Padres offense – In a 5-0 loss to the Mets, Jackson Merrill tried to spark the Padres by bunting to move Ty France to second—then popped out with two outs. The club is still searching for offense, but Mason Miller logged bullpen work and David Morgan returned for two scoreless
Good morning.
The Padres didn’t just lose to the Mets last night—they looked like a team trying to manufacture life from habits that aren’t working. Early on, it showed in Jackson Merrill’s decision to attempt something different when the game was already moving fast against them.
In the second inning, Merrill tried a bunt to move Ty France to second base. He later faulted himself for how it unfolded. “I fault myself for it,” Merrill said. “I’ve been swinging a pretty good bat, I feel like, the last week. Probably on me. Should have been in there ready to swing early in the game. So probably not the smartest decision.”.
What Merrill tried to do didn’t become anything. He popped a fastball above the zone into the air in foul territory, and third baseman Brett Baty made a sliding catch for the first out. The inning ended two batters later.
Merrill didn’t back away from the idea behind the attempt. “I’m not going to fault myself for attempting to bunt,” he said. “Just know the situation going up there. We need something to get going. We need somebody to drive the ball in the gap, get it going.”
The problem is that “the gap” has rarely arrived for this offense. The Padres had a runner get stranded again and again—empty out after empty out. And last night they still ended the night with another shutout, falling 5-0 to the Mets.
There was already a hint earlier. too. when Fernando Tatis Jr.’s leadoff single was followed by Gavin Sheets hitting a fly ball to left field and Manny Machado grounding into an inning-ending double play. That wasn’t productive baserunning the way the Padres needed it. So when Merrill tried to force a different outcome with a bunt. it came with the kind of tension that only a struggling lineup understands—trying to help without knowing if the next at-bat can truly turn the night.
The Padres have hardly attempted any bunts this season. They have successfully laid down just five sacrifice bunts all season. The article notes that you can debate giving up an out as often as Mike Shildt’s Padres team did—leading MLB with 48 sacrifice bunts last season—but that group believed it had to prioritize scoring however it could.
Merrill’s at-bat fit the moment: unselfish, determined, and born of a team searching for anything that might finally move.
The manager Craig Stammen described the attitude in the clubhouse. “The players kind of banded together. saying. ‘We’ve got to try any way possible to get this thing going. ” Stammen said. “They’re talking amongst each other, they’re trying to keep their family tight and do it together. Sometimes it’s going to work. and sometimes. like today. it just didn’t come out the way that we wanted to.
“I want them to play baseball. you know. and sometimes when you’re not scoring. you get so focused on your swing and executing what you want to do in your at-bat for yourself to get yourself better numbers. And I think that’s been the message of the team — how can we do this together. how can we hang in this together. ignore the result and just go play baseball as best we can. like guys have since they were little kids?. The closer we get to that, the better off we’re going to be.”.
Even so, nothing about last night improved the scoreboard reality. The Padres had three hits and were shut out for the third time in 10 games. Their league-low batting average fell to .215. tied for fourth lowest by an MLB team 61 games into any of the past 25 full seasons. Their six-game skid and offensive struggles are described in the game story referenced in the newsletter. but the message here was clear: the attempts to generate offense haven’t taken hold.
Getting some work was the other story the night offered.
Closer Mason Miller threw in the bullpen after Thursday’s game in Philadelphia. He had not pitched since the previous Friday. After the final out, he got up, began stretching, and then threw as he would before entering to close out a game.
Last night, a week after he last appeared in a game, Miller worked the top of the ninth inning with the Padres trailing 4-0. He threw 17 pitches and allowed a run on two singles and a stolen base before being lifted with two outs.
And after the bullpen work came a more meaningful return.
David Morgan returned and threw two scoreless innings. Morgan had been optioned on April 30 after four consecutive rough outings. He spent the past month working on mechanical tweaks in Triple-A. Last night. he allowed one hit and struck out two after being recalled earlier in the day to replace Jeremiah Estrada. who went on the injured list with right knee inflammation.
There were other injury updates tied to the same day’s news. The prognosis for Estrada and a number of other injury updates is covered in the pregame notebook referenced in the newsletter. The biggest news yesterday regarded left fielder Ramón Laureano. who underwent surgery on his labrum (hip). a procedure described as likely ending his season.
The newsletter also zoomed out to a broader pitching reality: the difficulty of facing opponents this week. Stuff+. a metric described as measuring the “nastiness” of a pitcher’s arsenal by factoring velocity. spin. movement. and release point. is given context here. A Stuff+ rating of 100 is average. A rating of 107 is described as 7% nastier than the average big-league pitcher.
This season, 30 pitchers have thrown 40 innings with a Stuff+ rating of 105 or higher. The Padres have faced 14 of them in 17 games.
Mets right-hander Nolan McLean will be the 15th when he starts against the Padres tonight at Petco Park. McLean’s Stuff+ is listed at 107. The newsletter lists Zack Wheeler (105), Aaron Nola (107), and Cristopher Sanchez (118) as the others the Padres have faced just this week.
Even as the Padres tried to look inward—thinking about bunts. baserunning. mechanical tweaks—last night carried its own crowd reaction. There were boos after the final out, but they were drowned out by cheers from Mets fans. The announced crowd of 42. 159 was described as the 26th sellout in 33 home games. but it seemed significantly less full than for a usual Friday game. especially with a premium opponent in town.
The Padres fell to 16-17 at home this season. The newsletter notes it will be interesting to see the size and makeup of the crowds if the losing continues.
A few more numbers and personal hitting notes were included. The Padres have held a lead at the end of just eight of the past 99 innings, and they have trailed at the end of 67 innings in that span.
Manny Machado went 1-for-4 for the third straight game. Going 3-for-12 in that span raised his batting average four points to .175. Xander Bogaerts went 0-for-3 and is batting .127 (7-for-55) with one home run over his past 16 games. Catcher Rodolfo Durán was 0-for-1 with two walks. dropping his batting average to .080 (2-for-25) while raising his on-base percentage to .303.
There was also a mention of a Q&A: Annie Heilbrunn’s Q&A with Padres reliever Ron Marinaccio about growing up in Jersey and his time with the Yankees.
That was it for the newsletter. The writer said they are taking the next two days off because it is their favorite person’s sixth birthday, and they planned a tea party, swimming, a sleepover, and dress-up.
Jeff Sanders will have coverage of the remaining two games against the Mets on the Padres page. The next newsletter will be in inbox on Tuesday after the opener of the series against the Reds.
San Diego Padres Mets Jackson Merrill Ty France Brett Baty Craig Stammen Mason Miller David Morgan Jeremiah Estrada Ramón Laureano Stuff+ Nolan McLean Petco Park baseball