SAN DIEGO — What went down Friday at Petco Park was all too familiar for a team that is suddenly in a fight to hold onto its playoff position.
The San Diego Padres scored five runs in the second inning against the team with the major leagues’ worst record. By the middle of the fourth inning, they trailed and were being booed.
They got three hits and did not score again over the final seven innings and lost 8-5 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Before the game, Padres manager Jayce Tingler summed up a recurring issue.
“On the nights we’ve hit … we haven’t pitched well or (have) made a mistake or two defensively,” he said.
Pitching was the primary problem Friday, though so was a recurring issue of scoring early and then stopping.
And so, the Padres saw their lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot shrink to 21/2 games.
Ryan Weathers began the night about as sharp as he’s ever been. The rookie did not allow a base runner until Pavin Smith led off the third inning with a single. Smith scored on Nick Ahmed’s two-out double, and Ahmed scored on Ketel Marte’s single.
Weathers finished the top of the third with a fly out but did not record another out, as four straight singles to start the fourth ended his night.
The Padres clung to a 5-4 lead when Craig Stammen entered the game. A walk, a double and a single later, the Padres trailed by three runs and the Diamondbacks (35-76) had not made an out. They would load the bases but not score again.
It was a stunningly sharp turn of events.
Six of the first 11 Padres batters walked against Arizona starter Caleb Smith, as they built a 5-0 lead on Trent Grisham’s two-run homer, Jake Cronenworth’s two-run double and an RBI groundout by Wil Myers.
