The Phillies’ offense all of a sudden got hot, accumulating 25 hits in the 3 games. Things don’t get much easier for the Padres, as they now travel to New York without a day of rest to take on the Mets. Then they must travel cross-country to Seattle without  a day of rest. The starting pitching needs to improve for the Padres if they have any chance with the offensive struggles they are having.