San Diego still searching for offensive rhythm: 'We know it's in there'

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jackson Merrill and Ramón Laureano homered. The rest of the Padres went hitless in a 3-2 series-opening loss to the Giants on Monday night at Oracle Park.

Here’s some instant reaction from San Francisco, where the struggles for the San Diego offense continued:

Quiet bats … again
The Padres mashed on their road trip through Denver and Mexico City. (And, to be fair, they scored nine runs in their first game back at sea level last week.) But across the last six games, San Diego has scored just 14 runs.

On Monday night, it was Giants rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald who held the Padres in check across seven innings.

“The kid was making pitches, was throwing a little harder than what he was throwing all year,” said manager Craig Stammen. “... Then, I think a little bit is: We’ve got to fight him a little bit more. We made it a little easier on him.”

The Padres entered the season with what they felt was a top-10-caliber offense. And maybe they’re right. It’s still relatively early. But at the current juncture, they’re in the bottom 10 in runs (21st) and OPS (26th), while they were tied for 18th in wRC+ entering play Monday.

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s struggles are most pronounced, mostly because he still hasn’t homered. But beyond that, his OPS is just .625 and his at-bat quality has waned recently as he continues to tinker at the plate. Meanwhile, Manny Machado hasn’t quite broken out yet (even though he’s recently shown signs). At the bottom of the order, Freddy Fermin and Jake Cronenworth have hovered around a .500 OPS.

At the moment, the struggles are team-wide. Even Merrill and Laureano, who went deep on Monday, had been mired in slumps.

"We haven’t really broken through on offense,” Stammen said. “We’ve had a couple games where we’ve looked really good. But for the most part we’ve grinded out some games. … I think eventually, if we want to be who we want to be -- not just a good team, but a great team -- we’ve got to be able to handle pitchers like that and figure out a way to put a few more runs on the board.”

A night Merrill needed
Even on a rough night offensively, Merrill’s performance was a clear positive. He launched his fourth homer of the season off McDonald in the first inning, then tacked on a single in the fourth. Those were the only hits the Padres would record until Laureano’s blast in the ninth.

"Every team goes through it,” Merrill said of the team-wide offensive funk. “You’ve seen us do it. We know it’s in there. I think it’s just a matter of time.”

No question, the San Diego offense is going through it right now.

There are questions on the fringes. But the biggest issue for the group on the whole has been the struggles of its stars. If Merrill is piecing it together, that’s a major development. He entered play Monday hitting .211 with a .609 OPS. As the lone left-handed hitter in their regular top five, the Padres need Merrill swinging it like this.

“Jackson is a great player,” Stammen said. “Eventually, these guys are going to break through. Just like Tatis [will]. Tonight, it was great to see Jackson come up with a big hit in that first inning, another hit in his second at-bat.

“He’s up there competing every day. Love his competitiveness, and that’s why he’s one of our best players, at the top of the order.”

Vásquez reliable again
This wasn’t the best version of Randy Vásquez. He allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings and punched out only two Giants hitters.

He was still mostly solid. Vásquez allowed two runs in the first inning. The first scored on a poorly located fastball to Casey Schmitt, which ended up in the left-field seats. The second? Vásquez got little help from his defense.

Xander Bogaerts made a questionable decision to try for an out at third base on a grounder and came up empty. The Giants scored immediately afterward on Rafael Devers’ RBI single.

After that, Vásquez settled in. He wouldn’t allow another hit until Luis Arraez doubled in the sixth (and came around to score on a sacrifice fly).

Nonetheless, Vásquez continues to prove that -- even on nights without his best stuff -- he’s capable of keeping the Padres in games.

"Getting into that rhythm, ever since the work I put in in Spring Training, it’s worked in my favor,” Vásquez said through interpreter Pedro Gutierrez. “I think I’ve established a good rhythm so far.”

Vásquez took the loss in the box score. But this loss was hardly on him.