Snell, Padres offense sputters in 5-3 loss
Credit: AP Photo
The winning streak for the San Diego Padres ended at nine games following the 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Padres found themselves on the wrong end of a great pitching performance, something that did not happen during the homestand that only endured wins. Brandon Woodruff, the ace for the Brewers, diced up the Padres lineup. He only allowed three hits in seven shutout innings while walking zero. The only Padres to notch a hit off Woodruff were the two hottest hitters on the team, Jake Cronenworth with two hits and Fernando Tatis Jr. with one, all of which were singles.
“Unfortunately, I think Woodruff settled in and got stronger,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “We knew it was going to be a tough challenge tonight. We just weren’t able to square up enough heaters tonight.”
After what seemed like a great start every game for over a week, Blake Snell did not follow suit Monday. Snell struck out the last two batters in the 1st inning and the first two batters of the 2nd inning and looked like he was in control of his pitches and the Brewers lineup.
With two outs in the 2nd inning, Snell walked Willy Adames and then allowed a two-run home run to catcher Manny Piña.
Then in the 4th inning, Snell got into trouble by allowing a leadoff home run and loading the bases with no outs. After retiring the next two hitters, Snell needed to get out the lone lefty in the starting lineup for Milwaukee, Kolten Wong. Lefties entered this game, hitting .098 against Snell, and Snell retired Wong in his first two plate appearances. Wong defied the numbers and grounded a hit through the right side to extend the Brewers lead to five and Chase Snell from the game.
“I felt good,” Snell said. “I just gotta make better pitches in better situations. It’s gonna start going my way. I’m in a good spot. The ball is coming out of my hand the right way.”
After finally working Woodruff out of the game, the Padres found themselves against one of the worst bullpens in baseball. In the ninth, Tommy Pham belted a two-run home run, and Jake Cronenworth got hit by an Angel Perdomo fastball before the Brewers brought in one of the best closers in the league, Josh Hader.
430 feet off the bat of @TphamLV. pic.twitter.com/JBOZBONsZT
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 25, 2021
Hader shut the door on the Friars, but not before the tying run got on base. Making Hader pitch after being down 5-0 entering the 9th is a small moral victory that may help the Padres later in this series.
[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]
“I’m just proud of the way the guys keep t fighting and kept battling,” Tingler said. “Hader comes in, and it is always good to get the other teams closer up, and then I thought our at-bats against Hader were about as good as we can have them.”
Joe Musgrove will take the mound the Padres in game two on Tuesday. He struck out a career-high 13 batters in his start against the Brewers last month. He will go up against Corbin Burnes, who boasts a 1.79 ERA and .62 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings so far in 2020. He fanned ten Padres in six innings of work last month. The first pitch Tuesday will be at 4:40 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.”