PHILADELPHIA -- Credit the Padres for scoring against Cristopher Sánchez, at least. No other team had done that since April 30.
Still, San Diego dropped its eighth game in the last nine -- including all five against the Phillies in that span. Here’s some instant reaction after the Padres’ 3-2 loss at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night:
Padres get one past Sánchez
Collectively, the Padres offense has fallen to last in the Majors in runs scored and batting average. On Wednesday, they were tasked with facing Sánchez, the hottest pitcher in baseball and the newly minted National League Pitcher of the Month.
Hey, at least they scored against him.
With two outs in the seventh, Ty France doubled into the left-field corner off Sánchez. Jackson Merrill followed with a clean RBI single through the left side, plating France and tying the game. It snapped Sánchez’s scoreless streak at 50 2/3 innings -- the fifth longest in MLB history.
It wasn’t enough.
“Overall, I thought we put together good at-bats,” France said. “After 50-plus innings, we were able to scratch a run across. … He's a really, really, really good pitcher. But at the end of the day, it's still a loss.”
Look, there’s no question this one was always going to be tough. After a low-scoring loss like this one, a better offense could simply tip its cap, having been beaten by a very good pitcher. But this Padres offense has not earned the benefit of the doubt. There have been too many nights like this one -- whether against Sánchez or anybody else.
“It’s the Major Leagues -- you’re always going to face a good pitcher,” said manager Craig Stammen. “They’re up at this level for a reason. We’ve got Major League hitters. We’ve got to find a way to score some runs.”
Phillies get to Adam
Jason Adam entered play on Wednesday with a 0.89 ERA through 23 outings -- and some underlying numbers that indicated he hadn’t been quite that sharp. Adam has only recorded 13 strikeouts in 21 innings this season. He’d been allowing hits, too – not many, but more than usual.
The Phillies made him pay. After the Padres rallied to tie the game against Sánchez, J.T. Realmuto untied it just as quickly. He led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run against Adam. Three batters later, Kyle Schwarber followed with a solo shot of his own.
“I was not good enough,” Adam said. “I’ve got to throw better. I’ve got to make better pitches. After tonight -- you let it hurt for tonight, and then tomorrow evaluate everything.”
The margins are obviously thin on the pitching side with the Padres’ offense struggling. That’s not Adam’s fault. But given the circumstances, San Diego desperately needed a zero, and Adam couldn’t provide it.
Buehler solidifying the rotation
The Padres signed Walker Buehler to be their No. 5 starter -- and if this is what they’re getting from the fifth spot in the rotation, they’ll take it every time.
Buehler was outstanding on Wednesday night, limiting the Phillies to one run across six innings. He kept some of the best hitters in the NL in check -- namely Schwarber and Bryce Harper. He was even afforded some extra leash from Stammen and slammed the door on a scoreless sixth.
“Walker was pushing for that,” Stammen said. “And he backed it up.”
At this point, Buehler has solidified his rotation place. The Padres have a couple starters who are working their way back from injury. But it’d be hard to see Buehler giving way any time soon, considering how well he’s pitched lately. Across his last five starts, Buehler has a 3.29 ERA.
The No. 9 spot remains a major concern
The Padres designated Nick Castellanos for assignment on Wednesday, but they were never under the illusion that replacing him with Samad Taylor would be a quick fix. The issues with this offense are team-wide. Most notably, the stars need to hit like stars.
There’s also the brutal reality at the bottom of the order: The Padres are getting so little from their catchers that they’ve been managing the No. 9 spot in the lineup like old school NL baseball -- when pitchers hit.
That’s how they handled the late innings on Wednesday, double switching so that Taylor could get an extra at-bat in the ninth, rather than Freddy Fermin. Even though doing so forced Stammen to lift Gavin Sheets, one of San Diego’s best hitters.
That’s a major problem. Fermin’s OPS is .403. Rodolfo Durán’s .475 mark isn’t much better. Nearly every night, the Padres are pinch-hitting for one, then hoping to avoid an at-bat in a big spot for the other. Luis Campusano’s return from injury can’t come soon enough.