A bullpen day. A shutout. A walkoff loss. It would be hard to find a more fitting way for the Padres to finish the 2019 season.
The Friars lost their last game of the year 1-0 in Arizona when Tim Locastro reached on an infield single with two outs in the 9th inning to bring in the winning run for the Diamondbacks.
That run came off Matt Strahm, who was trying to follow scoreless outings from Michel Baez, Ronald Bolanos, Eric Yardley, Javier Guerra and Luis Perdomo. Offensively the Padres had eight hits but went a combined 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Padres finish the season on a 6-game losing streak ... losers of 15 of their last 17 ... and owners of a 25-47 record after the All-Star break (they were 45-45 in the first half).
So, in essence the Friars spent north of $300 million in the off-season to improve by exactly four games. Their 70-92 record gives them four straight 90-loss seasons. That was all during the rebuild.
That process was always designed to be complete by 2020. If they're going to keep that timetable, General Manager A.J. Preller has a whole lot of work to do this winter.
