The Twins left San Diego with three straight losses and a manager who did not bother dressing up what happened.
A weekend that opened with playoff position on the line ended with the Minnesota Twins getting run out of Petco Park.
Sunday afternoon's 8-1 loss to the Padres finished off a clean three-game sweep, and it followed the same script as the first two, with a close game coming apart against the San Diego lineup late.
Fernando Tatis Jr. did most of the damage in the finale, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs, and manager Derek Shelton did not pretend there was much more to say about the series.
"They beat us in all facets of the game," Shelton said.
One Swing
Minnesota's lone run came from Brooks Lee, whose 20th homer of the season tied the game at one in the fifth.
Walker Buehler shut down everything else, holding the Twins to four hits and no walks over six innings, and Bailey Ober actually matched him for a while.
Ober allowed one run over five innings on four hits, and the game was even when he handed it to the bullpen.
The sixth inning broke it open for San Diego.
An error by Kaelen Culpepper put a runner on, Kody Funderburk and Jeff Hoffman combined to walk three, and Luis Rengifo doubled home two before Tatis singled in two more for a 5-1 lead.
Jackson Merrill homered in the seventh, Xander Bogaerts added an RBI double, and Tatis finished the afternoon with another homer in the eighth.
Funderburk took the loss, and the Padres held Minnesota to two walks across the entire series while Tatis finished the three games 9-for-14.
Alan Roden had two of Minnesota's six hits on Sunday, which is still a bright spot all things considered.
The Wild Card Situation
The sweep dropped the Twins to 63-68 and two games back of the final American League wild card spot, with the Guardians and Rangers sharing that line and Cleveland rolling on a four-game winning streak.
Minnesota is chasing multiple teams now, and the schedule offers little rest, with a series at the Athletics opening Monday night in West Sacramento.
Joe Ryan is out with a mild glute strain after Ryan's worst start of the year back in July.
Byron Buxton has been banged up more than once this season, including a hip issue that ended with a July activation and Buxton is just 4-for-31 since his latest return in mid-August.
Reasons To Keep Watching
The frustrating part for Minnesota is that the young core keeps producing even in a stretch like this.
Lee has been swinging one of the hottest bats on the roster, and Luke Keaschall's development has drawn public praise from Shelton, when the club was climbing back toward .500.
A two-game deficit with five weeks of season left is not insurmountable.
It only feels that way after a disappointing weekend with a chance to take another leap in the playoff race.
