Losing ways continue as Padres fall to D-Backs 9-0
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The San Diego offense just can’t seem to figure out Merrill Kelly. The Padres could only muster up three hits in a truly pathetic showing as they fell to their NL West rivals 9-0.
It was a truly ugly game for the Padres as they wasted a good start from Eric Lauer, who tossed five innings of two-run ball while striking out nine Diamondbacks. Both runs came in the second inning as, with the bases loaded, Carson Kelly lined a single to left field to score Christian Walker and Wilmer Flores.
The pitching Kelly, on the other hand, sliced through the Padres’ offense like a hot knife through butter. The right-hander continued to dominate the Padres, no-hitting the Friars through five innings until Luis Urias broke the no-no with a two-out single in the fifth. He earned the win after striking out nine Padres over seven innings.
Everything broke loose in the eighth inning. With Trey Wingenter on the mound, Adam Jones tried to round third base but appeared to be out of the baseline. Manny Machado, seeing as he was out of the baseline, didn’t apply a tag but Jones was ruled safe as he was able to scamper back to third base.
If the out was made at third base, the following onslaught of runs might not have occurred. After Wingenter walked a run home, he was pulled from the game for Nick Margevicius. Margevicius, however, immediately allowed a base-clearing double to Josh Rojas and allowed two walks before he too was pulled from the game.
By the time Gerardo Reyes allowed two more runs, the score was already 9-0 in favor of the Diamondbacks. San Diego flailed at a few more pitches from Arizona before finally succumbing to defeat with a Josh Naylor strikeout.
It was not a good day for the Padres at both the plate and the field. Eric Hosmer made more than one mistake on the field while the offense struck out 12 times while taking just three walks.
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The entire pitching staff is inconsistent at best, and has been for years yet Balsley is still referred to as a great coach. We have a 20 year old shortstop that has missed 2 months because of injuries…..as a 20 year old. The team strikes out at a ridiculous pace. We have a 30 million dollar a year player that can’t be bothered to hustle by his own admission. We have a great defensive catcher that can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag. The entire team is obviously mailing it in at this point – you can tell watching the games that they just want the season to be over. When was the last time you saw someone do the chop after a base hit? I hope the next manager has playoff experience and is a bit of a hard ass to whip this team into shape.
Next year barring a miraculous trade, Hosmer and Myers should platoon at first base. Hosmer does not hit lefties and Myers best position is first base. Also, I believe Hosmer should have his eyes examined. I don’t know if he wears contacts. It seems his depth perception is out of kilter. On a real team Hosmer would be hitting 6th. or 7th. in the lineup, never cleanup. The same with Myers. We need a Charlie Blackmon in our lineup. Tatis, Blackmon, Machado, ?????, Mejia, Hosmer, Myers, Urias. Blackmon and the cleanup hitter should come from trading Hedges, Yates and prospects along with throw-ins like Erlin and Perdomo.
You do realize that Myers was the worse defensive first baseman in the league in 2017, right? And Hosmer hits great with RISP, which is a reason why he’s a decent clean-up hitter.
Also, Blackmon hits .387/.442/.751 at home and .257/.291/.427 on the road. He would be a disaster at Petco Park.
Hosmer has gone from bad to worse…to the worst! Yet he always bats clean up? First base is the easiest position to play, by far, but he has FOURTEEN errors! And he should have more, except for the generous score keepers. This one dilemma is the biggest one the padres face, yet they undoubtedly will force him into the lineup pretty much every game, thereby killing their chances of succeeding.
Brutal game to watch. Hosmer has now provided exactly 0 WAR in 2 seasons. 2018 was -0.1, and 2019 is 0.1. And the 9th year in a row of negative defensive value. Guess it’s fair to say he sucks. Real team leader.
Moron move by Preller to sign him. And he leads the team in plate appearances. Moron move by Green to play him everyday.
How can anyone expect the team to go to the playoffs with this guy at 1B?