Padres Drop Series In Desert

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Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres (60-69) dropped the series to the struggling Diamondbacks (55-76) two games to one. Once again, the Padres have a hard time beating a team inferior to them. They have had trouble with Arizona all year, only winning four games in the four series they have played.

The offense failed the Padres in this series. For most of the weekend, they looked like what they did most of the first half. As a team, they hit .165 in the 3-game series. The offensive player of the series is Yasmani Grandal. He was the difference in San Diego’s 7-4 win on Sunday. He hit a 3-run home run, walked and also had a sacrifice fly. He finished the game with 4 RBI. The Padres also finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, which contributed to the series loss. Alexi Amarista also had a good series, with 4 hits and a run scored.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres dropped Game 1 after Odrisamer Despaigne’s rough start. He ended up throwing 5 innings, allowing 3 earned runs with 4 strikeouts. All 3 earned runs came in the first when Mark Trumbo singled home David Peralta and then Miguel Montero sent a ball over the right field wall for a two-run shot. It was 3-0 before the Padres could blink. In Despaigne’s last six starts, he is 1-4 with a 5.81 ERA. Yangervis Solarte and Alexi Amarista were responsible for the entire offense for San Diego. Each had two hits, accounting for all 4 hits the Padres had. This could have easily been a shut out had Amarista not scored on a passed ball.

It did not help matters that Jedd Gyorko had two errors, one cost them a run. Frank Garces again impressed in relief, throwing 2 scoreless, hitless innings and striking out one. Josh Collmenter pitched well for Arizona, retiring the first 7 batters he faced and nearly pitched a complete game as he was replaced in the 9th by former Padres prospect Matt Stites. Collmenter struck out 8 and only allowed 4 hits. The Diamondbacks finished on top 5-1, ending their 6-game losing streak.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday’s 5-2 loss was much of the same for San Diego. The offense was shut down by Vidal Nuno, who pitched into the 8th inning, striking out 4 and only allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. Jake Lamb launched his first career home run nearly into the pool in right center field. This made it a 2-0 D-backs lead. The score remained untouched until the 8th when Solarte had a two-run single that tied things up for San Diego. Didi Gregorius quickly responded in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run, his 6th of the year, to put the D-backs up 5-2 and that would be the final score.

Andrew Cashner did not have a bad outing for his first major league start in over 2 months. He threw 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits. The Padres bullpen is what let them down in the end. After two scoreless innings by Tim Stauffer, Kevin Quackenbush had a rough 8th, surrendering the go-ahead bomb by Gregorius. A few missed spots by Cashner and Quackenbush changed the tide of the game. The Friars only mustered 3 hits in the game. In the first two games, the Diamondbacks starting pitchers threw 15.2 innings and only allowed 6 hits in the span.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The finale of the series had no shortage of offense. The Padres hit two home runs. Yasmani Grandal busted the game open with a three-run home run in the 5th, his 11th of the year, putting the Padres up 5-0. He finished with 4 RBI as he also had a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The D-backs tried to make it interesting on several occasions. They got two back in the 5th when Miguel Montero singled with the bases loaded. Ender Inciarte doubled home a run to make it 5-3. The scored stayed the same until the 8th, when Will Venable pinch hit against Matt Stites and sent a 1-1 pitch nearly into the pool, giving the Padres a 7-3 lead. Arizona got one back in the bottom of the inning as Cliff Pennington hit a home run.

The Padres sealed the deal as Joaquin Benoit notched his 8th save of the year. Three home runs were hit between the two teams. They combined for 11 runs and 19 hits. Ian Kennedy got his 10th win by pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three earned runs and 6 strikeouts. Sunday’s win marked the 600th of Bud Black’s career, putting him second all-time in franchise history behind only Bruce Bochy.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres got the win on Sunday to salvage a game in the series and avoid the sweep. Once again, the Padres have a hard time with the Diamondbacks, who, for nearly the entire season, have been lower than San Diego in the standings. The Padres are now 4-11 in 5 series against Arizona this year. The Friars are still firmly in third place. There is plenty of space between them on both ends of the division. They are 6 games ahead of Arizona and 8 ahead of Colorado. They still are 12.5 games back of the first place Dodgers and have fallen to 8 games back of a wild card spot. They end the road trip 3-7. The Padres head back home after a challenging road trip. They are nine games below .500 and come home to face one of the best teams in baseball, the Brewers.

Padres Drop Series in Desert

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