SAN DIEGO_Chris Paddack has not, over the course of his rookie season, surrendered a hit very often.
Increasingly, however, when he does allow one, he allows another. That, not to mention the fact too many of those hits have been home runs, has contributed to a downturn in the 23-year-old right-hander's sensational maiden big-league campaign.
Three times Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies strung together at least two hits against Paddack.
They scored during two of those streaks, including on back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, and beat the San Diego Padres 9-6 at Petco Park.
On the heels of allowing a career-high six hits at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday, Paddack yielded eight to the Phillies. And after giving up a career-high four earned runs to the Yankees, Paddack was tagged for five of them Tuesday.
The Padres managed just four hits off starter Jerad Eickhoff, who had allowed at least four runs in four consecutive starts and a total of 10 homers in that span. Those four hits included Franmil Reyes' team-leading 18th home run in the sixth inning, the last one Eickhoff (3-3) worked.
Reyes would hit his 19th, against Edgar Garcia, in the eighth inning. The Padres' fight back from an 8-2 deficit concluded with Eric Hosmer's two-run homer later in that inning.
They did threaten again in the ninth, when pinch-hitter Josh Naylor singled with one out, bringing up Reyes. He did not put the ball in play this time, striking out on a full-count splitter from Hector Neris, who ended the game by getting Manny Machado to pop out to shallow center field.
Paddack (4-4) retired the first five Phillies he faced before Jay Bruce lined a double that short-hopped the wall in left-center field and Scott Kingery followed with a double down the left field line to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Bryce Harper singled and Jean Segura doubled with two outs in the third before Paddack got Rhys Hoskins on a pop-up.
The Padres took a 2-1 lead when Ian Kinsler led off the third inning with a double, Austin Hedges was hit by a curveball that didn't curve, Paddack advanced both on a sacrifice bunt and Greg Garcia lined a double just inside first base and down the line.
That advantage was short-lived.
J.T. Realmuto led off the fourth with a hard single, and Bruce smashed an 0-2 fastball an estimated 368 feet, into the left field seats. Paddack then missed outside on two fastballs to Kingery before catcher Austin Hedges strolled to the mound and was joined in conference by the entire infield.
Paddack's next pitch was a fastball slightly up in the center of the zone that Kingery sent 408 feet, also to the seats beyond left field.
Harper's single leading off the fifth was followed not by a hit but by something far rarer _ a Machado error, his fourth of the season, as he made the transfer from glove to hand before he could throw to second base.
With his 91st pitch of the night, Paddack got Hoskins on another pop-up for the first out of the fifth.
Manager Andy Green replaced Paddack with left-hander Brad Wieck, who gave up a single to Realmuto that loaded the bases and then placed a 2-0 fastball up and on the outside half of the plate that Bruce sent 394 feet to right-center field. The grand slam gave Bruce six RBIs, tying a career high, and gave the Phillies an 8-2 lead.
Two of those final four runs were charged to Paddack.
That left him with the worst line of his 11 big-league starts_ 4 1/3 innings, eight hits, six runs (five earned) three strikeouts and two home runs.
After not giving up more than four hits in any of his first six starts, he has allowed at least five hits in his past four.
Consistently plaguing him in those starts have been successive hits and home runs.
The Yankees started their 7-0 victory with back-to-back homers and followed a home run in the second inning with two singles. The Diamondbacks scored their only run in a 2-1 Padres victory on May 20 with successive singles and a fielder's choice. The Dodgers only put together a run of hits once, but they homered twice in a 6-3 victory.
His ERA has almost doubled over those four starts _ from 1.55 to 2.97.
Adam Warren pitched two scoreless innings before Luis Perdomo allowed pinch-hitter Maikel Franco a solo homer in the eighth.
After winning six of Paddack's first seven starts, the Padres have lost three of his past four.
