The San Diego Padres were looking to bounce back after a rough series against the Washington Nationals. The Padres split that series, but they did not look good, especially when it came to the offense. Unfortunately, this series against the Cleveland Guardians was not a bounceback series for the Padres. The Padres were swept in two games at home against the Guardians.
The Guardians are atop of the American League Central division race, which means they are a good team. However, this is a team that the Padres should have been able to defeat at least once. The Padres were unable to win a single game against this team. Only one run was scored by the Padres throughout the two-game series. Both the offense and the pitching struggled in the series. Plenty of errors by the defense of the Padres were made as well.
The first game of the series was a close game that ended up being frustrating for the Padres. Mike Clevinger started the game on the mound for the Padres, pitching against his former team. Clevinger pitched well against his former ballclub. He pitched in six innings, giving up two runs on two hits. He also had four strikeouts and gave up a walk in the contest.
Unfortunately, the Padres’ offense gave Clevinger little run support. An RBI single by second baseman Jake Cronenworth was the only run scored by the Padres in the game. The Padres had six hits and four walks. The Padres ended up leaving 10 runners on base. This total did not help the Padres in this category, as the team is the league leader in runners left on base on a per-game basis. The Padres have left 7.29 runners on base per game, which is the most in the MLB.
The second and final game of the series was much worse than the previous game. The offense was lackluster, and the pitching was not great. Blake Snell started the game on the mound for the Padres. Snell has had a solid stretch of outings since the All-Star break. Unfortunately, Snell went back to his pitching from before the All-Star break. Snell pitched in three ⅓ innings and gave up six runs on eight hits. However, he did not give up a walk, and he had four strikeouts. His ERA skyrocketed back above four, as he now has a 4.24 ERA on the season.
Just like the previous game, the Padres’ offense was awful. The Padres had six hits and one walk, and they were unable to score a single run. Designated hitter Josh Bell and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim each had two hits, but the Padres’ lineup struggled other than that. The Padres ended up losing this game by a score of 7-0.
The Padres now have a record of 68-58 on the season. The team is currently holding onto the third wild card spot in the National League, behind the Philadelphia Phillies and well behind the Atlanta Braves. Fortunately, the Milwaukee Brewers are also struggling, as the Padres are 1.5 games above the Brewers for that last NL Wild Card spot.
The Padres will head to Missouri and look to rebound against a struggling Kansas City Royals team.