The loss to the worst team in baseball \u2014 and against a starting pitcher the Padres crushed five days earlier \u2014 was even more excruciating than it sounds.<\/p>\n
And it got worse when the Dodgers lost to the Giants about an hour later, meaning the Padres could have moved to within 1\u00bd games of the National League West leaders.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was the fifth time in their past 14 games the Padres have lost on the same day the Dodgers lost.<\/p>\n
They are more likely at this point to rue not winning the division than not making the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Padres sit in the fifth of six NL playoff spots, four games up on the Mets, who hold the NL\u2019s final wild-card spot. The Mets have lost seven straight and are now just a half-game ahead of the Giants and 1\u00bd games up on the Reds.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/standings_4b3ad6.png\")
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It has been 11 years since a team with a 4\u00bd-game cushion with 14 games remaining did not make the postseason.<\/p>\n
And the Padres do hold the tiebreaker over the Giants after winning the season series.<\/p>\n
So the Padres are still in a good position to accomplish their goals.<\/p>\n
FanGraphs<\/a> lists the probability they make the postseason at 98.7%.<\/p>\n But they have to start winning.<\/p>\n And Shildt believes he has identified an issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys, they want it so bad,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cThey are so \u2026 dedicated in their preparation. And man, they want it bad. And, you know, I\u2019d like for them to let the game come to them a little bit more. You can feel everybody in the atmosphere is wanting it really badly. But, you know, just easier said than done.\u201d<\/p>\n That was a response to a question about the offense. And asked later to clarify, Shildt brought it back to the offense.<\/p>\n \u201dThe one thing that I would like to appreciate is the fact how much they care and how hard they\u2019re going at it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a challenging game, and I just want them to continue to get back and create an atmosphere here where we can just enjoy it a little bit more. And, you know, it\u2019s chicken egg proposition, right? You want to have the success. But I have the privilege of seeing every day how this group comes in, how they prepare, how they\u2019re dedicated. \u2026 It\u2019s outstanding. And it\u2019s just a matter of continuing to stay in the fight and having consistent at-bats. But we\u2019re in a good spot, and I get the privilege of being able to see it, and I\u2019m excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n For the record, Cronenworth and Ryan O\u2019Hearn said later that they did not think the Padres were holding on too tight to the bat handles.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re pressing,\u201d Cronenworth said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe demeanor is fine,\u201d O\u2019Hearn said. \u201cGuys show up and compete. Some big hits would be good. It\u2019s baseball. That\u2019s how it goes. Any team can get you on any day.\u201d<\/p>\n Can\u2019t stack \u2018em<\/p>\n Again, the Padres\u2019 opponent showed what can happen when you hit the ball over the wall more than once a game or with anyone on base.<\/p>\n Padres starting pitcher JP Sears, filling in as the team maneuvered the rotation<\/a> to give its five regular starters extra rest, struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced in the first three innings.<\/p>\n Two singles began the fourth inning. Then came a sacrifice bunt and Sears\u2019 eighth strikeout.<\/p>\n Two pitches later, the Padres trailed 4-1.<\/p>\n Blaine Crim\u2019s first MLB hit was a three-run homer on the first pitch he saw from Sears. And Kyle Farmer jumped on the next pitch for a solo home run.<\/p>\n We have discussed the Padres\u2019 lack of slug over and over. And the reality is they are almost certainly not going to suddenly become the Park Boulevard Bombers.<\/p>\n They are who they are, and they are best served continuing to be that team at this point.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the consistency of the quality of the at-bat throughout and continuing to do what the game calls for,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cThat\u2019s easier said than done some days, but that really is what\u2019s going to happen. This offense is too talented not to put something together more consistently, and we\u2019ll do that.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem with the type of offense the Padres have is that it leaves them vulnerable to what happened last night and has happened quite a bit lately.<\/p>\n Manny Machado actually gave the Padres a 1-0 lead with a home run in the first inning. But the Padres did not reach base again against Rockies starter Tanner Gordon until the seventh inning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were collectively late on that guy\u2019s fastball for the first half of the game for whatever reason,\u201d O\u2019Hearn said.