SAN FRANCISCO -- The Padres’ bats struggled again in a 3-2 series-opening loss to the Giants on Monday night at Oracle Park.
Jackson Merrill had two hits, including a homer. Ramón Laureano homered to lead off the top of the ninth. The rest of the San Diego offense went hitless.
Here’s some instant reaction from San Francisco:
Quiet bats … again
Since the Padres returned to sea level, it’s been a rough week.
They mashed on their road trip through Denver and Mexico City. (To be fair, they also scored nine runs in their first game back last week.) But across the last six games, San Diego has scored just 14 runs.
“While there are some good at-bats in there, there are some not-so-good at-bats in between also,” manager Craig Stammen said over the weekend. “We’ve got to figure out a way to stick nine good ones together throughout the entire lineup.”
They’re still searching for it.
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s struggles are most pronounced. He still hasn’t homered. But beyond that, his OPS is just .625. Of course, this funk extends well beyond just Tatis. 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.
A night Merrill needed
Offensively, the Padres’ only positive on the night was Merrill, who launched his fourth homer of the season off Giants righty Trevor McDonald in the first inning. Merrill tacked on a single in the fourth. Those were the only hits the Padres would record until Laureano’s blast in the ninth.
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.
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 the game. He took the loss in the box score. But this loss was hardly on him.