Padres go down quietly again to Mets, 4-1
Credit: AP Photo
On yet another day in June, the offense of the San Diego Padres disappointed in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets.
Just over a week ago, the Padres beat the Mets on both Thursday and Friday at Petco Park. Since those two wins, the Padres have won just one game and scored more than two runs once, which came in the lone victory.
Trent Grisham missed the last 20 games for the Padres, and his presence was certainly missed in centerfield and in the lineup.
The Padres hoped that his return Saturday would help, but he went 0-3 with a walk while batting second. Padres manager Jayce Tingler noted that Grisham would get the day off Sunday.
The Padres hit the ball hard Saturday but never did anything with it. They stroked six hits in total, but not once did the Padres get multiple hits in the same inning. Only one of the six hits went for extra bases when Fernando Tatis Jr. unleashed a 408-foot home run with nobody on.
Tommy Pham accounted for three of the six for the Padres.
Big Apple, big knocks.@tatis_jr ✅ https://t.co/w3HxffIsIS pic.twitter.com/vTLcXwETmh
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 12, 2021
There were also 13 balls in play by the Padres over 95 MPH, eight of which were hit over 104 MPH. A struggling Padres lineup also got unlucky Saturday with an expected batting average of .294. They went 6-31, a batting average of .194.
“Right now, as a group and whole, we’re scuffing a bit, and these are the challenges,” Tingler said. “We’ve got to find a way to embrace those and fight through it.”
Trent Grisham returned, but aside from a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run, the offense remained punchless. During their current four-game losing streak, the Padres have five runs, nine walks and 47 strikeouts.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) June 12, 2021
Joe Musgrove got the loss despite a quality start. He finished his day after 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball to go along with four hits and seven strikeouts.
Musgrove dug himself and the Padres an early hole after hitting Jonathan Villar and allowing a home run to Francisco Lindor before recording an out. At one point, Musgrove retired 12 straight Mets before allowing a run in the sixth inning.
[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]
“Today, I didn’t feel like I had a consistent feel for anything early on,” Musgrove said. “I feel like in some of those middle innings, I found it a little bit more.”
San Diego will look to avoid the sweep Sunday with Chris Paddack on the bump. Last week against the Mets, Chris Paddack pitched six innings while allowing three runs. He’ll go up against Joey Lucchesi, whom Paddack followed in the Padres’ 2019 starting rotation. Lucchesi pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Padres last Friday while allowing just one run on a solo home run by Manny Machado. The first pitch will be at 10:10 a.m. PT.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”