The Padres might be brilliant.
They'll get us excited about the future by winning a game with one of the uber-talented young rookies one night ... but make sure they still keep losing enough to maintain their 3rd overall draft position.
It's all going according to plan!
One night after rookie catcher Francisco Mejia hit two homers in his first San Diego start, the Padres pitching staff imploded in a 12-6 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati.
The Friars scored first, getting four straight singles from Mejia, Hunter Renfroe, Eric Hosmer, and Wil Myers to take a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning.
However, rookie starter Brett Kennedy found a way to allow only one hit but four earned runs in 1.2 innings. That's what happens when you walk four guys. Matt Strahm came in and threw well, allowing just one run on a solo homer by Phillip Ervin in 2.1 innings.
Strahm putting a tourniquet on Kennedy's outing let the Padres get back into it. Renfroe smashed his 21st homer of the season in the 3rd inning and Manuel Margot doubled home Franmil Reyes in the 4th to tie it 4-4.
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But the 6th inning would be the Padres undoing. Rookie reliever Rowan Wick has had better outings. With runners on the corners and one out Ervin laid down a suicide squeeze to score Mason Williams. He reached safely without a throw because Tucker Barnhart also broke from 1st base. The steal attempt had Luis Urias covering 2nd base and since 1st baseman Eric Hosmer fielded the bunt there was nobody to cover his bag.
That was a well-exectured play by the Reds. What happened next was just bad Padres baseball.
Michael Lorenzen bunted back to the pitcher and for some reason Wick just watched it roll right past him for another infield single to load the bases. After two straight bunts Scott Schebler hit one a little farther, launching a grand slam to right field that made it a 10-4 game.
In the 7th inning Erivn his his second homer of the night off Miguel Diaz. The Padres got their final runs on an Eric Hosmer 2-run homer.
Same teams on Saturday afternoon in Ohio. Robbie Erlin gets the start against Matt Harvey.
