Skidding Padres On Verge Of Being Swept By Phillies Twice Within Two Weeks

The San Diego Padres have hit a snag recently and have lost eight of its last nine games, including five to the Philadelphia Phillies within the last two weeks.

After another 3-2 loss to the Phillies Wednesday, the Padres have gone 0-5 against Philadelphia and were outscored 16-7 in those games. San Diego has pitched well in all those games, limiting the Phillies to just three runs in four of the five games and four runs in the other game.

Unlike last week’s matchup between Padres right-hander Walker Buehler and Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez, the Padres broke through against Sanchez and ended his scoreless inning streak at 50.2 innings, the longest for a left-handed pitcher and fifth-longest streak in Major League Baseball history since 1893.

Both hurlers pitched great games; Buehler matched Sanchez through six innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six. Sanchez completed seven innings and allowed one run on four hits and one walk while fanning eight.

Sanchez earned the win, though, as catcher J.T. Realmuto and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of solo home runs in the seventh. San Diego scratched another run across in the eighth on a bases loaded hit by pitch but failed to score again.

The offense has struggled during this losing spell, but a promising sign is that star second baseman Fernando Tatis Jr. is heating up. He recently hit his first home run of the season and has 18 RBI while slashing .275/.345/.329 (.674 OPS). The slug is coming.

Although the Phillies already clinched the series, the Padres can spoil the sweep by winning the finale. The pitching matchup will feature a couple of right-handers: San Diego’s Lucas Giolito and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler.

Giolito is 2-0 with a 4.97 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and six strikeouts through three starts (12.2 innings). He won his first two outings and pitched five innings in both starts but was rocked by the Washington Nationals in his last appearance and exited the game after just 2.2 innings of work. Giolito will face the following Phillies lineup:

1. Schwarber (DH)

2. Trea Turner (SS)

3. Bryce Harper (1B)

4. Brandon Marsh (LF)

5. Alec Bohm (3B)

6. Bryson Stott (2B)

7. Realmuto (C)

8. Adolis Garcia (RF)

9. Justin Crawford (CF)

Wheeler didn’t make his first start until the end of April due to injury, but he’s been excellent in seven starts (43.2 innings) thus far. Wheeler is 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 40 strikeouts.

He last worked against the Los Angeles Dodgers and allowed four runs on five hits and one walk while fanning four over six innings. Wheeler will face the following Padres lineup:

1. Tatis (2B)

2. Gavin Sheets (LF)

3. Manny Machado (3B)

4. Ty France (1B)

5. Jackson Merrill (CF)

6. Xander Bogaerts (SS)

7. Miguel Andujar (DH)

8. Freddy Fermin (C)

9. Bryce Johnson (RF)

First pitch is at 10:05 a.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.