Black, Padres waiting for turnaround of bats' fortunes

CLEVELAND -- Six games into the season, the Padres ranked last in the big leagues in runs (12) and 29th in average (.189) and on-base percentage (.255).

"We've got to get the bats going," Padres manager Bud Black said.

And maybe get a little luckier, too?

The Padres went into Tuesday's game against the Indians with a collective .239 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), suggesting they've been unlucky at times when bat meets ball.

Only three teams have BABIP marks lower than the Padres -- the Cardinals (.234), Mets (.217) and Astros (.214).

The Marlins, who just took two-of-three games from the Padres over the weekend, lead the big leagues with a .365 average on balls in play, making them a prime candidate for potential regression.

As for the Padres, Black has noticed several instances when hitters have squared-up a ball well only to have it hit directly as a defender.

"The hitter will tell you that you want to hit the ball on the nose … a lot of times you don't know where the fielder is going to be," Black said. "All you can control as a hitter is having good at-bats and try to hit the ball as hard as possible. If you're doing that, you're doing your job. Over the long haul, that will play out.

"There have been some balls that we've hit right on the nose that have been hit right at defenders. And there haven't been that many balls we've hit softly that have blooped in for hits."