Due to the size of the outfield at loanDepot park and the Marlins’ stout defense, the Padres and manager Jayce Tingler expected tough, tight contests -- which was the case in three of the four games this series.

Following a 9-3 loss on Sunday, San Diego is heading home from its 10-game road trip with a record of 5-4, including a suspended game against Atlanta.

“Especially after taking the first two and we felt good going into today, we wanted this one,” said Tingler. “We wanted it bad to finish off a good road trip. So, especially after having the first two here, it is frustrating. … We just didn't play good enough today. That's the bottom line.”

Tingler’s strategy was simple: play winning baseball. However, in back-to-back losses, the Padres couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities given to them. When games are as close as they have been, two or three runs could be (and have been) enough to win.

The offense relied on the long ball to try to win games -- four of the five runs scored in the losses came off of homers, including solo shots from Manny Machado and Brian O’Grady on Sunday. Tingler saw how hard the runs were to come by this series, but he doesn’t like excuses.

“I don't know what to say to it,” said Tingler when asked about the offense. “I'm not gonna sit and complain or anything like that. I mean, we want to play winning baseball. I don't care if it's 1-0, 2-1 or anything like that, the main thing is we want to play winning baseball. You'd love to break some leads open and do that. But [I’ve] said it from the beginning, that's not really necessarily the reality.”

You need solid pitching to keep these games tight, which wasn’t the case on Sunday. Starting pitcher Yu Darvish allowed two solo home runs and struggled to record an out in the fifth, ultimately allowing four runs. The righty was surprised, looking at the low exit velocity of the two home runs, and thought his team might have just gotten unlucky in the series finale.

“From my end, I feel like I was throwing quality pitches in the fifth inning as well,” said Darvish. “The double that I gave up was a cutter. I think that wasn't the best pitch. But, overall, I thought I was throwing quality pitches that inning, as well.”

Tingler agreed that his pitcher was good, maybe struggling with command a bit, but the team needed near-perfection in order to get the win. The Padres’ ‘pen, which uncharacteristically could not record easy outs, added to the struggles.

“We just weren't clean enough in a lot of areas today,” said Tingler. “We just couldn't cover up [the pitching] mistakes.”

The skipper said again that he doesn’t make excuses, though he worries that the 10-game road trip has been tiring, especially for players who did not get time off during the All-Star break.

The Padres play 12 of their next 14 games at home, hopefully giving the team a chance to reset.