France, Rengifo stay hot but Padres' rotation woes linger in Atlanta

ATLANTA -- More than two months remain in this topsy-turvy Padres season. But they know the deal. They have 10 days.

The help the Padres desperately need to turn this into a contending roster is not coming -- unless they can prove otherwise before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.

“It’s a weird spot to be in,” said Ty France, who homered again in the Padres’ 6-5 loss to the Braves at Truist Park on Thursday. “Basically, if we want to go where we want to go -- and put the front office in position to do what [general manager] A.J. [Preller] typically does -- we need to win some baseball games. And we’re not doing that right now.”

Here are some takeaways from Atlanta:

The rotation situation is dire, and yet …
Here’s the conundrum the Padres are facing. They desperately need reinforcements in their starting rotation. But every time they send an iffy starter to the mound these days, they’re liable to drop further in the standings. Thus, further from buying before the Trade Deadline on Aug. 3 -- and further from landing the starter they need.

On Thursday, Griffin Canning allowed five runs (four earned) over 2 2/3 innings. His ERA is now almost 7 -- 6.97 to be precise.

“Obviously whatever I’m doing right now is not working,” Canning said. “So I’ve got to figure something out.”

Canning has made 15 starts. (Well, technically 11 starts, with four appearances behind an opener.) He’s been given an opportunity. The Padres know what they have.

Except they don’t have much else. Canning’s rotation spot is obviously on shaky ground after another outing like this one. Perhaps Matt Waldron or Randy Vásquez could assume his place. But they’ve both struggled as starters as well. Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler and JP Sears have been slightly better. But only slightly. Michael King remains the only reliable option in this rotation.

If the Padres are going to make a push in the NL Wild Card race, they desperately need to find starting pitching by the Deadline. But with every loss, it gets tougher to envision them making any sort of push in the race. In which case, why trade for starting pitching in the first place?

A batter too early? A batter too late?
The five runs Canning allowed came on a trio of Braves home runs. It’s worth wondering whether he should have been in the game for two of them.

Left-hander Kyle Hart covered the first inning as an opener, and he made quick work of the Braves’ 1-2-3 hitters. The lefty-hitting Michael Harris II was due up in the second. Padres manager Craig Stammen went to Canning to open the inning. Harris took him deep. The Padres’ led 3-1.

A far more costly decision came two innings later. The Padres led by one with two on and two outs, with the lefty-hitting Dominic Smith at the plate. Left-hander Yuki Matsui was getting loose in the bullpen. Stammen stuck with Canning, and Smith launched a go-ahead three-run home run.

“It was one of those scenarios where we needed Griff to go more innings, if possible,” Stammen said. “You’re weighing: Is one more inning worth one [less favorable] matchup. Once he got two outs, I kind of stuck with Griff there to see if he could get through that inning and maybe possibly handle a few more. Ultimately, it didn’t work out.”

Look, this bullpen has been taxed heavily this year. Especially lately. There’s clearly some merit in looking for extra length from your starting pitchers. Then again, there’s a balance to strike. The Padres need to win these games. And, as it turned out, Canning vs. Smith was not a winning matchup.

Rengifo has been quite a pickup
The Padres have the worst record in the National League over the past two months (19-32). And yet, their offense -- which was the worst in baseball during the early part of the season -- has been passable lately. Believe it or not, it’s actually been good.

The rotation has been poor. That’s had a carryover effect on an overworked bullpen. But credit where it’s due: The Padres are hitting.

Including the new guy. Especially the new guy. Luis Rengifo has arrived and made a serious impact since he was released by the Brewers and scooped up by the Padres in late June. So much so that he’s batting second -- and looking the part.

Rengifo homered off Raisel Iglesias on Wednesday night. He pounded out two hits off Braves ace Chris Sale on Thursday -- including a very impressive two-out, two-run single in the second. Rengifo is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with a 1.003 OPS since his arrival.

With injuries to Samad Taylor and Miguel Andujar, Rengifo has been just what the Padres needed.