After routing the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 on Wednesday night, the San Diego Padres felt they might be turning the corner offensively.
But a 3-1 loss in the finale of its four-game series with Arizona on Thursday night displayed San Diego still has more than a few weaknesses to iron out with the bats if it’s to make a second-half run to its third straight postseason berth.
The Padres will try to take a step in that direction Friday night when they open a three-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
After pounding out 13 hits and tying a season high in the run column on Wednesday night, San Diego reverted to its popgun ways a night later. It managed only three hits, two by Manny Machado, and took only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
The Padres didn’t get a hit after Machado’s leadoff single in the fourth and didn’t even put a runner on base after Luis Campusano coaxed a leadoff walk in the fifth.
Machado provided the only offense with a solo home run in the second inning.
“We’ve got to have consistent days and weeks where we hit the ball like we’re capable of,” manager Craig Stammen said. “Offense is the most inconsistent thing in baseball.”
While San Diego seeks more consistency with the bats, it also looks for a second straight good start from left-hander JP Sears (2-1, 4.70 ERA). He earned a 5-2 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, allowing just one hit over five innings, walking two and striking out five in a 76-pitch performance.
He’s fared well in four previous outings (three starts) against Toronto, going 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
The Blue Jays will counter with veteran right-hander Shane Bieber (0-1, 9.00), who’s still trying to find his top form after missing most of the season’s first half with right elbow inflammation. Bieber suffered an 11-0 loss Saturday at Seattle in his most recent outing.
The former Cy Young Award winner was shelled for six hits and seven runs in four-plus innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Bieber, who has made 146 appearances in the majors, will face San Diego for the first time.
Toronto got to enjoy an off-day in San Diego on Thursday after blanking San Francisco 10-0 Wednesday to improve to 3-3 on its nine-game western road trip. Former Padres starter Dylan Cease took a no-hitter into the ninth and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched just his fifth homer of the year.
The Blue Jays have experienced many of the same problems as the Padres this year, struggling to score runs with what on paper figured to be a potent offense. Instead, they rank 27th in on-base percentage, 27th in runs, 26th in slugging and 25th in homers.
But they did show signs of life in the final two games against San Francisco’s struggling pitching staff, erupting for 19 runs. Hitting coach David Popkins’ admonition to do less instead of making a spate of changes appeared to get through.
“More information, more game plans and more drills are not how you free them up,” he said. “You have to free them up mentally.”
Toronto is 6-3 against San Diego over the past three seasons.
–Field Level Media
