San Diego's offense failed to come through in the clutch
When your pitching is struggling, you need. your offense to help them out. That didn't happen as the Padres only managed to score 10 runs in four games combined off a Diamondbacks staff that is nothing special.
The biggest miss was in Game 1 Saturday when they lost 6-4. First-inning home runs from Ha-Seong Kim and Manny Machado even things up 2-2, but they could have easily had the lead after the first, but Juan Soto was picked off of first base right before Machado's homer. San Diego ended up leaving eight stranded in the two-run loss.
The one game in which the offense did anything to pick up the pitching was in the second game Friday in the bottom of the eighth inning. Scoreless entering the frame, two-run singles from Kim and Fernando Tatis, Jr. were the difference in the 4-0 victory.
Thursday night, the Padres left five on base, and then, in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday night, they left six. In the big picture, the offense should be producing more than they have this season and it is one area to look at as to what went wrong in 2023.