Padres’ offense continues September struggles in spite of Nick Pivetta’s dominance

A recent unfortunate turn of events occurred in San Diego, as the Padres dropped two of three to the Cincinnati Reds, including the series finale in which the offense completely sputtered. Not only did the team sit three games back of the Dodgers in the NL West standings entering Thursday, but it also wasted a tremendous outing by Nick Pivetta, who continues to look like an ace.

Pivetta lowered his season ERA to 2.73 after tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and striking out eight. The seventh inning was marked by great defense, as the final out recorded was Ramón Laureano robbing Ke’Bryan Hayes of a would-be home run, preserving the shutout.

Despite Pivetta’s tremendous effort, the lack of offense, combined with a lapse by the bullpen, ended up costing the team the game. The lone Padre run came off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr., who knocked his 21st home run of the season into the Western Metal Supply Building in left. But the lack of offensive support has really hurt the team’s success.

The Padres are 3–6 to start the month of September, and the reason for the slow start falls entirely on the offense. 

The problem at the end of August was the inability to get enough length out of the starting rotation, but that issue has resolved itself, as it has now been six straight games in which the starters have pitched at least five innings. The Padres are 0–5 in the month of September when they score three runs or fewer, which is very concerning. A team with as stacked an offense as San Diego should not be in as big an offensive funk as they are.

One big cause for concern is Manny Machado. The veteran third baseman is batting .108 with a wRC+ of 13 to start the month. Manager Mike Shildt, however, is confident that the 33-year-old will figure it out, stating the following:

“He’ll figure it out…He’s Manny Machado.”

As it stands, if the season ended today, they would be making a trip to Chicago to face the Cubs. This is highly likely to happen, and if they want any chance, the offense needs to kick it into gear and stop wasting these strong performances by the starting pitchers.