San Diego Padres shut down by Max Scherzer in loss

The San Diego Padres couldn’t get anything going as Max Scherzer carried the Washington Nationals to an easy victory on Saturday.

The San Diego Padres knew they had their work cut out for them against Max Scherzer, and Saturday’s game played out almost exactly the way they were trying to avoid.

Scherzer was more than impressive, pitching seven fantastic innings to give the Washington Nationals a 4-1 victory over the Padres.

He kept San Diego off the scoreboard, striking out nine hitters in the process. Scherzer allowed only six hits and one walk—and the walk was intentional.

The Padres simply could not get anything put together against the veteran. San Diego batters were just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men on base.

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On the plus side, their six hits were evenly spread throughout the lineup. The only Padres starters who didn’t get a hit on Saturday were pitcher Eric Lauer and center fielder Wil Myers.

Myers continued to struggle at the plate. He’s now 1-for-12 during this series, with two walks and a run scored.  His .222 batting average was the second lowest of any Padres starter on Saturday, behind just Ian Kinsler (.207).

But if they can get more players hitting throughout the lineup, the San Diego Padres can create a more consistent offense rather than pinning their hopes on one or two “big bats.”

In the absence of hitting, the Padres’ highlight of the evening was the pitching performance by starter Eric Lauer. Lauer lasted seven innings, too, but gave up three runs, two walks and seven hits including a two-run home run to Brian Dozier.

While those numbers aren’t great, the important fact is that Lauer tied his season high for innings pitched. He’s only reached the seventh one other time during the 2019 MLB season—on May 22 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

If Lauer can continue to pitch deeper into games, that’s encouraging for a Padres team that’s still looking for consistency out of its bullpen.

However, this was the third straight game in a row that the Padres gave up runs first and had to come from behind—and after two consecutive rallies, their good luck finally ran out. Saturday’s game, in that sense, was a microcosm of everything wrong with this team: pitching giving them an early deficit and hitting that just didn’t materialize.

The Padres fell to 33-32, and were the only National League West team that didn’t win their game on Saturday. That means they lost a game in the standings. They’re now 11 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and dropped into a tie for third place with Arizona. Only the San Francisco Giants have a worse record than San Diego.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base.