San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
DOUBLE-DIP SLIP: PADRES DROP TWO
Tatis leaves second game with tweaked ankle when trying to make a catch
With time running out on their season, the Padres were swept by the Phillies in a doubleheader Saturday that may have been even more costly than the two defeats.
“This was a miserable day,” Bob Melvin said.
It would have been so even without Fernando Tatis Jr. rolling his ankle and leaving the second game.
The Padres’ bullpen could not maintain two late leads in the opener, a 6-4 loss, and starting pitcher Ryan Weathers could not preserve the two leads he was given and the bullpen again leaked mightily in a 9-4 loss Saturday night.
As troubling as anything, as it pertains to the Padres’ increasingly slim chances of fighting their way into playoff contention, a long, hot day’s final three innings were contested without Tatis.
He was hurt while giving chase to a Trea Turner double to the wall in right-center field in the third inning.
“I was thinking I was probably going for the jump,” Tatis said. “But I read the ball, and it was way too high on the wall. I decided to stop it, and just the dirt, it was too loose and my ankle flipped.”
Tatis played two more innings in the field and batted in the top of the sixth, popping out to first base. Brandon Dixon replaced him in the bottom of that inning.
Tatis’ status for today’s series finale is in doubt. He was walking with a limp, but the swelling was down after the game.
“Let’s see how I wake up (today),” he said. “But I feel like nothing major. ... I’ll be ready soon.”
Every loss feels like a significant step backward now that the Padres (44-49) are inside 70 games remaining and will this morning be at least 6½ games out of the National League’s finalwild card spot. It was quite a precipitous fall from Friday’s 8-3 victory and having a lead in the eighth inning of Saturday’s first game.
“We were right there and unfortunately came up a little short on both sides,” Manny Machado said. “Tough day, for sure. … (today) is gonna be a real big bounceback for us. It’s huge. (to
day) is a must-win for us.”
As long as Tatis’ removal does not portend a long absence, it was the afternoon loss that stung. And it furthered what may end up being one of the main storylines of a season that could simply expire as the Padres fail to get their act together.
“We’ve talked about timing this year a bunch,” Melvin said between games. “Our timing isn’t great right now. A lot of good things happened and a lot of bad things happened.”
This time, the Padres could not make Trent Grisham’s three-run homer in the second inning and Machado’s homer in the eighth inning stand up.
In winning six of their seven games entering Saturday, the Padres had scored enough, their starting pitchers had covered enough innings and closer Josh Hader had been busy and good enough to overcome the consistent leaking by many relievers.
But after being among the best bullpens in the major leagues the first 2½ months of the season — back when the Padres’ offense was far less productive — Padres relievers have collectively been the worst in the majors for more than two weeks.
Steven Wilson allowed two runs in the sixth inning and Nick Martinez a run in the seventh that tied Saturday’s first game 3-3. After Machado hit his 300th career home run in the top of the eighth, the Phillies scored three runs (two earned) off Tim Hill in the bottom of the inning.
The meltdown — the 15th consecutive game in which the bullpen allowed at least one run and the 13th time in that span it allowed multiple runs — came after Blake Snell worked five somewhat laborious innings.
Melvin said he lifted Snell after 82 pitches because Snell was “cooked.” Snell said he came into the game sore and had figured he would go 75 pitches and/ or five innings.
“I wouldn’t say I was cooked,” said Snell, who has an Mlb-low 0.62 ERA over 58 innings in his past 10 starts. “... I was playing it smart by not trying to overdo it.”
The bullpen allowed five runs in the second game, which merely sealed a result set in motion when a 2-1 Padres lead lasted for four pitches into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Garrett Stubbs, a Torrey Pines High graduate, led off the bottom of the fifth by laying down a perfect drag bunt on the second pitch he saw, and Johan Rojas lined the next pitch into center field before Kyle Schwarber launched the next pitch over the tall wall in right field to put the Phillies up 4-2.
The Phillies added two runs in the sixth against Adrián Morejón, who departed with a right knee strain after slipping on the mound trying to make a play on a grounder. Brent Honeywell ended the sixth before allowing three runs in the seventh.
“Terrible day, terrible day,” Tatis said. “We couldn’t pull it off today. Just flush it and try to come back strong. I mean, Friday it was a great day for us, and they looked like they just bounced back.”