Padres Drop 2 of 3 to Milwaukee, Remain 5 1/2 Up

It was going to be a tough series for the Padres to win, going into Milwaukee and facing an offense that San Diego’s pitching wasn’t really equipped to stop. And ultimately, the Friars fell short, taking only the final game of the three-game set, which was a relatively easy contest, seeing as they were facing an ineffective Manny Parra.

Surprisingly, the Padres offense was able to jump all over Yovani Gallardo in the first game, but a predictably terrible Wade LeBlanc start made the offensive surge worthless. Still, it was good to see the Padres’ maligned hitters get an ace out of the game early.

They also got Game 2 starter Chris Narveson out after just nine outs, but again, the pitching just didn’t hold up its side of the deal, with Kevin Correia struggling.

During the series, the Padres activated David Eckstein from the DL, making Everth Cabrera expendable, so Cabrera was optioned to Triple-A Portland while Eckstein will resume his starting job at second base. The Padres also sent down reliever Ryan Webb and recalled outfielder Luis Durango, looking to get another outfielder around after Tony Gwynn‘s injury in the series prior.

The Giants lost two of their three games while the Padres struggled, so they didn’t gain any ground. San Francisco did win on the Padres’ off day yesterday, closing San Diego’s lead to 5 1/2 games.

Next up is a three-game set at Petco with Arizona. The Padres will then host Philadelphia for three games before traveling to Arizona for their final two games of August. So, it’s just eight contests before rosters expand. The Padres play Arizona eight times this month, interestingly. They played August 6-8, winning one of three, and have this next series and the final two games of the month.