SAN DIEGO — With a chance to complete their first sweep of the season, with a chance to move three games above .500 for the first time all year, the Padres finished their homestand with a dud on Wednesday afternoon: a 9-1 loss to the Marlins at Petco Park.
Not much went right for the Padres, who rode an encouraging three-game winning streak into the matchup. They didn’t pitch well. They were leaky on defense. They ran into an out on the basepaths.
“It just wasn’t very clean,” said manager Mike Shildt. “We haven’t had many of those. We didn’t help ourselves.”
And, so, the roller coaster continues. Every time the Padres have seemed ready to bottom out this season, they’ve fought back with resilience. The reverse has held true, too. Every time San Diego has seemed ready to hit its stride, it has faltered.
Which is a long way of saying that, the Padres have mostly played like a .500 ballclub. And, sure enough, with four long months remaining they sit at 30-29, hovering on the fringe of the playoff picture.
“There’s ups and downs, there’s good and there’s bad, and there’s a lot in between,” said Manny Machado. “It’s the beauty of this game. That’s why I love it. It’s a ride.”
