SAN DIEGO — Six weeks remain in the season, but many inside the San Diego Padres organization feel this weekend’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies could determine a lot about how a dragging team will respond going forward.
After completing what was almost certainly their most disappointing road trip in at least a decade — if largely because in most recent years going 1-6 against two of the major leagues’ bottom dwellers would not have been significant because of lack of expectations — the Padres began a six-game homestand Friday night with a 4-3 loss to an opponent similarly desperate for a victory.
The Padres, who 11 days ago had a 41/2-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the final National League wild-card spot, are now tied with the Reds.
Manny Machado responded early with a two-run homer that cut the Padres’ deficit to 3-2 in the third inning after the Phillies scored three runs in the top of the third.
Machado was not able to finish the game after being ejected by home plate umpire Doug Eddings after a strikeout that ended the eighth inning.
The call on Machado was the seventh ball to a Padres hitter that Eddings called a strike, and it followed last month’s game in Miami in which Eddings similarly skewed his bad calls toward the Padres. (He called two balls strikes against Phillies batters.)
The Phillies, who had lost seven of nine to fall out of first place in the NL East, pushed their lead to two runs by scoring off Emilio Pagan in the top of the eighth.
With help from their ninth and 10th walks of the game, the Padres scored once in the eighth but then lost Machado and manager Jayce Tingler.
Tingler was tossed after a called strike well outside put Machado behind 0-2. When Machado swung through strike three to end the inning, he began talking to Eddings. That escalated to his yelling and getting closer to Eddings, at which point Machado was ejected.
There was more talking and milling around, and crew chief Bill Miller ejected coach Ryan Flaherty.
Eric Hosmer reached base for the fourth time with a walk that led off the eighth, and Wil Myers’ single put runners at the corners with no outs before Adam Frazier and Trent Grisham struck out and Tommy Pham walked. With the bases loaded, and most of the 40,297 in attendance screaming and many on their feet, Fernando Tatis Jr. came to the plate. He was hit in the helmet by an Ian Kennedy fastball to bring in Hosmer.
The Padres went down in order in the ninth.
The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning when Hector Neris walked three of four batters, including the last one on four pitches, before Pham weakly grounded the first pitch he saw to shortstop for the third out.
J.T. Realmuto’s tailing line drive off the left field wall, which followed a two-out walk and stolen base by Jean Segura, was the first hit Padres starter Blake Snell allowed and gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Bryce Harper, sent a 3-2 slider well over the party deck and beyond the first section of seats in right field to make it 3-0.
Snell ended up striking out eight in five innings, throwing 92 pitches before being replaced by Pierce Johnson to start the sixth.
