San Diego Padres: Week #5 recap

Recapping all of the San Diego Padres action from the first week of May, a time in which the club has started to experience some struggles.

With the exception of the first game of the month of May, fans have grown accustomed to losing. Currently, the Padres are on a four game losing streak, dropping the final two of a three game series against the Colorado Rockies, and the first two of a set against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which the finale was postponed.

Quite possibly the most troubling aspect of the week was that the club ran into all of their struggles at Petco Park, in front of fans who were encouraged by their series victory the previous weekend in San Francisco.

Wil Myers continues to be the one bright spot, maintaining his status as one of baseball’s top hitters. At .303, his batting average is the highest on the club when taking position players into account, as are his 40 hits.

The rest of the young up and coming stars have struggled at the plate thus far with the exception of Manuel Margot, as Hunter Renfroe is hitting just .210 and Ryan Schimpf is well below the Mendoza Line at .156.

Related Story: Week #4 recap

Over a month in, the time of the season has come where the sample size of at bats is adequate to analyze how a player is truly performing. In other words, batting averages aren’t skewed anymore for position players. Renfroe’s and Schimpf’s low averages are not due to a lack of at bats; they are due to a serious and concerning lack of production.

Most of all when it comes to hitting, the inability to come away with the clutch hit has plagued the Padres. During Thursday’s rubber game against the Rockies, the Padres had multiple base runners in extra innings, but couldn’t capitalize on several chances to walk off and take the series. This is to be anticipated though, and should come in time. Fans should keep their hopes up for a much better future both in the long run and even immediately for San Diego’s lineup.

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The pitching continues to be the major problem though. The Padres have surrendered a total of 32 runs in the past four games, three of which the club has let in eight or more. Jhoulys Chacin and Clayton Richard are clearly the most capable starters in the rotation, but even they have encountered some rough patches as they adjust to their first season in the spotlight.

The bottom line at the moment for the Padres is that their hitting is inconsistent, and their pitching is just not good enough. The team could hold their own in the NL West if either the pitching recovered from a poor start, or if the lineup could produce runs on a more consistent basis.

Since this isn’t the case, the club finds itself 7.5 games out of first place Colorado, and just a half game ahead of last place San Francisco.

Next: Game 31: A microcosm of Padres season so far

At 12-20, the Padres have really nowhere to go but up. Their quest to begin to climb the ladder of the NL West begins this week with inter-league play. San Diego will round out their eight game homestand with two against the Texas Rangers at Petco Park on Monday and Tuesday. They will then complete the four game series against the Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday in Arlington.