Padres Looking To End Losing Spell With Win Against Mets In Series Opener

The San Diego Padres are in freefall after being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies for the second time in two weeks, losing five straight and nine of its last 10.

The Padres are now 32-29, sit in third place of the National League West and are a half-game behind the Phillies for the final NL wild card spot. The Padres were outmatched by the Phillies yet again and dropped the season series 6-0 after losing the finale 6-4 Thursday.

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and scored two more in the fifth before Padres third baseman Manny Machado unloaded for a 435-foot two-run homer in the seventh, but the Phillies scored three more in the bottom half of the inning to go up 6-2.

Center fielder Jackson Merrill hit a two-run shot of his own in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback. Both Machado and Merrill have scuffled this season and Machado recognized that he and San Diego’s other stars need to be better in order to win games.

Padres right-handed starter Lucas Giolito commanded the strike zone much better than he has been but completed four innings and allowed two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five, taking his first loss of the season.

Phillies ace righty Zack Wheeler dealt over seven innings of work, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks while punching out eight to earn a quality start and his fifth win.

The Padres will look to get back on track in its three-game series against the New York Mets beginning Friday. The series opener will feature a pitching matchup between Padres ace right-hander Michael King and Mets righty Christian Scott.

King has been the starting rotation anchor that San Diego desperately needs, but he was roughed up in his last two starts against the Athletics and Washington Nationals.

The A’s tagged King for four runs on five hits and four walks in 3.2 innings while the Nats got him for five runs on five hits and one walk over six innings. King is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 65 strikeouts through 12 starts (68 innings).

Scott picked up his first career win in his last outing against the Miami Marlins and is 1-0 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 36 strikeouts through seven starts (30.1 innings). Against the Marlins, Scott pitched five innings and allowed one run on five hits and two walks while fanning eight.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.