3 Padres players who should be blamed most after getting swept by the Dodgers

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So much for fiery proclamations and strong words by San Diego Padres' manager Bob Melvin. Those words amounted to nothing on the field this weekend as the Padres got swept by the rival Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

It was a truly pathetic weekend for the Padres, who came into this pivotal series reeling as it was. Now? They leave Los Angeles with more doubt than ever before.

But who exactly is to blame for this embarassing sweep? Here are three obvious culprits.

3 San Diego Padres players most to blame for weekend sweep at the hands of the Dodgers

1. Manny Machado

0-for-11. That was Manny Machado's series in a nutshell. And in a matchup of this caliber? Simply unacceptable.

Machado's lack of clutch hits and apparent disappearance from game action left much to be desired. Even with all the support he has around him in the lineup, there has to be a level of personal accountability for a star like Machado.

Falling flat in big games is not what the Padres paid him for, and it's imperative that he right the ship should San Diego also turn the corner on what has been a disappointing season thus far.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

2. Joe Musgrove

Tired of hearing how the Padres struggle against the Dodgers? Joe Musgrove sure is, but truthfully? He helped contribute to San Diego's woes this weekend.

Musgrove got dinged for three first-inning runs in Saturday's contest in Los Angeles, despite being handed a 1-0 lead to begin with. The Padres inched closer with a run in the second inning, but he would cough that up too in the bottom of the third inning to return his team's deficit to two runs down.

Ultimately, San Diego's ace didn't even make it through six full innings, which is disappointing. Fortunately, though, the bullpen kept things scoreless the rest of the way.

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Tim Hill / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

3. Tim Hill

The Padres had a chance to win the first game of this series against the Dodgers on Friday night, as the score was tied at two... until the seventh inning. That's when lefty reliever Tim Hill entered the game.

Hill surrendered back-to-back home runs to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman that would ultimately secure a 4-2 Los Angeles victory in the series opener. The Freeman home runs stings in particular because of the lefty-on-lefty matchup that typically favors the side-arming Hill.

The blown lead wasted what was a solid start from Blake Snell, who dueled Dodgers' righty Dustin May effectively.

San Diego's lineup was unable to pick up Hill in the subsequent innings following his implosion. But while that may not be the lefty's fault, that doesn't absolve him of giving up critical insurance runs late in the opening game.

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