Starting pitching has been a problem most of 2019 for the Padres and it's going to have to be addressed in the off-season. But something is gonna have to be done about the bullpen, too.
The relief corps gave up another big lead in a 6-5 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday night in Arizona.
Manny Machado, Luis Urias and Eric Hosmer all hit home runs to pace the Padres to a 5-1 lead. But in the 7th inning rookie reliever David Bednar, who has been pretty good so far, had one of those nights.
Bednar allowed five runs on three hits and a pair of walks. The big blow came when he left a pitch up and down the middle and Christian Walker unloaded on a grand slam to bring in what turned out to be the game-winning runs.
It was Walker's 2nd homer of the night. He also hit a solo shot off starter Garrett Richards, the the only hit Richards allowed in 3.1 innings of mostly effective ball as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.
The Padres have one more game, on Sunday in Phoenix. The Friars have lost 14 of their last 16 games to fall into a tie for last place in the National League West with the Rockies so they could end up collapsing all the way to the basement with their dismal post-All Star break performance.
