Padres Fade, Lose Series To Braves

Jun 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Tommy Medica (14) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres (46-59) started the series off well, but then fizzled out towards the end, as they drop the 4-game series to the Braves (58-48) 3 games to 1. The Padres went the way of their pitching in the first 3 games. As a team, the Padres hit .268, however it wasn’t as fruitful as the Cubs series but they still hit well. They have raised the team average to .219, the highest it has been in a while. They hit 5 extra base hits as well.

There were a few players deserving of offensive player of the series. I will give it to the new-comer Yangervis Solarte. He had 5 hits with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. He has not disappointed since joining the Padres last week. Tommy Medica added 5 hits, including 4 in Friday’s win. Seth Smith now has his average up to .295. It was the pitching that let down the Padres in the beginning of the series. The starters in this series had a combined ERA of  4.15. Eric Stults had one bad inning and his ERA is now at 5.22. Many are wondering how long he can pitch like this and last in the rotation. However, Jesse Hahn impressed once again, allowing 1 run in 6 innings leading the Padres to their lone victory in this series.

Jul 26, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a RBI single against the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 wasn’t as kind to the Friars. Odrisamer Despaigne faced adversity for the first time since being called up. He only went 3.2 innings, allowing 5 runs but only 2 were earned. He had 42 pitches in that rough 4th inning. He got tagged for his second loss as he also walked 5 Braves. His ERA is still at 1.66. The bullpen was forced to pitch 4.1 innings. The offense wasn’t bad. Smith had 3 hits and a walk, Yasmani Grandal had 2 RBI and Solarte had 2 hits and an RBI. Despaigne looked as if he was trying to guide the ball rather than let it rip and throw strikes. He only has had 6 starts in his major league career. It took this long for him to have a rough outing. He is an exceptional pitcher and he will be better for it. Grandal mentioned that his curveball and change-up were not behaving like normal, which led to missed spots and runs.

Chris Johnson and Freddie Freeman came up with key hits, the two combined for 4 hits and 3 RBI. The Atlanta bullpen backed up Julio Teheran by pitching 3 shutout innings behind his strong start. The Padres eventually fell 5-3 to the Braves.

Jul 27, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Stults (53) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Stults struggled in one, long inning in Sunday’s loss. He allowed 6 runs in the bottom of the third, and that was the difference as the Braves went on to win 8-3. Besides that dismal 3rd inning, he only allowed one other hit without a run. He ended up pitching 6 innings to spare the bullpen. His ERA is now 5.22 and he has tied former Padre, now Twin Kevin Correia for the most losses in Major League Baseball with 13. Stults moves to 0-9 on the road this year. Rene Rivera and Solarte both hit home runs. Rivera hit his 8th of the year in the 6th inning and Solarte hit his first as a Padre and his 7th of the year in the 3rd inning. Both round-trippers were off of starter Mike Minor. 3 different Braves had 2 RBI games and they hit 4 doubles total.

Minor pitched well in 6.2 innings, striking out 6 while allowing 3 runs. The Braves added two more runs as Torres struggled for the second consecutive night. The Padres could have easily scored more than 3 runs in this game, but they struck out 10 times and only walked twice and the team was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Jul 28, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jason Lane (57) delivers a pitch to Atlanta Braves second baseman Phil Gosselin (right) in the first inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The finale was low-scoring to say the least. Both Ervin Santana and Jason Lane dealt inning after inning. Santana struck out 11, tying a career-high. Lane made one mistake to Evan Gattis, and that was the difference. The Padres fell 2-0. Santana fooled the Padres’ hitters all day long. He even made Seth Smith look silly, as he took the hat trick with 3 K’s. The lone bright spot offensively was the hitting of the two returned injured regulars. Yonder Alonso was 2-for-3 and Jedd Gyorko had a hit in his first game back from an extended stay on the disabled list. Lane added a hit of his own. That’s nothing new to him as he has .291 career hits in the big leagues.

Gattis was responsible for both runs, as he added an RBI single in the 8th to extend the Braves lead to 2. The Padres currently are 12.5 games back in the division, pending the games later today. They still have a game advantage on the Diamondbacks for 3rd place. The Padres played well for the most part against a team that will likely make the postseason. The task does not get any easier as they head home just in time to face the defending National League champion Cardinals.