Tatis' error in right proves costly as Padres fall to Cards

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres’ bats remained cold and a rare Fernando Tatis Jr. error proved (very) costly in a 6-0 loss to the upstart Cardinals on Friday night.

Here’s some analysis from Petco Park, where the Padres managed just one hit and have been held scoreless for the last 17 innings:

When it rains…
Rough game, baseball.

It’s not going well for Tatis at the plate right now. He still hasn’t homered -- the longest drought of his career. He’s on track for career lows in just about every offensive category. He’s struggling immensely.

But at least he has his Platinum Glove, right?

Well, Platinum Glovers make errors, too. And this one came at just about the worst possible moment, in the worst possible way.

With the bases loaded in the fifth, JJ Wetherholt shot a single through the right side. Tatis charged aggressively, looking to cut down the second run at the plate.

Except … the ball went under his glove. Wetherholt scampered around the bases. All four runs would score -- a Little League grand slam, if you will. It was brutal timing for Tatis’ first error of the season.

“He’s a playmaker, just trying to make a play,” said Padres manager Craig Stammen. “He just came up short.”

Nonetheless, it was jarring to see a mistake like that one from Tatis, the sport’s premier defensive right fielder. (Tatis was unavailable for comment postgame; per a Padres spokesperson, he dressed and left the clubhouse before the media were permitted entry.)

“He’s being aggressive,” said Jackson Merrill. “In that situation, go for it. I don’t care if you miss it.”

Added Stammen: “He’s coming in trying to make a play, trying to throw the guy out. Things like that happen. He’s not a perfect player. Nobody’s a perfect player. Even the best players in the world make mistakes.”

Canning’s nearly solid night
Here’s one truth about the Cardinals’ six-run fifth inning: Tatis’ error will draw the headlines and make the highlight (or lowlight) reels -- because it was so stunning and unexpected from him. But even if Tatis makes that play, two runs probably score, and the Cardinals have two men aboard with one out. Not to mention, St. Louis followed that error by scoring two more runs via three hits and a walk.

Which is a long way of saying: Error or no error, Padres starter Griffin Canning struggled immensely in that fifth inning. It stood in stark contrast to the first four frames, in which Canning cruised, holding the Cardinals scoreless while striking out four without any walks.

“It’s baseball; it happens,” Canning said of Tatis’ error. “I’ve got to find a way to pick him up after that.”

For Canning, the costliest at-bat in the inning might not have been Wetherholt’s. Just before Wetherholt came to the plate, he walked No. 9 hitter Victor Scott II, loading the bases and setting the stage for the disaster that followed.

“Need to just try and find a way to minimize the inning right there,” Canning said. “The walk to Scott probably didn’t help. That’s the at-bat I could’ve attacked a little better.”

Of course, Canning deserves some grace. This was only his second start back from the torn left Achilles he sustained last June. His first four innings looked like something to build on. His fifth proved that he’s not quite there just yet.

Where’s the offense?
Here’s another truth about the Tatis misplay: If he fields the ball cleanly and delivers a perfect throw to the plate, maybe the Cardinals score only one run in the inning.

Which means the Padres would’ve needed to score, too. Something they did not do on Friday night -- and have not done in this series since the first inning of the first game.

“It just looks like the pitcher is kind of dictating the at-bats,” Stammen said. “And, from the box, we’re not able to dictate and force the pitcher into throwing pitches that we can hit.”

It’s been a dreadful series thus far for the San Diego offense, which has underperformed for much of the season. Tatis is part of that. He’s not the only part. Merrill has begun to heat up lately. He notched the Padres’ only hit of the night in the fourth inning.

The rest of the offense combined to go 0-for-24.

Those numbers are undeniably ugly. Then again, it’s worth remembering how thin the margins can be. Half an inning before Wetherholt’s grand-slam single, the Padres loaded the bases themselves. In fact, they did so after Tatis worked an excellent plate appearance, drawing a walk after falling in an 0-2 hole.

Miguel Andujar proceeded to hit a sharp ground ball -- with similar characteristics to Wetherholt’s. Both had a hit probability of around 40 percent, according to Statcast.

“The two hits are very similar,” Stammen said. “[Wetherholt’s] went through between first and second. Ours went right at the shortstop.”