Talk around the San Diego Padres was the offense might have been turning a corner when Freddy Fermin hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that helped them beat the visiting New York Mets on Saturday night. The teams returned to the field on Sunday, and the Padres proved that theory was inaccurate.
San Diego was down early, and it stayed that way throughout the game. New York scored runs in the first, second, fifth, sixth and eighth innings and took the three-game series with
a 7-3 win. The floundering Padres offense was outhit 13-7 and five of the 13 hits for the Mets came from rookie Carson Benge who finished the day 5-for-5 with three singles, a home run and a triple. He also scored three runs and had two RBI.
The offensive bright spot for San Diego was once again Fermin, who hit his second two-run home run in as many days. This is the part where you are reminded that Fernando Tatis Jr. still only has one home run. Fermin finished the afternoon 2-fo-4 with a home run and a double. He scored a run and had all three RBI for the Padres. Tatis, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts, Miguel Andujar and Samad Taylor each had a hit for San Diego. Andujar came out of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with an injury after he reached base on his single.
Randy Vasquez could not fool the Mets hitters, as evidenced by Benge’s success at the plate, and he allowed four runs on eight hits and lasted just four inning. Vasquez also allowed two walks and recorded just three strikeouts in the game. He was not the only Padres pitcher who struggled against the New York lineup. Yuki Matsui allowed two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings, Ron Marinaccio allowed one run on one hit and a walk in 2.1 innings, and Wandy Peralta did not allow a run but did allow two hits and issued a walk in his one inning of work.
San Diego does not get a break before the Cincinnati Reds come to town. The Padres and Reds open their three-game series tonight at 6:40 p.m.
Padres News:
- The Padres are in need of a spark. It would be nice if that came one the offensive side, but perhaps it can come from adding pitcher Jhony Brito to the MLB roster. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball thinks it is possible.
- German Marquez looked good in his latest rehab start in El Paso, but can he hit? The return of Marquez could help the rotation eat more innings to give the bullpen a break, but the offense will have to support his efforts.
- Sung-Mun Song has not had the struggles at the plate that many international players do when coming to the MLB from Japan or Korea. He has shown an ability to hit the fastball and his contributing on offense, but his greatest contribution has been his defense.
- Manny Machado had one hit in the three-game series against the Mets. His average is abysmal, but he his hitting home runs. Fernando Tatis Jr. has a good average hitting above .270 but still has not found his power stroke and has just one home run on the season. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune discusses the strange season for the two San Diego stars.
- Samad Taylor is a California native who made his first start for the Padres with family and friends in attendance at Petco Park. He was able to give them a hit but unfortunately could not help San Diego give them a win.
- San Diego has not shown any signs of life during their recent struggles, but Dennis Lin of The Athletic says the Padres could still be buyers a t the deadline.
Baseball News:
- Kevin McGonigle hit a walk-off single to give the Detroit Tigers a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.
- Tarik Skubal is looking to return to the mound as soon as possible and is well on his way after five scoreless innings in his first rehab start.
- The Atlanta Braves completed a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-2 win.
- Brandon Marsh homered to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago White Sox.
- The bottom of the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels dominated Los Angeles Dodgers pitching and gave the Halos a 13-5 win.
- The Milwaukee Brewers reached 40 wins on the season with a win and a series sweep over the Colorado Rockies.
- The St. Louis Cardinals completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
