The Padres went to Los Angeles for a 4-game series with hopes to pull into 1st place in the National League West. Now they're just hoping they don't dig themselves too big a hole to climb out of by the end of September.
San Diego lost again at Dodger Stadium, this time a 7-2 setback. The Friars have dropped 14 of their last 15 games against their Southern California tormentors, a run of frustration they haven't experienced since 1973-1974 when they dropped 16 straight against L.A.
Yu Darvish started and had a terrible 1st inning. Trying to make a case for another All-Star Game appearance in this very building in a couple of weeks, Darvish gave up three home runs in the 1st inning. Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Justin Turner all got him for solo shots. Darvish bounced back to help the bullpen a bit, going 6.0 innings and allowing five runs with 10 strikeouts.
Perhaps the most apt representation of how bad things are going for the Padres against the Dodgers these days came in the 4th inning. Freeman lofted a routine fly ball to right field and Jose Azocar flat out dropped it. It didn’t lead to any runs but it was the kind of thing you almost never see the Dodgers do and witness the Padres do against the boys in blue far too often.
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Once again, the Padres offense struggled to do any damage. They finally broke through in the 7th inning when Trent Grisham brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. Luke Voit hit a home run in the 8th inning, a shot that hopefully gets him going a bit as the club continues to await the return of Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres fall 4.5 games behind the Dodgers and are on the doorstep of being swept in a 4-game series. They send rookie MacKenzie Gore to the mound on Sunday against a man he’s often been compared to, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.
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