AROUND THE HORN

Padres: The slumping Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Monday as the franchise tries to stop its freefall in the National League playoff race. The 67-year-old Rothschild has been with the Padres for the last two seasons. The Padres have lost nine of their last 11 games and have fallen to third place in the NL West, 13 games behind the first-place Giants. The Padres fell one game behind the Reds for the second and final NL Wild Card after losing Sunday. Padres manager Jayce Tingler said he’s discussed the struggles of the pitching staff — particularly the starting rotation — for a few weeks with general manager A.J. Preller and other front office staff. But Tingler was adamant that the move to fire Rothschild was “100%” his decision. “Instead of waiting and seeing what’s going to happen and staying stagnant, I thought the best thing to do for this team moving forward is to bring in a different voice, different message, different perspective right now,” Tingler said. Ben Fritz — the team’s bullpen coach — will be the interim pitching coach for the rest of the season. “He’s done a great job with our bullpen,” Tingler said. “He’s one of the reasons our bullpen has performed very well this year. With his experience, knowing the system, knowing the guys, being able to provide his perspective, ultimately I think is going to give us our best chance to pitch to our capabilities down the stretch.” After a good start to the season, the Padres’ pitching staff has regressed, especially in recent weeks. The group has a 4.82 ERA in August. Three of the Padres’ main starting pitchers — Yu Darvish, Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet — are currently on the injured list. So is Drew Pomeranz, one of the team’s top relievers. Tingler praised Rothschild, saying he was the right hire for a young pitching staff in 2020. Rothschild has had a long career as a pitching coach with teams like the Cubs and Yankees. He was also the manager of the Rays from 1998 to 2001. “We’ve certainly had some injuries, there’s no doubt about that,” Tingler said. “But we’ve had some inconsistency on the mound. I just think at the end of the day, we haven’t reached our level of production consistently on the mound. With 36 games to go, we’re trying to give a different message.” The Padres hope improved pitching can complement one of the most powerful lineups in the big leagues, featuring Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth. The Padres start a three-game home series against the division rival Dodgers on Tuesday.

Red Sox: Travis Shaw hit a game-ending grand slam in the 11th, and the Red Sox beat the visiting Rangers 8-4. Shaw, who entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth, drove a 3-2 pitch off Dennis Santana (2-3) over the Red Sox’s bullpen. He flipped his bat and looked at the dugout before rounding the bases and getting mobbed at the plate. It was Shaw’s first hit since he was claimed off waivers from the Brewers on Aug. 15. Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe also homered for the Red Sox in the makeup of Sunday’s scheduled game, which was postponed due to Hurricane Henri. Garrett Whitlock (5-2) worked 2 innings for the victory. The Rangers have the majors’ fewest wins since the All-Star break at 8-26.

15 4 49 44 26 9 7 34 30 24 8 8 32 27 20 7 11 32 32 20 9 4 31 34 19 7 7 28 27 26 8 3 27 32 31 6 9 27 25 26 6 6 24 22 27 6 4 22 23 24 6 4 22 21 31 5 5 20 23 33 3 8 17 19 34 3 6 15 25 44

12 3 6 42 35 17 11 4 6 39 36 21 11 4 4 37 29 19 11 8 2 35 32 32 7 6 7 28 22 23 7 7 6 27 30 23 6 7 8 26 24 29 7 10 3 24 27 39 6 9 5 23 25 28 5 7 8 23 23 30 5 9 7 22 25 30 5 11 4 19 17 24 3 8 10 19 23 32 29 8 27 9 22 18 22 17 21 12 21 19 21 22 18 20 16 20

7 24 2 2 0 6 2 2 0 6 2 2 0 6 2 2 0 6 2 1 0 4 2 1 0 4 2 1 0 4 2 1 1 3 1 1 0 3 2 1 1 3 1 1 0 3 2 1 1 3 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0