Padres’ struggling offense and bullpen fall to Rockies 7-3

A late push from the San Diego Padres did not amount to a comeback win at Coors Field as the Padres lost to the Colorado Rockies 7-3.

Down 4-0 in the seventh inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. did what Fernando Tatis Jr. does best, hit home runs and energize his team. After Tatis Jr. hit his 34th home run of the season, Jake Cronenworth hit an inside-the-park home run, and Tommy Pham belted a ball 470 feet to pull the Padres within a run.

Crushed, Pham. 😳 pic.twitter.com/nQdp5yNMQ6

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 18, 2021

However, like things have gone for the Padres over the last week, it went south for the Padres next half-inning. Miguel Diaz walked Trevor Story to lead off the inning, so Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler removed him for Tim Hill. Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron greeted Hill to the ballgame with back-to-back home runs to immediately respond to the three runs that San Diego scored in the top of the seventh inning.

The ugly stretch for San Diego continued, as the Padres have now lost six of their last seven games following their four-game winning streak, with all six losses coming against teams well out of playoff contention.

“It stinks. It hurts,” Tingler said. “Everybody is frustrated. It’s just a little bit of a team slump on a lot of cylinders.”

After injuries have plagued the Padres, another bullpen game was in the cards for Tingler’s squad. The bullpen game on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks resulted in the only win of the previous series, so San Diego looked to use the same recipe to victory on Tuesday. Unfortunately, using six pitchers in a game at Coors Field is very risky, and the reward was not there.

Matt Strahm, who started 16 games for the Padres in 2019, started in the “opener” role. He struggled in the first inning, throwing over 30 pitches and allowing a run. The Padres never caught up, so Strahm received the loss.

AGAIN.#SluggersWhoPitch https://t.co/7W1x13Ctgu

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 18, 2021

Reiss Knehr relieved Strahm and allowed two more runs, including an RBI-single, to the opposing pitcher, German Marquez. When it was all said and done, the bullpen allowed seven earned runs in eight tiring innings. To give some of the regulars a rest, closer Mark Melancon pitched the eighth inning for his first appearance since last Tuesday.

Outside of the seventh inning, the Padres’ offense mustered just two hits, one walk, and zero runs. The hitter-friendly Coors Field is not serving a helping hand at the moment for struggling Padres.

Tuesday’s loss marks the tenth loss against the Rockies this year, meaning the Padres lost the season series to Colorado. Considering the two teams’ polar opposite expectations entering the season and their records currently and throughout the season, that is unacceptable from the Padres’ perspective. With just a 1.5 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild-card spot, the Padres might miss the playoff because of their performance against Colorado.

Jake Arrieta was asked how it feels to be getting a fresh start with the Padres: pic.twitter.com/22ufHC7bKP

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) August 17, 2021

The Padres will look to avoid the sweep against the Rockies Wednesday, with Jake Arrieta making his Padres debut. The first pitch will be at 12:10 PT.

Dominic Stearn

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.”