PHILADELPHIA — The Padres ended Cristopher Sánchez’s historic streak.
Their own dismal streaks go on.
An inning after they scored the first run any team had against Sánchez since April, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber homered to score the first runs against Jason Adam since April.
The Phillies’ 3-2 victory on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park was the Padres’ fourth consecutive loss and their eighth in nine games.
In Thursday afternoon’s series finale, they will attempt to avoid going 0-6 against the Phillies this season.
It was the second consecutive night a member of the Padres bullpen allowed a tie to become a deficit. Jeremiah Estrada had allowed a run in the sixth inning in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss.
It was the second homer off Adam, who had worked 12⅓ scoreless innings over his previous 14 games, that doomed the Padres.
They were able to get back just one of the runs, loading the bases and scoring in the eighth inning against reliever Brad Keller and went down in order in the ninth against Phillies closer Jhoan Duran.
Padres starter Walker Buehler turned in arguably his finest start of the season, allowing just one run on a pair of fifth-inning doubles.
On many nights pitching for many teams, allowing just that damage on a total of four hits and a pair of walks (one intentional) would have been enough for Buehler to win.
On Wednesday, backed up by one of the major leagues’ worst offenses going against one of the major leagues’ best starting pitchers on an historic run, it was not.
Sánchez, who shut out the Padres for seven innings a week earlier at Petco Park, extended his scoreless streak to 50⅔ innings, fifth longest in MLB history.
He was an out away from joining Orel Hershiser (1988) and Don Drysdale (1968) as the only pitchers to ever throw at least seven scoreless innings over six consecutive starts.
NBut with two outs in the seventh, Ty France turned on an 0-1 changeup at his shins and grounded it just inside third base and to the corner in left field for a double.
Jackson Merrill, who had lined out and struck out, then watched a sinker in the heart of the strike zone before getting another belt-high sinker on the inner edge of the plate and grounding it through the hole at shortstop.
As it rolled toward left fielder Brandon Marsh, France rounded third and headed for home, where he slid well before the wide throw reached Realmuto.