Padres general manager A.J. Preller has two very clear, and very large, things on his trade deadline to-do list:
Add offense and shore up the bullpen.
Both were an issue again on Sunday in a 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks at Petco Park, sending the Friars into the All-Star break with a 52-42 record and a fight on their hands to stay in the playoff picture.
Mike Clevinger started and deserved better than a loss. Clev struck out eight and allowed just four hits in 6.0 innings. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a solo home run from David Peralta. Mike left trailing 1-0 and watched the bullpen struggle mightily in the 7th inning.
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Converted starter MacKenzie Gore loaded the bases on two walks and a single so he was replaced by Steven Wilson, who proceeded to walk two of the three hitters he faced to bring in a pair of runs and make it 3-0 Arizona. Another former starter, Adrian Morejon, kept the game from getting out of hand with a 3-pitch strikeout of Peralta.
Morejon was extremely effective, going 2.0 innings with a pair of punchouts and throwing just 24 pitches. Nick Martinez (yup, another starter coming out of the pen) got the final out of the 9th inning.
If there's a positive, it's that Luke Voit seems to be turning into the slugger the Padres envisioned when they traded for him during Spring Training. Voit demolished a solo home run halfway up the Western Metal Supply Building in left field, his 2nd straight game with a long ball. If he's figured things out it will be a huge boost to the San Diego offense in the 2nd half of the season.
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The Padres (aside from Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove, and Jake Cronenworth) get a 4-day break before starting a series against the Mets in New York on Friday.
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