The San Diego Padres had a six-game road trip through Cincinnati and Philadelphia, losing four of the six games with a doubleheader on the last day in Philly due to the previous game being rained out. They were in and out of the Wild Card picture over the past week and ended up in a virtual tie with the St. Lous Cardinals for the last spot but officially ahead of them by .001 percentage points.

The Friars aren’t the only struggling team in the National League currently. The Cardinals and San Francisco Giants are both battling through slumps and all are within a half game of each other for the last Wild Card spot.

Advertisement

Like a broken record

The offense has a .197 batting average over the past week, hitting .089 with runners in scoring position (4-for-45). Xander Bogaerts showed consistent life this week with a .409 average and 1.140 OPS with three doubles, a home run and an RBI with nine hits. Left fielder Gavin Sheets hit .240 with a .736 OPS with two doubles and a homer for three RBI. Jose Iglesias also had a good week. In his eleven at-bats, he hit .273 with a .606 OPS and a RBI.

Manny’s milestone

Manny Machado hit .167 with a .439 OPS over the six games and sits at 1,994 hits in his career. With a ten game homestand coming up, it is hopeful he will get his 2.000 hit at home. Machado received word while in Philadelphia on Wednesday that he was elected to the starting lineup of the All-Star Game, his second selection as a Padre.

Advertisement

Another black hole

Sometime DH and pinch hitter, Trenton Brooks, is 1-for-13 at the plate since his call up from El Paso. That is one hit better than the previous DH/PH, Luis Campusano, was able to achieve in his three cups of coffee with the team.

Tatis fights back

Fernando Tatis Jr. is quietly fighting his way back into a decent spot and hit .261 over the past week with a RBI and two stolen bases. The rest of the offense continues to limp along, most hitting .200 or below.

Pitching has it’s own issues

Presumptive ace, Dylan Cease, continues to struggle. In his two starts over the past six games he threw 10 innings, allowing 13 hits and 8 runs and the team lost both games. Nick Pivetta, who is pitching like the actual ace, went 6 innings with one run allowed and got the only win against the Phillies. His ERA stands at 3.25 for the season, the best of the starters outside Ryan Bergert (he has only pitched 27 innings).

Advertisement

The bullpen has the four high leverage relievers that are used in close games or games where the team is ahead. Of Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez, both Morejon and Adam have ERA’s below 2.00 while Estrada and Suarez have had their struggles. Suarez threw 2.1 innings overall for the six games with two saves and a blown save but gave up three runs with four hits allowed in 0.1 innings in the blown save. Yuki Matsui has allowed four runs in his two outings over the six games.

On the other hand, David Morgan pitched four innings without allowing a run and has thrown 17.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA since his call up.

Gavin Sheets versus lefties

LF/DH Gavin Sheets has been given the opportunity to hit against lefties in recent weeks. That is mostly due to the fact that any right-handed option has been unproductive. Historically in his career, Sheets has not hit lefties well. Over his four seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Sheets hit .135 versus lefties and .242 against righties.

Advertisement

Since making his hitting adjustments during the offseason and in spring training, Sheets is hitting .267 with 39 RBI in 206 AB versus righties and .244 with 10 RBI in 78 AB versus lefties.

Roster and injury updates

Yu Darvish threw his third simulated game in Lake Elsinore on Tuesday. He went four innings and 64 pitches. The Padres will need a starter on Sunday versus the Rangers so Darvish could pitch then, per Mike Shildt.

Matt Waldron was called up to pitch in Monday’s game in place of injured Ryan Bergert and was sent back down to allow for the extra arm in the bullpen for coming games. Waldron will not be eligible due to the 10-day rule after optioning pitchers. The options are Kyle Hart, Omar Cruz, Braden Nett or Henry Baez if it isn’t Darvish.

Advertisement

Ryan Bergert threw a bullpen on Monday and is eligible to come off the IL on July 10.

Logan Gillaspie was DFA’d on June 30 and his spot on the roster was filled by Eduarniel Nuñez, who pitched in his first game July 2.

Sean Reynolds was sent back to El Paso on June 30 and reliever Ron Marinaccio was called up July 2. He was then optioned after the doubleheader.

More from gaslampball.com: