There is some good news for the San Diego Padres. Freddy Fermin is out of his slump and swinging the bat extremely well, and Samad Taylor adds some tremendous athleticism and speed to the lineup. The bad news is nothing else about their current stretch could even remotely be considered good news.
The Padres bats were awful again and starting pitcher Randy Vasquez had a rough outing in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park, handing the Friars their fourth straight series loss.
Vasquez never really found a groove and was tagged for four runs on eight hits in just 4.0 innings. When he left Yuki Matsui came on and allowed his first home run of the year to MJ Melendez, followed shortly by his 2nd homer of the season to rookie Carson Benge (who finished 5-for-5). It could have been even worse for Matsui but Taylor, making his first start in a San Diego uniform, made a trio of stellar catches in left field and even added his first career Padres hit.
Taylor’s single in the 5th inning came one pitch before Fermin unloaded on a two-run bomb, his second straight game with a big fly after snapping an oh-for-30 slump with a game-winning 2-run shot on Saturday night. The 5th inning rally looked like it might gain some momentum when Fernando Tais Jr. followed with a line drive to double to left field … but with two outs Tatis was thrown out when he inexplicably tried to steal 3rd base.
The bottom of the order came through again in the top of the 9th when Taylor drew a walk and scored on Fermin’s double, only to have Tatis Jr. strike out to end the game.
The Padres open a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night with Walker Buehler on the mound against lefty Andrew Abbott.