<\/p>\n Gordon has shut down some good teams this season, and he held the Padres to a run in six innings last August at Petco Park. But he entered yesterday\u2019s game with a 6.60 ERA in 12 starts this season and five days earlier at Coors Field surrendered six runs in 3\u2154 innings against the Padres.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shape of his pitches are obviously different here than Colorado,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201cWe just need to do a better job of making in-game adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n A single by Arraez and a walk by Machado at the start of the seventh inning ran Gordon from the game. But three consecutive outs followed against reliever Juan Mejia.<\/p>\n That was the beginning of three consecutive initially promising but ultimately telling innings.<\/p>\n A single by O\u2019Hearn and a walk by Cronenworth began the eighth inning before Jimmy Herget replaced Mejia and got a double play grounder by Will Wagner and struck out Fernando Tatis Jr.<\/p>\n With Victor Vodnik on the mound, a one-out single by Machado in the ninth was followed by Gavin Sheets\u2019 double. Ram\u00f3n Laureano got Machado home and Sheets to third on a groundout, and a walk by Merrill brought O\u2019Hearn to the plate as the potential tying run.<\/p>\n A four-pitch strikeout ended the game.<\/p>\n The problem with a virtually slugless offense is that it must rely on stacking quality at-bats in order to score. Against the modern pitcher, that is less likely than ever.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that long ago that the Padres were doing a pretty good job of it.<\/p>\n The three runs they needed to tie the game last night? They scored at least three runs in 13 different innings over 28 games in August. They have done it five times in 11 games in September, but three of those came at Coors Field.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, we\u2019ve seen it where the really good innings we have, it\u2019s quality at-bat, quality at-bat, quality at-bat, five or six in the same inning,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s those big innings where we score four or five runs. It seems like that\u2019s just not going right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of their 18 runs and 31 hits in victories at Coors Field last weekend, the Padres are averaging 2.3 runs and 5.8 hits over their other nine games this month.<\/p>\n That is a shame, because their pitching staff actually has a lower ERA this month (3.55) than it had the season\u2019s first five months (3.63).<\/p>\n Ron Marinaccio replaced Sears with one out in the fifth and threw a career-high three innings before Wandy Peralta went the rest of the way.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was fantastic,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cWe give up four runs, and good job by both those guys to keep it there. Give us a chance. Give us a swing to tie it.\u201d<\/p>\n A swing. If only.<\/p>\n Machado\u2019s night<\/p>\n Machado may be tired<\/a>, but he is not letting up on the work.<\/p>\n No, he has taken the tack of trying to swing his way out of his slump.<\/p>\n Machado took multiple weeks\u2019 worth of swings yesterday afternoon, his third day in a row of an extended early batting practice session on the field with hitting coach Victor Rodriguez.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the only way to do it,\u201d Rodriguez said afterward.<\/p>\n Machado declined to talk about his extra work with one of the funniest things he has ever said to me. (It wouldn\u2019t be as funny in the retelling, so we\u2019ll just keep that on the downlow for now. But he is a funny dude.) He also was gone by the time the media got to the clubhouse after the game.<\/p>\n His bat said that the work is perhaps paying off.<\/p>\n As noted above, he homered, singled and walked. That broke a string of four games in which he did not reach base and made him 4-for-32 (.125) over the past eight games.<\/p>\n Bogaerts update<\/p>\n Xander Bogaerts spent nearly an hour on the field yesterday afternoon, fielding grounders and making throws from shortstop and then taking batting practice for the first time since suffering a fracture in his left foot on Aug. 27.<\/p>\n \u201cI could probably play now, but only hitting,\u201d Bogaerts said afterward.<\/p>\n Since the Padres have an abundance of designated hitters, Bogaerts will return when he is ready to play nine innings daily at shortstop.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I gotta come back and go in the field,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n There is more discomfort than pain when he works defensively. And there is some tentativeness.