LOS ANGELES -- The Padres lost by 20 runs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. And somehow, a day later, things got worse.
On the field, San Diego blew an early six-run lead en route to a 12-7 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday night. Off the field, they were dealing with a trio of injuries and injury scares.
Jason Adam landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain. Freddy Fermin was being evaluated for a potential concussion. And Randy Vásquez was taken to the emergency room after fainting while on his way to receive an X-ray on his ankle. (After the game, manager Craig Stammen said that Vásquez was stable and conscious while undergoing further tests.)
The Padres (43-43) have now dropped six straight and are back to .500 for the first time since April 8. The 35 runs they’ve allowed over the past two games are the most for any two-game stretch in franchise history.
Here are some takeaways from Dodger Stadium:
It’s getting late early
The Padres and Dodgers met in mid-May and played on three straight nights with first place in the division on the line. Since then, nearly everything has gone wrong. Any dreams of an NL West title are long gone by now. Los Angeles’ lead grew to 13 games on Thursday night.
But the Padres are suddenly in jeopardy of losing their grip on the playoff race entirely. Thursday’s loss dropped them to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6. They’re three games back of the final Wild Card spot.
“It’s a collective group effort,” said second baseman Jake Cronenworth. “That’s what it’s going to take. I think we’re .500 now. We’re not in the position we want to be in. We’ve got to do something about it. There’s got to be a sense of urgency.”
Particularly at this juncture on the schedule. With their beleaguered pitching staff, the Padres still need to complete this stretch of 17 games in 17 days before the All-Star break. They’ve got 10 more to go, including three more this weekend at Dodger Stadium.
The Padres need to turn things around -- and soon. Otherwise, they could find themselves well outside the playoff picture by the end of the month. (And who knows what that might mean for their Trade Deadline strategy?)
On the pitching front, this is entirely unsustainable
Even if the Padres weren’t playing 17 games in 17 days, the nightly strain that they’re putting on their bullpen is too burdensome. The Padres haven’t had a pitcher complete six innings through any of the first seven games of this stretch. On the season, they entered play Thursday with the fourth fewest innings from their starting pitchers.
That’s clearly taking its toll. The Padres’ bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this year. But it’s been hit hard by injuries lately. It’s a pitching group that is practically begging its starting pitchers for some sort of reprieve.
And the starters are not obliging.
There were mitigating circumstances with Vásquez, who took a comebacker off his right ankle in the first inning and left after just 50 pitches. That could lead to further problems if Vásquez were to miss time. The rotation is riddled with injuries as well. The starters who remain aren’t providing nearly enough length.
“It’s pretty tough,” Stammen said. “But … I don’t think just because it’s happening right now means it’s going to happen forever. We’ll get through this tough stretch and hopefully get our bullpen in a better spot.”
Indeed, it’s not in a good spot right now. And it shows. Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta, who have been reliable middle-innings arms for the Padres all season, were hit hard on Thursday night, allowing six runs across their two innings.
Cronenworth a bright spot
Cronenworth already looks like a different hitter. He struggled to start the season, then things got much, much worse when he was hit by a pitch in the chin in mid-April. He went just 4-for-his-next-31. Cronenworth didn’t realize it at the time, but he was dealing with the effects of a concussion.
After two months on the concussion IL, Cronenworth was activated Monday. And he’s looked more like the hitter the Padres have come to rely on. He had three hits on Wednesday, then launched a three-run homer off Roki Sasaki in the top of the second inning on Thursday night.
“It’s nice to see him be the same Jake Cronenworth that we’ve known for the last six years,” Stammen said. “It shows you how much of a struggle he was going through early.”
Cronenworth’s blast gave the Padres a 6-0 lead. Obviously, that lead was short-lived. The Dodgers had overturned it by the bottom of the fourth inning, getting to Vásquez and Wandy Peralta.
Nonetheless, it was still an encouraging sign for Cronenworth, who needs to be a factor in this offense if the Padres are going to turn things around.