Lucchesi struggles, as Padres fall to Brewers 5-1
Credit: Padres
Miller Park- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A problematic 2019 MLB season is coming to an end for the San Diego Padres.
There were high expectations for the team, but the youth on the team has been crippling.
Many of their young pitchers are in uncharted territory as far as total innings pitched for the season. Joey Lucchesi was over the 150 innings pitched mark for the first time in his career heading into Thursday’s start against the Brewers. The lefty only managed to go four innings in the contest as he allowed three earned runs on six hits. His ERA is up to 4.28 on the season now. Lucchesi did strike out seven in the game and has 152 on the season. But he is running out of gas. “It wasn’t his sharpest outing of the year,” Andy Green said after the game.
In the 6th, the Padres threw the ball around the field in what was reminiscent of a little league team. A throw on a base hit to left was too high at home from Luis Urias to get the runner, so Austin Hedges came off the plate to cut the ball and subsequently threw the baseball down the left-field line allowing a run to score. Andy Green was frustrated with this chain of events. A good throw at home would have probably nailed the first runner.
The Padres continue to strike out at an alarming rate which is a big concern. After striking out 36 times in the first three games of the series, the Padres went down 16 times on Thursday in the series finale. Striking out 52 times in a four-game series is not going to result in many wins. “Way too many punchouts to win a ball game,” Green told the media.
Michel Baez had a nice day on the mound as the rookie threw a perfect inning lowering his ERA to 2.70 on the season. Baez has now struck out 22 batters in 23.1 innings pitched. Gerardo Reyes and Javy Guerra also had a successful night. Both pitchers had been roughed up in 2019, so the flawless inning from both is quite encouraging.
Eric Hosmer slugged his 21st homer of the season in the 4th inning off of Jordan Lyles. Luis Urias recorded two base hits and is hitting .306 over his last 15 games with the Padres.
San Diego made noise in the 9th inning as Josh Naylor walked and Luis Urias singled bringing in Brewers’ closer Josh Hader with the tying run in the on-deck circle with nobody out. Hader was 33 out of 38 in save opportunities coming into the game. Manuel Margot battled but struck out on a high fastball. Luis Torrens stepped up and promptly hit a hard ground ball at the third baseman resulting in a game-ending double play. Brewers win 5-1.
The Padres travel home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series which starts on Friday. This is the final homestand of the season and your last chance to see the 2019 San Diego Padres in action.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
The pressure is going to be on the front office this winter to make decisions to better this team next year. Except for a few positions in the infield every position must be looked at to see where improvements can be made. The bullpen needs alot of attention as does the starting pitching. Hopefully the young guys realize that if they are going to try to live by the fastball they will die by the fastball. They can get away with it at the AA and AAA level but the hitters at the big league level will adjust and feast on the fastball. They need to be more creative in this juiced ball era. Also, hitting all around needs to improve. Way to many strike outs this year. Realistically this team should look to be an above .500 team in 2020 and if they do that then a playoff team in 2021.
Please, throw in the towel. Padres have been done for a month.