San Diego Padres blown out by Boston Red Sox in shocking opener

The San Diego Padres struggled early and often against the Boston Red Sox, leading to a blowout loss in their August 23 series opener.

The San Diego Padres have had various weaknesses all season long, but Friday night as the team returned home to PETCO Park, absolutely nothing worked right.

San Diego found themselves shut out and offensively crushed by the Boston Red Sox in an 11-0 loss that was one of their worst outings of the 2019 season.

Starting pitcher Chris Paddack (7-7) was far from the ace of the Padres staff, lasting just 2.1 innings and immediately giving up runs. He allowed three in the first and was charged with three more during the second—allowing a total of six runs on seven hits, including a home run to J.D. Martinez.

Paddack has now lost his last two starts, allowing 11 runs over a combined seven innings. But he wasn’t the only pitcher with problems on Friday. Robbie Erlin was brought in to stop the hurt and instead, gave up another three runs during his three-inning stint.

More from Padres News

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

Erlin’s replacement was newcomer Eric Yardley. After being charged with a loss during the Reds series, Yardley made his second appearance as a Friar and added another two runs to Boston’s total—including another home run for Martinez.

While the avalanche of runs allowed ensured that San Diego would take the loss, the Padres offense couldn’t at least narrow the gap. That’s because they couldn’t score a single run.

The Friars had only five hits, two of which came from leadoff hitter Manuel Margot, and only two chances with runners in scoring position; they went 0-for-2 in those situations.

They grounded into four double plays and went hitless in the final two innings.

As if that wasn’t enough, the team also committed three errors. Offensively, defensively and on the mound, they hit all the wrong notes in front of a disappointed home crowd.

With the loss, the San Diego Padres drop to 59-68 and have lost three games in a row. They’ve only managed to string consecutive wins together twice in August (Aug. 8-10 at Colorado and Aug. 17-19 on their recent road trip).

If there’s any silver lining to be had, they weren’t the only National League West team to suffer an embarrassing loss Friday evening; the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers gave up ten runs in their interleague game with Boston’s rival New York Yankees.

But the Dodgers are still in line to win the NL West and be postseason contenders, whereas for San Diego, this is another loss in a season that’s been full of ups and downs, mostly downs. It’s up to the Friars to rebound quickly now, as they have to face Boston in two more games Saturday and Sunday.

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