Padres held down amid Tatis countdown

SAN DIEGO — One of the best factor to say in regards to the Padres’ disheartening 8-1 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night time at Petco Park is that they emerged from it wholesome — and even that reality was in some jeopardy for a sizzling second.

Xander Bogaerts — the brilliant spot amid a San Diego lineup that has in any other case underwhelmed — took a 98 mph Spencer Strider fastball off his left wrist within the fourth inning. Bogaerts has handled points pertaining to that wrist earlier than. He grimaced in ache, was evaluated by a coach, then remained within the recreation. The way in which he tells it, he received fortunate: The baseball hit the Velcro of his batting glove, the place there’s a bit of additional padding.

And that was in regards to the extent of the excellent news for the Padres, who proceeded to lose a 3rd straight recreation, the sixth of their final seven. Juan Soto’s eighth-inning RBI groundout helped narrowly keep away from a 3rd straight shutout loss — which might’ve been a primary for the franchise since April 2016, a distinctly totally different period of Padres baseball.

Strider was wonderful, holding San Diego hitless over the primary 5 innings earlier than Soto’s single via the infield within the backside of the sixth. The Padres might’ve chalked it as much as a dominant exhibiting from one of many sport’s finest younger pitchers. If it hadn’t felt so acquainted, that’s.

“You get drained in the course of tipping your hat to a pitcher, despite the fact that we’ve been going through some good ones,” mentioned supervisor Bob Melvin. “We’re wanting down the barrel of one other shutout via seven innings. So I believe perhaps you begin to press a bit of bit. … We’ve received to determine one thing offensively.”

There could also be a fast and simple repair, in fact. Fernando Tatis Jr. is slated to return from his PED suspension on Thursday in Arizona. The Padres entered play Tuesday with MLB’s third-lowest offensive manufacturing out of their proper fielders this season, in keeping with wRC+. Tatis, who completed his Minor League rehab stint by going 11-for-16 with six homers in his final three video games, ought to change that straight away.

There’s additionally the assumption that Tatis’ presence alone will elevate a burden from the remainder of the lineup. Soto reached base thrice on Tuesday night time along with his RBI groundout. However he’s principally underperformed this season, as has Manny Machado and nearly everybody else on the San Diego offense, save for Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz.

The Padres are fast to insist that Tatis received’t be a cure-all for his or her offensive struggles. However including one of many sport’s most dynamic gamers definitely can’t damage.

“Simply his title, man,” Bogaerts mentioned. “His title, his presence — that goes a good distance. … He might do numerous totally different stuff. He’s dynamic. He’s actually spectacular. And we’ll get there.”

Reverse Strider, left-hander Blake Snell was stable sufficient Tuesday night time, pitching 5 innings of two-run ball. He allowed a protracted dwelling run to Sean Murphy within the fourth however was in any other case principally efficient towards one of many sport’s hardest offenses. After a sluggish begin to the season, it was a step in the best route for Snell.

Not that he took a lot solace in it, on the incorrect finish of one other loss, the Padres’ fourth in his 4 begins this season.

“We all know we will rating and shut folks down, and we haven’t been doing that on each ends, so we’re positively annoyed,” Snell mentioned. “We all know how good we’re. We all know how fast we will flip it round and be the workforce we all know that we’re. …

“Yeah, it’s irritating that we’re not getting the outcomes. However we’ll put within the work and it’ll flip. We’re too gifted.”

Mentioned designated hitter Matt Carpenter: “Look, there’s little doubt in my thoughts that this group’s going to get sizzling, and it’ll be a enjoyable stretch when it does. It’s not a matter of ‘if.’ It’s only a matter of ‘when.’”

If it occurred this weekend within the aftermath of Tatis’ return, would anyone be stunned?

“That’s laborious to pin on one man,” Melvin mentioned. “However I believe hopefully the mixture of he and Joe [Musgrove, who will make his first start of the season on Saturday] provides us a bit of injection of some confidence. That’s the way in which the sport goes typically.”