Padres fail to sweep Brewers, fall 6-2
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The Padres found themselves in a familiar position on Sunday. They had a chance to complete the sweep. The 2024 version of the Padres seems to get so close to going on a run, only to hit a speed bump right as they accelerate. Today was no different.
After winning the first three games of the four-game set with the Brewers this weekend, including four straight dating back to the finale against the Phillies, the Padres couldn’t seal the deal on Sunday. They lost 6-2 after one blow-up inning by Michael King and an uninspiring effort from the Padres offense. They still are looking for their first five-game winning streak of the season.
To King’s credit, he lasted six innings. That had only happened once in the Padres’ last eight games. The bullpen got something of a much-needed breather, even in a loss. The pitching staff desperately needed a starter to go more than five innings, win or lose. He struck out eight and walked one in the losing effort. Tom Cosgrove and Jhony Brito combined for three innings in relief to finish the game.
3 up, 3 Ks for Michael King in the 1st. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/11jCxLlKkb
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2024
Opposite King, Tobias Myers made his 11th career MLB start and last five solid innings, allowing just one run and walking zero. The Padres did not work a single walk all game against five Brewers pitchers.
The Brewers basically ended the afternoon for the Padres quickly after the national anthem ended, with a five-run second inning. King allowed four singles before a Brice Turang triple opened the floodgates. Tyler Black then singled Turang home for the fifth run of the inning.
For the rest of the afternoon, the Padres seemed to play on their heels from behind. San Diego took until the fifth inning to get on the scoreboard, when Luis Arraez singled home Ha-Seong Kim. The Padres were unable to further fan the flame in that inning. Arraez was the only Padres hitter with multiple hits in the game, with his average now at .315.
Jake Bauers got that run back for Milwaukee with an RBI single in the seventh. That inning might have been even worse had Christian Yelich not gotten caught between second and third base to end the inning after the run scored.
It looked like the Padres might put a rally together in the bottom of the eighth, down five. Jurickson Profar doubled with one out. Jake Cronenworth promptly singled, putting runners at the corners for Manny Machado. The Padres third baseman lined a ball into centerfield for an RBI sacrifice fly, scoring the hobbled Profar. Jackson Merrill then lined a 105.3 mph drive to centerfield, where it was caught at the warning track. It had an expected batting average of .840, but it found a glove. Had that fallen, the rally could’ve sparked a full-on comeback.
Instead, the Padres went down without much of a whimper in the ninth. Trevor Megill worked a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win for the Brewers and avoid the sweep.
The Padres did win the four-game series against a first-place team, which is a positive takeaway. Now the trick is for the team to maintain that when a fellow Wild Card contending team, the Nationals, comes to Petco Park for three games starting Monday.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.