The Padres have played 25% of their 2023 season. Through it they've looked like 25% of the team we thought they'd be.
San Diego lost again on Saturday afternoon, this time 4-2 to the Dodgers in a game that was all too familiar to the Friar Faithful.
Juan Soto continued his recent hot streak. Soto ripped a solo home run in the 1st inning off L.A. starter Julio Urias, the first of his two hits in the game. Over the last 14 games Soto has raised his OPS by 151 points. His 7th homer of the year gave the Padres a 1-0 lead that didn't last very long.
Joe Musgrove got the start for the Padres and didn't have his best stuff. In the 1st inning he gave up singles to Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy then JD Martinez brought them home with a 3-run homer. But, Musgrove did what he always does and battled to give his team a chance to win. Joe allowed four runs in 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. Once again, the Padres offense didn't do much to help their starter.
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Ha-Seong Kim hit a solo homer off Urias in the 2nd inning but the Friars only had one real scoring opportunity off the lefty. In the 6th inning, Manny Machado reached on a Muncy error and went to 3rd on a Soto single. With runners at the corners and one out Xander Bogaerts hit a soft comebacker and Urias started a double play to end the inning.
The Padres mounted one more threat in the 9th inning against Brusdar Graterol. Bogaerts reached on an infield single and Nelson Cruz lined a single to right to put the tying run on base with two outs. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went to Caleb Ferguson to face Jake Cronenworth in a lefty-lefty matchup.
Like pretty much everything else right now, it did not go the Padres way. Cronenworth struck out swinging to give the Dodgers another series win. Now a full six games behind L.A. in the National League West, the Padres need to avoid getting swept on Sunday afternoon. They'll throw Ryan Weathers, who is back from a stint with Triple-A El Paso, against Tony Gonsolin.
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