Slumping Padres Slide Further

While the weather has been somewhat gloomy as of late around San Diego, it’s hard to find a more depressing place these days than Petco Park, where the Padres have now lost 10 games in a row.

No matter what they try, the Padres just keep losing. The Friars lost Sunday when Melvin Mora hit a go-ahead single that sent the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 win.

“It's a bummer, a letdown,” fan Brian Berkshire said. “We've been on a good streak, and all of a sudden, boom.”
     
Mora's tiebreaking hit in the seventh inning gave Colorado its 10th win in 14 games. The Rockies pulled within 4½ games of the slumping Padres. The Giants trail the Friars now by only a single game. The Padres, who have led the division virtually the entire season, have seen their season-high 6½ game lead on Aug. 25 nearly evaporate.

All the plays and big hits San Diego was getting earlier in the season are nowhere to be found these days. The Padres’ 10-game losing streak is their worst since 1994. The team record of 13 losses was set in May 1994. Players and fans are hoping the team turns it around before it’s too late.

"We have a sense of urgency right now," Padres pitcher Clayton Richard said. "We have a special opportunity, and we are going to do every thing in our control to take advantage of it."

“It all starts with one win,” fan Michele Richardson said. “You break the streak, and then it's all different. But they have to want it, play well and play together, and do what they've done all season.”

The Padres' long rivalry with the Dodgers, who arrive on Monday for a three-game series, may spark a turnaround. On the Dodgers’ heels, though, are the Giants, whose four-game stand at Petco kicks off on Thursday.