LOS ANGELES -- Even if they’d made every single play, the Padres probably still would’ve lost to the Dodgers on Saturday night.

Justin Turner took Cal Quantrill deep in the fourth inning, and Walker Buehler cruised to a complete game, striking out 15 as San Diego dropped eight games below .500 with a 4-1 defeat at Dodger Stadium.

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That didn’t make the Padres’ poor defensive showing any easier to swallow. In the Dodgers’ three-run fifth inning, Quantrill endured three misplays behind him. The rookie right-hander was sharp all night, but was forced into an early exit after allowing four runs (two earned) in five innings.

“Defense let him down,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “We had a couple key plays behind him that we could have made, then when you look up, it's a 1-0 game. If you're making those plays, it's different ballgame. … He didn't deserve that kind of fate tonight.”

On the whole, the Padres love the upside of their defense. They have former Gold Glove Award winners at both infield corners in Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer. They have two serious contenders this season, as well -- Austin Hedges at catcher and Hunter Renfroe in either left or right. Manuel Margot probably hasn’t played enough, but he’s among the game’s best in center field.

Throw in the raw athleticism of Fernando Tatis Jr., Wil Myers and Luis Urias, and the Padres feel they should rank toward the top of most defensive leaderboards.

They don’t. San Diego defenders have combined for five defensive runs saved this season, which puts them 17th in the Majors. Their defense has been wholly mediocre.

“We need to be consistent, I guess,” said Hosmer. “The guys here all have good hands, all put in the work, can play the game. We've just got to do it on a consistent basis.”

The Padres’ defensive struggles are partly due to some young players still getting acclimated to the big leagues. In the seventh inning, Tatis booted a slow roller for his 16th error of the season -- third most in the Majors. He’s made some of the most spectacular plays in baseball this year, but he’s also shown inconsistency that befits a 20-year-old shortstop.

“We've got a young guy at shortstop that's capable of making incredible plays,” Green said. “He's working hard, and he's going to get better -- because he's working, and because he's really good.”

But youth and inexperience don’t explain away all of the Padres’ defensive shortcomings. For one, Hosmer has regressed defensively this season, and it continued on Saturday. In the fifth, Hosmer made the decision to go to second base on a bunt rather than take a sure out at first base. His throw bounced into center field.

“I was trying to throw to second base, being aggressive,” Hosmer said. “It was just a bad throw.”

“I love them playing aggressively,” Quantrill said. “In the end, they've saved me so many more runs than they'll ever cost me that I have absolutely zero complaints.”

But the mistakes in the frame weren’t all due to aggressiveness. Veteran second baseman Greg Garcia kicked an easy double-play ball. He got one out at second, but the door was left open for consecutive RBI singles from Max Muncy and Turner. Not to mention: Muncy’s single fell two steps in front of Josh Naylor after Naylor -- a converted first baseman, who has spent barely a year as an outfielder -- broke slowly.

“It was a pitchers’ match the whole way through,” Hosmer said. “Defensively, we let it go. That stuff added up in the wrong inning, and they capitalized.”

An inning later, however, Renfroe offered an important lesson in patience with young defenders.

The Padres right fielder got a perfect jump on an Alex Verdugo liner, made a running catch and fired to first base for a double play. It was his National League-leading 11th outfield assist this season.

Renfroe was always considered an elite athlete with a high ceiling defensively. But he struggled as a rookie in 2017 and was even subbed for a defensive replacement on occasion. He was much better in ‘18, though certainly not elite.

Now, Renfroe is one of the best corner outfielders in the sport. His progress is the culmination of his hard work and the realization of his athletic talents. The more he played, the better he played.

The Padres would love to see similar progress from some other young defenders. Based on individual talent alone, they should be able to form an elite defense. They just haven’t pieced it together.