Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
I've had this theory for some time and it seems to hold up.
If the top four hitters in your lineup are 0-fors, your chances of winning fall between slim and none.
Which is what happened to the Padres Sunday afternoon in their 3-1, rubber-match loss to the Rockies at Petco Park.
The Padres top four hitters in Sunday's lineup -- left fielder Allen Cordoba (0-for-4, two strikeouts), second baseman Yangervis Solarte (0-for-4, two strikeouts), first baseman William Myers (0-for-4, one strikeout) and third baseman Ryan Schimpf (0-for-3, two strikeouts) -- went a combined 0-fot-15 with seven strikeouts.
Sunday was the only time this season that the top four hitters in the Padres lineup failed to reach base.
Cordoba is 0-for-8 in his past two games with three strikeouts. The Rule 5 rookie remained in the game Sunday after hitting his head against the padded left-field fence while catching a second-inning drive. Córdoba is 3-for-16 over his last four games.
Solarte was 0-for-8 in the last two games against the Rockies after going 10-for-25 (.400) in a six-game hitting streak.
Myers had a relatively quiet six-game hitting streak (6-for-23 with one double, one homer and two RBIs) end Sunday. Myers has 10 strikeouts in his last seven games.
Schimpf was 0-for-6 with five strikeouts in his two starts against the Rockies. He is 10-for-68 (.147) with 31 strikeouts since his last multi-hit game on May 8, although he does have five homers with eight RBIs.
NOTE WORTHY:
• RHP Jarred Cosart has made 21 consecutive starts since his last winning decision on Sept. 17, 2015, at Washington as a member of the Miami Marlins. It is the longest active winless streak in the Major Leagues and the third-longest in the Major Leagues since 2015. Cosart allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings plus three hitters Sunday. In his two previous starts, Cosart allowed a total of six runs on seven hits and nine walks in a total of 6 2/3 innings while throwing 161 pitches but only 79 strikes. Sunday he threw 96 pitches with 57 strikes.
• RHP Brandon Maurer is on a streak. Maurer has allowed no runs on one hit and one walk with five strikeouts plus four saves over five straight, one-inning appearances. Maurer's earned run average has dropped from 6.63 to 5.25.
• RF Hunter Renfroe, who hit in the No. 5 spot Sunday, was 1-for-3 with his 11th homer. He has hit safely in nine of his last 13 starts, going 14-for-46 (.304) with four walks (a .380 on-base percentage) five doubles, three homers (a .608 slugging percentage), nine RBIs and eight runs scored. That's a .988 OPS since May 21.
• LF Alex Dickerson, who has been out since spring training with a protruding disc in his lower back, missed Saturday's game in extended spring training while rehabbing with an upper back issue. "Alex would be our cleanup hitter," said Padres manager Andy Green.