With Cards Stacked Against Them, Padres Lose Series

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.