What is practically inexplicable is how this keeps happening.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was the 11th time in their past 45 games the Padres had between 10 and 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position and the seventh time they have lost one of those games. They are batting .202 with runners in scoring position in that span, which is second-worst in the major leagues.<\/p>\n
During their first 38 games, the Padres won seven of the eight times they had between 10 and 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n
They are not hitting as well overall during their past 45 games as they were during those first 38. Moreover, they are not hitting when it matters.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Cooled_2a1681.png\")
<\/p>\n
They solved that problem Saturday, a game in which they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, by hitting three home runs.<\/p>\n
Their only homer yesterday was a solo shot by Bogaerts in the fourth inning.<\/p>\n
While pretty much everything about Manny Machado\u2019s demeanor said he was frustrated, here is what he said after the game:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no frustration. They won. It is what it is. They scored one more run than us. Simple. Nothing to it. Nothing to look at. There\u2019s nothing to worry about. Just keep playing baseball. \u2026 There\u2019s nothing to be frustrated about. Can we have scored more runs? Yeah, absolutely. It\u2019s a game of baseball. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don\u2019t.I think we had great at-bats. We hit the ball hard right at guys. I mean, there\u2019s not much we can do. Yeah, did we leave people on base? Yeah. I mean, that\u2019s part of it. Are we disappointed? Yeah, we\u2019re disappointed that we lost. But it was a hard-fought game.<\/p>\n
\u201cBogey had a hell of a game today, hitting-wise. We did our things offensively. You know, Iggy beating out a ground ball to score a run. Sometimes you can\u2019t ask for that home run. Doesn\u2019t come out all the time. I mean you score runs like on an infield fielder\u2019s choice. So, you know, go back out here tomorrow and continue to play our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Padres are 45-38, a game out of the final National League wild-card spot with 79 games remaining.<\/p>\n
There is a lot of time for it to get better. Or worse. Ot to stay the same.<\/p>\n
The people leading the team\u2019s baseball operations department are trying to work a trade for a right-handed hitter to help the offense.<\/p>\n
What Machado said at the end about playing their game is what those in uniform continue to have to believe will eventually result in their scoring more runs and winning more games.<\/p>\n
It did at the end of last season. It did at the beginning of this season.<\/p>\n
The thing about going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position is that it means a team had a lot of baserunners.<\/p>\n
The Padres had eight hits and walked six times yesterday. They are hitting far better over their past 18 games than they were over the 27 that came before it.<\/p>\n
But what remains pretty much a constant in the entire 45-game stretch is that they don\u2019t hit many home runs and don\u2019t get nearly enough hits in the clutch.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/differentsame.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201dWe\u2019re trying,\u201d Jackson Merrill said. \u201cNot every day is a good day. I feel like on our bad days, we\u2019re literally just missing stuff the whole game. I feel like, personally, I took a lot of good swings today. I feel like everybody else took a lot of good swings. We got a lot of hits. We just didn\u2019t score a lot. \u2026 We feel good about where our swings are at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is a look at how Padres players have fared with runners in scoring position over the past 45 games.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/RISP.png\")
<\/p>\n
Suarez slippage<\/p>\n
Suarez\u2019s 23 saves are tied with the Astros\u2019 Josh Hader for most in the major leagues.<\/p>\n
But Suarez\u2019s recent troubles continued yesterday when he allowed two runs in the ninth inning and blew his third save of the season.<\/p>\n
Wade not catching a tough-but-playable floater at the start didn\u2019t help, but Suarez continued to fall behind and throw too many pitches down the middle.<\/p>\n
Remember when we lamented last season that all Suarez threw was fastballs. Well, he throws his changeup more than a quarter of the time now and opponents are batting .361 (13-for-36) against it. The Reds\u2019 first hit and their walk-off hit came on changeups in the heart of the strike zone.<\/p>\n
Suarez has in his past seven appearances, lost three games, blown a save, saved two games and had just three scoreless outings while yielding a total of nine runs in 4\u2153 innings.<\/p>\n
Opponents are batting .500 (12-for-24) against him in that span, including going 7-for-9 against his changeup. But his fastball is not putting people away as frequently and is too often not going in the strike zone or getting misses out of the zone.<\/p>\n
This skid comes after Suarez allowed one run in 17 \u2154 innings while converting his first 15 saves opportunities. Then, after a four-walk, five-run meltdown on May 12, he allowed only an unearned run over his 11 games (12\u2153 innings), during which he converted six of seven saves and won a game.<\/p>\n
Here is a look at his past five games:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/suarez.png\")
<\/p>\n
Sliding over<\/p>\n
Stephen Kolek did a lot of things right yesterday in a magnificent example of a pitcher in his first year as a starter continuing to learn on the job.<\/p>\n
The right-hander kept his pitches down in the zone. He partnered with catcher Elias D\u00edaz to mix those pitches incredibly well. Kolek got through more than five innings setting up certain pitches with the ones he threw before it. He got mostly weak contact, induced nine groundball outs (including his team-leading 13th double play grounder) and struck out five.<\/p>\n
Kolek was charged with a run that scored after he departed. In the sixth, he gave up his second and third singles of the game and was replaced by Adrian Morej\u00f3n with runners at first and second and two down. Morej\u00f3n allowed an RBI single before ending the inning,<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought execution-wise today, it was about as good as I\u2019ve been all year,\u201d Kolek said. \u201cSo even though stuff was probably a tick down, just trying not to overdo it while I was out there, but just really focusing on the execution part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolek also made one adjustment a few days earlier that showed up yesterday against left-handed batters, who had hit .297 against him in his first 10 starts.<\/p>\n
Kolek moved over from having his heel at the middle of the rubber to placing it at the far left edge of the rubber when facing left-handed batters. (He would move back to the right side against right-handed batters.)<\/p>\n
The move changed his angle and allowed him to get inside more effectively against the Reds who batted from the left side. Those batters were 1-for-9 yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been a big problem for me lately,\u201d Kolek said of effectively getting inside against lefties. \u201cSo I tried to do one thing that maybe makes it a little bit easier. And I thought it worked well today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolek, who has a 3.73 ERA, has completed at least five innings in nine of his 11 starts. Yesterday was the sixth time in 11 starts he has made it through at least 5 2\/3 innings. That is one fewer time than Dylan Cease and once more than Randy V\u00e1squez while making six fewer starts than either of them.<\/p>\n
Tough task<\/p>\n
Mart\u00edn Maldonado will get the honors behind the plate tonight catching Matt Waldron\u2019s season debut.<\/p>\n
He caught the knuckleballer in spring training.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fun challenge,\u201d Maldonado said.<\/p>\n