Padres vs. Brewers recap: The offense is back

The San Diego Padres won their recent series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Padres won three out of the four games played in the road series. This was the Padres second series against the Brewers this season. Fortunately, this series turned out much better than the first time around. In the first series, the Padres only won one game out of the three home games against the Brewers. 

After only scoring five runs in the first series against the Brewers, the Padres scored 21 runs in this series to win three out of four games. The one loss came in the first game of the series. The Padres were doing well the entire game. The score was 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, with the Padres having the lead.

Taylor Rogers, who has been a solid closer throughout the season, came in and gave up four runs without earning a single out. This blunder from the bullpen, unfortunately, ruined Sean Manaea’s quality start. Manaea pitched six innings and struck out eight batters. He only gave up one run in those six innings. 

The next game turned out to be a much better outcome than the first game.

The Padres won this one 7-0. Joe Musgrove nearly had his second career no-hitter. He went seven innings without giving up a hit, until he gave up a double to Kolten Wong in the eighth inning. Although Musgrove was unable to pitch a no-hitter, he pitched eight innings of shutout ball. Musgrove earned his sixth win of the season with his effort. 

The offense was strong in the second game of the series, thanks to left fielder Jurickson Profar and third baseman Manny Machado. Profar went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Machado hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning. 

The third game of the series also resulted in a shutout by the Padres. The Padres won this game 4-0. The four runs were produced by the two hitters at the top of the lineup, Profar and Jake Cronenworth. Profar drove in a run with a groundout, while Cronenworth hit a home run and a double to drive in a total of three runs. 

Padres fans would like to see more of the production from Cronenworth that made him an All-Star last season. His batting average currently sits at .212. This is nowhere near the average he had in 2020 (.285) and 2021 (.266).

The final game of the series was a close one.

The game had to go into extra innings, so the game was tied 3-3 going into the 10th inning. Cronenworth was able to continue to produce with the momentum gained from the previous game. He hit a three-run home run in the tenth inning and had a total of four RBIs in the game. The Padres would go on to win 6-4.

Mike Clevinger was solid in his first game back from the injured list, although his start was limited to 60 pitches. He pitched in three innings and only gave up one run on one hit. He also struck out five batters. Taylor Rogers was able to rebound after a rocky outing earlier in the series.

The Padres now have a record of 33-21, still good for second place in the National League West. They also hold the top wildcard spot in the National League over the St. Louis Cardinals and division rival San Francisco Giants.