Article Author:
Reuters
The San Diego Padres are on a five-game losing streak, dropping their hold on the final wildcard spot in the National League to just 50 games left.
They've gone 1-5 since acquiring Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury, and are set to open Monday night's series opener against the Giants in San Francisco. Including, it has been shut out in 2 games in a row.
Game 2 of the 3-game series takes place Tuesday night in San Diego.
Despite Monday's loss, the Padres are on the soft side of their schedule. 7 of the next 8 series and 8 of the next 10 series will be against teams with a losing record. His schedule for the Padres through August is one of his softest schedules in the league in the majors.
But Padres manager Bob Melvin doesn't jump to the point immediately.
"I think we need to start playing a little better, regardless of who we face," Melvin said. "The Giants are a lot better now. They're healthy again. And they're always a challenging matchup for us.
"This schedule is an opportunity. I don't see it that way, I just have to start playing better.”
For example, the Giants are one of the teams with a losing record. The Giants, however, beat the Padres 1-0 on Monday to extend their third straight win.
"We had a tough series against the Dodgers, but we bounced back pretty well," said Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
Despite a 54-55 record, the Giants are just five and a half games away from the wild card spot. If they sweep this series in San Diego, the Giants are just 3.5 games behind the Padres, with six head-to-head games remaining.
Tuesday night's game will feature a right-handed match. San Francisco's Alex Cobb (3-6, 4.08 ERA) versus San Diego's Joe Musgrove (8-5, 3.00 ERA).
On paper, the pairing looks in favor of the Padres. But Musgrove is 0-5 in his last eight games, while the Padres are 1-7.
In his first 12 starts, Musgrove said he was 8-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 12 consecutive starts. The Padres were 11-1 when he started. In his last four starts, Musgrove has allowed 17 runs in 21 innings, with 26 hits, five walks and 22 strikeouts. That's a 7.29 ERA and a 1.476 WHIP.
Musgrove has made two starts for the Giants this season, both games the Padres won 2–1. Musgrove said he went 1–0 with an ERA of 0.00 and a batting average of .
Cobb made his lone start of the season against the Padres. In a game the Giants won 13–2 in San Francisco, he gave up two runs on April 12 with four hits and two walks on ten strikeouts in five innings. Here he went 0-2 in four starts, but Cobb finished 25 1/3 innings where he had 19 hits, six walks, and 30 strikeouts while he finished 2.84. Only defense rate is allowed.
– Field Level Media
