With Cards Stacked Against Them, Padres Lose Series

Jul 9, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Padres manager Bud Black (20) argues a call with the umpires during the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 L, 4-3

Game 1 was a roller coaster. The Padres went down 2-0 early when Jhonny Peralta smacked a 2-run home run, his team-leading 16^th of the year. John Lackey held the Padres in check for most of the game, pitching 7 innings, striking out 5 and only allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Rymer Liriano and Jedd Gyorko drove in runs to tie the game in the 6^th at 2-2. The floodgates opened in the bottom of the 8^th after a questionable call when Tony Cruz appeared to have struck out swinging at a pitch in the dirt. After some protesting on the Cardinals’ side, the play was reversed, it was ruled a foul ball and Cruz got another chance. He then lined a single up the middle and ignited a rally as St. Louis scored 2 runs to make it 4-2 going into the 9^th.

The Padres were not done, as they rallied to get two runners in scoring position. Jake Goebbert then singles and looked as if he may have tied the game. Yasmani Grandal scored with ease but as Alexi Amarista tried to score, A.J. Pierzynski looked to have missed the tag before Amarista touched the plate. A review ensued, Amarista was called out and Bud Black was ejected for arguing. The Padres fell 4-3 on a few calls that could have gone either way. It was a game of bad breaks for San Diego.

Aug 2, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal (8) at bat during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 L, 4-2

The offense was again held in check by yet another talented Cardinals pitcher. Lance Lynn surrendered only one run in 6 innings while striking out 6. The Padres were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Padres finally got to Lynn in the 5th inning as Will Venable doubled home Jace Peterson. Then all was quiet until the 8th inning when Oscar Taveras put the game seemingly out of reach when he singled home a run in the bottom of the 8th, making the score 4-1.

Yasmani Grandal did hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the 9^th off of the All-Star reliever Pat Neshek to make it 4-2, but that would end up being the final score. That was Grandal’s 10^th home run of the year and 2^nd of the pinch-hit variety. Tyson Ross did not have his best stuff, surrendering 3 runs and walking 4 in 6 innings. His first inning is what sunk the Padres as he threw 32 pitches and walked 3, as the Cardinals got 2 runs early. That ended up being the difference. The Friars stranded 8 runners in the game. The Cardinals took advantage of Ross’ command issues, getting 3 hits with runners in scoring position.

Apr 19, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko (9) waits for the pitch in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3 W, 9-5

The soggy Saturday night game was much kinder to the Friars. They collected 9 hits including 4 with runners in scoring position. Seth Smith, Abraham Almonte and Jedd Gyorko all had multi-hit nights. Smith reached base 4 times with 3 hits and a walk, pushing his average to .297. Jake Goebbert also had a good game, driving in 3 runs with one swing, a bases-clearing triple.

The game started off ugly San Diego. The Cardinals hit 3 doubles to drive in 4 runs to take a 4-0 lead in the 2^nd. It seemed the Padres were heading for a 3^rd straight loss. Jesse Hahn was not at his sharpest, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs. The very next inning, however, the Padres responded. After scoring to make it 4-1 and loading the bases, Goebbert proceeded to unload them with a 3-run, game-tying triple.

Matt Adams hit a triple of his own in the 5^th, giving the Cardinals the lead once again. Before the 1 hour and 46 minute rain delay, Gyorko did some serious damage. He too unloaded the bases, hitting a grand slam that barely cleared the left field wall, promptly giving the Padres an 8-5 lead before the delay. Seth Smith added an RBI single in the 8^th giving the Padres the 9-5 victory. Gyorko finished with 5 RBI.

Aug 17, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Tim Stauffer (46) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Padres 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 L, 7-6/Where They Stand

The pitching let down the Padres in the finale, as they lost 7-6. Usually when the Padres score 6 runs, you can chalk up a win, no problem. Odrisamer Despaigne had maybe his worst outing yet, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits in just 4 innings. The first 10 at-bats of the game resulted in 6 hits and 5 runs for the Cardinals. He did settle in after a second-inning blast by Matt Carpenter. But that was too little, late. Kudos to the offense for battling back, scoring 2 runs in 3 different innings. It was Tim Stauffer’s rough relief appearance that actually was the difference. He allowed 2 runs in 2 innings. The Padres battled back to make it 7-6 in the top of the 9th but to no avail.

The loss puts the Padres back at 7 games below .500 and 11 games back in the NL West. They still remain separated from the Diamondbacks and Rockies, who are 4th and 5th in the division respectively. They will finish the road trip with two series against division foes. The Friars get an off day Monday before heading back out west to take on the Dodgers. The Padres are now 16-13 against NL Central teams, their best record against any division this year.