For whatever reason the Phillies just have the Padres number, especially when they're playing in the East Village.
Since the jewel of a ballpark opened in 2004 Philadelphia has made it their west coast vacation home, going 47-22 at Petco Park (including the 2022 NLCS). So perhaps it's no surprise the Padres lost 5-1 on Saturday night, losing the series and suffering a 3rd straight loss overall.
Not even Dylan Cease, who entered the game on one of the best stretches of his career, could make a difference. We had a pretty good idea how this one was going to go in the very first inning. Cease has been death to right-handed hitters this year. Righties came in just 1-for-52 against him.
So when Trea Turner singled and Alec Bohm lofted a 2-run homer to left field it was more than a bad omen. It was a sign that this was not going to be the Padres night. Cease allowed five runs in 6.0 innings to take the loss because the Phillies had Ranger Suarez on the mound and he's one of the few pitchers in the National League who's been better than Cease.
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Suarez took a shutout into the 8th inning before Eguy Rosario finally got him for a solo home run, the only blemish on his record. The Phillies lefty finished the 8th allowing just two other hits while striking out eight without issuing a walk.
The Padres try to avoid being swept on Sunday afternoon when Michael King gets the ball against Taijuan Walker.
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