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there is a lot to do with the mind,\u201d he said, \u201cPutting force against (the foot) to throw or not, I think that gets in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n Bogaerts said from the time he went on the IL he would return during the regular season, and that certainly seems likely given that there are two weeks remaining. He said he considers himself to be ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n The Padres are bringing in minor-league pitchers today to face some of their hitters who haven\u2019t gotten a lot of at-bats lately, and Bogaerts could face those pitchers depending on how he feels.<\/p>\n He could also head to the team\u2019s complex in Peoria, Ariz., in the coming days to get several at-bats before joining the team on next week\u2019s trip to New York and Chicago.<\/p>\n Marinaccio is cutting it<\/p>\n Marinaccio made his big-league debut with the Yankees in 2022 and between June and July of that did not allow a hit to 57 consecutive batters. That is tied with Dwight Gooden for the second-longest stretch in the major leagues since 1974 behind only Dennis Eckersley\u2019s 71 straight batters.<\/p>\n Marinaccio posted a 2.05 ERA in 40 appearances in \u201922 and a 3.95 ERA over 61 games the next two seasons.<\/p>\n The Yankees, rich in decent right-handed relievers, put him on waivers last September. He was claimed by the White Sox but never pitched for them before they designated him for assignment in January.<\/p>\n That is when the Padres sent some money to the White Sox in a trade.<\/p>\n And the 30-year-old Marinaccio was among the most impressive and talked-about relievers in Padres camp this spring.<\/p>\n He was under consideration to make the opening-day roster almost to the end. And then he essentially disappeared into the organization\u2019s sea of relief pitchers.<\/p>\n He is now on his third call-up with the Padres.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time he\u2019s pitched, he\u2019s done a nice job, really,\u201d Shildt said.<\/p>\n Marinaccio has yet to allow a run in five appearances (8\u2154 innings).<\/p>\n \u201cAll year, you want to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody wants to be in Triple-A. That\u2019s all of our goals \u2014 to get here. But I just kept telling myself to throw the best baseball I can, and we\u2019ll see what happens. That\u2019s still the plan \u2014 to try to keep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n Last night was the first time Marinaccio pitched for the Padres in a game in which the margin was not at least six runs one way or the other.<\/p>\n And it was the first time he worked his way through an entire lineup. He allowed three hits while facing 12 batters. He threw just 33 pitches (27 strikes) in his first time going three innings since 2021, when he was in Double-A with the Yankees.<\/p>\n Of those 12 at-bats against him, 11 were by right-handed hitters.<\/p>\n That prompted Marinaccio to feature his new cutter, a pitch he developed in the spring and refined by necessity in the thin air and high altitude of the Pacific Coast League.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been my first trip through the PCL this year, so it\u2019s definitely smacked me in the face a little bit,\u201d Marinaccio said. \u201cI took the East Coast for granted. But it\u2019s helped me develop this cutter, because it\u2019s a pitch that I needed there. The sweeper doesn\u2019t quite work the same. Neither does the changeup or the fastball. But the shorter-moving pitches tend to play a little bit better, a little bit more in control out there. So it\u2019s helped me throw that pitch a lot. I gained experience with that at a little bit of a less-stressful environment.\u201d<\/p>\n He put that experience into practice last night, throwing the cutter nine times. It ended six outs, got two misses and was hit for a single.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight was the first time I\u2019ve really had to lean on that as much as I did,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it was nice to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n Musgrove update<\/p>\n The time is growing close for the Padres to make a decision on whether Joe Musgrove is simply preparing for 2026 or getting himself ready to possibly work out of the bullpen at some point in the postseason.<\/p>\n Indications point toward his not pitching for the team in 2025, but a meeting is expected in the coming days to discuss the possibilities.<\/p>\n Musgrove\u2019s fastball is regularly sitting in the mid-90s, and he is throwing all his secondary pitches as well in bullpen session. He could begin facing hitters by the end of the month.<\/p>\n The priority for him and the team has always been next season. But Musgrove has maintained something of a dual track.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a chance, I\u2019ll keep going,\u201d he said this week.<\/p>\n The difference is how much he starts to ramp up and how he goes about the offseason. He could go pitch in the Arizona Fall League or winter ball if he doesn\u2019t pitch in the postseason.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/outHR.png\")
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