Padres: Jayce Tingler makes first managerial mistake

The Padres lost a tough game on Wednesday night, with a questionable decision from first-time manager Jayce Tingler regarding bullpen usage.

We knew when the Padres hired Jayce Tingler, there were going to be growing pains. His managerial experience has been limited to interim bench coach and Major League Player Development Field Coordinator for the Rangers. But magnified over a shortened season, Tingler must limit these mistakes.

With the Padres taking a 6-3 lead into the eighth inning on Wednesday night, Craig Stammen took over. The 36-year-old righty got Wilmer Flores to line out to center field, he walked Alex Dickerson on six pitches, and then Hunter Pence lined out to left field. Brandon Crawford followed that with a single into right field.

And with the game-tying run at the plate, Tingler should have gone with his closer for either a four-out save or a combined save effort with Emilio Pagan depending on the three-batter minimum rule. Kirby Yates had a difficult outing on Sunday, albeit in a non-save situation, where he has historically not performed well.

But that was on Sunday. Yates threw 28 pitches in that outing, and the Padres could have badly used a strikeout to end the Giants scoring threat in the eighth inning. However, Stammen gave up the three-run bomb to Donovan Solano, and Austin Slater followed that with a single to right field.

Matt Strahm came in and promptly struck out Chadwick Tromp, but he was used the night before. Strahm started the ninth, and he served up the game-winning home run to the first batter.

The Padres wasted a two-run home run by Manny Machado to dead center in the third inning and a monster three-run homer by Trent Grisham in the fourth inning. Every win matters, even in a traditional year, but in a 60-game sprint, the Padres cannot afford to have these bullpen meltdowns. Especially considering how dominant the group can look at times.

Clean it up. Win the series tonight.