San Diego Padres: 3 takeaways after being swept by the Atlanta Braves

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 14: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on July 14, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 14: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on July 14, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
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SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 14: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on July 14, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 14: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on July 14, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The San Diego Padres were rusty after a five-day break, dropping the first series of the second half to the Atlanta Braves. Here are three takeaways from the series sweep.

The San Diego Padres were hoping to pick up where they left off coming out of the All-Star break. Instead, they came up short against the Atlanta Braves and got swept in the first series of the second half.

It’s a tough situation to be in — the Friars took three out of four against the Los Angeles Dodgers and looked ready for a wild card chase. The All-Star break was littered with playoff talk and hype, both from Friar fans and the MLB alike.

As the dust settles, the Padres need to take a good look in the mirror and figure out what their priorities are this season.

How are they going to tackle the trade deadline? Are they buyers or sellers? Will they jump on an opportunity to snag a player they like, perhaps one who could push them into the playoffs this season, or take their time and see what their prospects can do?

Only time can tell, but the Friars have less than a month to figure that out.

Things will change once the roster expands in September. That’ll give San Diego the opportunity to take a closer look at some of their prospects in the pipeline and give them some experience in the majors.

That said, the 40-man roster might vary drastically depending on if the Padres are playing meaningful baseball in September.

Until then, here are three takeaways from the series loss to the Braves.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 13: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres looks on after an RBI double by Tyler Flowers #25 of the Atlanta Braves during the tenth inning of a game at PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 13: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres looks on after an RBI double by Tyler Flowers #25 of the Atlanta Braves during the tenth inning of a game at PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Offense in need of a boost

Aside from Game 2 of the series, the Padres’ offense was flat all weekend. They scored three runs on Friday night, leaving nine batters on base and four runners in scoring position.

So far, the Padres rank in the bottom ten of league in several offensive categories, including BA, OBP, hits, RBIs, and runs scored. That’s just not going to cut it.

The Padres can’t depend on Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado to carry the team every game. Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 on Sunday, while Machado hit three home runs in the series. The Friars might need to consider making some changes or shuffling things around to jumpstart the lineup.

After an exciting first half, Franmil Reyes, Hunter Renfroe, and Eric Hosmer were unproductive this series. Renfroe went 0-for-7 with two walks while Reyes had two hits total, a couple of abnormal singles for the home run hitter.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Hosmer’s lack of production. He had a couple of base knocks on Sunday but he was awfully quiet all weekend, going 3-for-15 in the series. Hosmer is now 6-for-43 in his last 10 games, equalling a .140 BA.

The Padres really struggle to manufacture consistent runs with balls in play. On Sunday, they got some offense going from the start by getting men on base but failed to capitalize. They ended the series by stranding 27 runners on bases and going 3-for-20 with RISP.

It’s evident that the team is playing home run ball, choosing to swing for the fences rather than base hits. More than half of the Padres’ runs scored this season are via the long ball. This style of play was particularly exposed against the Braves and feels unsustainable in the long run.

SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 29: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park June 29, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 29: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park June 29, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

Home isn’t where the heart is

The Padres have struggled at home this season, going 23-27 vs. 22-21 on the road. The run differential is +29 when the team has left the city.

Even worse, San Diego extended their home game losing streak to seven on Sunday afternoon. While Petco Park has sold out numerous times this year, the Friars have failed to take advantage of the energy and momentum, with the “Tomahawk Chop” being heard several times over the weekend.

Perhaps that’ll work out in the Padres’ favor in the coming week, though. The team will begin a nine-game road trip, traveling to Miami, Chicago, and finishing in New York against the Mets. Of the three, only the Chicago Cubs have a winning record, leading the NL Central at 50-43.

Before Sunday, the Friars were hitting .250/.314/.452 with 213 RBIs and 682 total bases away from San Diego. At home, the stat line was .232/.298/.408 with 184 RBIs and 642 total bases. For some reason, the Padres appear more comfortable and better offensively away from their own stadium.

Or maybe it’s just a trend that doesn’t have much to do with the team’s performance after all. The pitching hasn’t been great no matter where the team plays, as they have a 4.20 ERA at home vs. a 5.04 ERA on the road. Neither of those are great stat lines to have.

However, it’s no surprise that the pitching has contributed to the team’s defensive woes, which brings us to our final takeaway…

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 13: Joey Lucchesi #37 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the second inning of a game against the Atlanta Bravesat PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 13: Joey Lucchesi #37 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the second inning of a game against the Atlanta Bravesat PETCO Park on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Pitching depth a clear concern

Let’s be honest; the rotation and bullpen as they currently stand won’t get this team into the playoffs.

The bullpen once again allowed a three-run inning to give the Braves the win. Otherwise effective in his last four games, Trey Wingenter surrendered a three-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the top of the eighth, followed by a single to Nick Markakis. The game-winning home run was Freeman’s first hit of the entire series. In Game 2, the Padres had two leads that they lost thanks to the bullpen.

For most of Sunday, the pitching felt like an anomaly for the Padres. It was a pitcher’s duel between Mike Soroka and Cal Quantrill, as the score was 0-0 through eight innings.

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Cal Quantrill was fantastic in his second start since being moved to the bullpen. He tossed six scoreless inning with three hits, three strikeouts, and one walk. However, he’s been pushed back into a starting role only because of the Padres’ thin rotational depth.

While the starting rotation has shown promise, it has faltered in one major area — being able to go deep into games.

Lasting only five innings puts immense pressure on the bullpen to eat innings and get to Kirby Yates — more often than not, they end up exacerbating the problem that pulled the starter in the first place.

There’s also been some questionable decision-making and management from Andy Green — but I’ll let the readers hash that one out.

Fortunately for the Padres they play in the National League, where the wild card race has turned out to be a free-for-all this season. Sitting at 45-48, the Friars are 3.0 games back from a playoff spot but falling quickly. They’ll need to bounce back soon, and they’ll have the chance to do so against the Miami Marlins starting on Tuesday.

Let’s see how this team responds to adversity.

Next. Greg Garcia is the most underrated Padre right now. dark

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

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