Padres vs Cardinals recap: Robinson Cano is no longer All-Star caliber

The San Diego Padres were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game series.

This is the first time the Padres have been swept in a series this season. The Padres got 11 hits in the first game of the season. However, they were only able to get three runs from those hits.

In the second game of the series, Blake Snell pitched a quality start. He pitched in six innings, giving up only two runs and pitched six strikeouts. This start dropped his ERA to 4.80. Snell settled with a no-decision for this game. Closer Taylor Rogers earned the loss for this game, giving

Yu Darvish went 7 ⅔ innings in the final game of the series, but he gave up all five of the Cardinals’ runs. The Padres lost the game 5-2. One of the two Padres runs came off the bat of Luke Voit. He hit his fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning. 

Robinson Cano has been released by the Padres after a relatively short stint. Cano was unable to play at the level he used to play as a former All-Star.

He only had a .091 batting average in 12 games for the Padres. Cano could have been optioned to Triple-A El Paso. However, he had enough service time to reject the assignment and opt for free agency instead.

Cano’s release allowed for outfielder Nomar Mazara to join the team from Triple-A. Mazara has been hitting with a .367 batting average with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in El Paso. Mazara will be filling in for Wil Myers, who has missed three of the last four games because of right knee inflammation.

Manny Machado has been the best hitter for the Padres so far this season. Eric Hosmer has also hit well for the team this season, but his batting average has dropped to .303. Machado’s batting average sits at .341 currently. 

The Padres rank 28th in the league in hard-hit rate. Despite the disappointing series, the Padres are still in second place in the National League West division. They are three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.