The Arizona Diamondbacks did not have what it took to win their series against the San Diego Padres.
The Arizona Diamondbacks missed out on the opportunity to win their four-game series against the San Diego Padres after falling to them on Thursday, 5-1, at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Immediately, the Padres jumped on Diamondbacks rookie left-hander Kohl Drake. It started when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a leadoff double in the top of the first before Drake gave up a subsequent single to Luis Rengifo.
Afterward, Drake got Manny Machado to ground into a double play, but the consequence was that Tatis Jr. scored to make it a 1-0 game.
In the third inning, the Padres got after Drake again via a small-ball approach that put two more runs on the board. While he did not allow any runs in the fourth, Drake did give up a single and a double that compelled Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to resort to his bullpen.
By the end of his outing, Drake had only put together 3.2 innings of work and allowed six hits, three earned runs and a walk while only striking out one batter. He suffered his first losing decision of the year, and his ERA is now 5.40, which indicates growing pains for the rookie.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Diamondbacks did not fare much better.
In 34 at-bats, Arizona’s batters totaled just eight hits, and five of them occurred between the first and the third inning. The Diamondbacks were able to respond to San Diego’s two-run frame in the top of the third when Corbin Carroll doubled, and Gabriel Moreno hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to get their team on the board, but that was all they could muster up.
Overall, the Padres did not hit the ball much better than Arizona, but they manufactured more opportunities and methodically got runs across the board. By the end of the game, San Diego had gone 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position while leaving nine runners on base, while the Diamondbacks' offense went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.
Arizona's offensive output was the opposite of what it was able to achieve in Wednesday’s 10-4 win over the Padres. In that game, the Diamondbacks notched 15 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Thursday’s showing by Arizona was indicative of how the season has gone when the offense does not produce. Fair or not, the Diamondbacks’ batting order has the onus on it to carry them to wins, and the pitching staff in its current state cannot be relied upon to do so.
