San Diego Padres: The Wheels Come Off In Oakland

Missed opportunities on offense and one bad inning from Clayton Richard prevented the San Diego Padres from taking Tuesday night’s game in Oakland.

Tuesday night was exhausting to watch. After an up-and-down beginning to the game, the wheels eventually came off for the San Diego Padres, before eventually falling to Oakland Athletics, 6-2.

The contest started out on a high note, with Travis Jankowski recording a leadoff base-hit and advancing to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. Manuel Margot followed him up with a walk, putting two runners on with no outs. Then, Margot was caught stealing and both Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers struck out swinging.

San Diego threatened again in the third inning, loading the bases with no outs. With Margot, Myers, and Eric Hosmer up, you would expect the Padres to bring in at least one run, right? In impressive fashion, they failed to bring in a single run, ending the threat with another Wil Myers strikeout.

The only production on the night came in the fifth inning. Travis Jankowski scored the first run of the game, on an Eric Hosmer groundout. Myers followed up Hosmer with an RBI-double, scoring Margot. San Diego would not score again.

A tale of two Claytons.

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It appeared as if Clayton Richard was headed for a smooth outing, extending his successful June into July. Through five innings, Richard produced nine groundball outs and three double plays. Despite walking three, the A’s could not find a way to score, until the sixth inning.

Everything fell apart for Richard in the sixth inning. Here’s how that inning played out for Clayton Richard.

Walk-Single-Walk-Double-Single-Double Play-Home Run-Lineout

Five runs on four hits for Oakland, ending the night for Richard, who fell to 7-8 on the year. His five walks were a season-high.

San Diego finished the evening 2-9 with runners in scoring position. Five of the nine total San Diego hits came between Jankowski and Cory Spangenberg. What was once considered “growing pains” are turning into serious, legitimate concerns for a few different pieces of this offense.

Next: Month Of June Roster Report Card

San Diego will look to split the series with a day game tomorrow. Luis Perdomo is scheduled to make his return to the mound, after spending much of the season with AAA El Paso.