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

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.