Darvish off mark in rocky opener to key homestand

SAN DIEGO — The Padres know what’s on the road throughout their six-game homestand towards the reeling Pirates and high-flying Rangers. They comprehend it’s not nearly attempting to color themselves into the NL Wild Card image as sand inexorably falls within the hourglass of the 2023 season.

These six video games are about going into August with the identical group of gamers the Padres began the homestand with. These are the stakes of Commerce Deadline season.

Understanding all that, the Padres started their closing homestand earlier than the Aug. 1 Deadline with a clunker, falling 8-4 to the Pirates on Monday evening at Petco Park. Yu Darvish matched his profession excessive with 4 dwelling runs allowed because the Bucs constructed a seven-run lead earlier than the sport was midway via.

The Padres sit 48-53, six video games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. They nonetheless haven’t gained greater than three consecutive video games this yr. They’re 18-21 towards groups beneath .500. Their run differential (+48, third-best within the NL) suggests they’re able to an prolonged playoff push and of punishing lesser competitors, nevertheless it hasn’t occurred with any consistency.

“That’s baseball,” cornerstone Padres star Manny Machado stated. “It’s exhausting. It’s not straightforward.”

It actually isn’t any simpler when you already know each loss will increase the probabilities one in all your teammates — Blake Snell and Josh Hader being the 2 names most bandied about — is likely to be carrying a special uniform in per week or so. The Padres discuss focus, about the necessity to get one win after which fear concerning the subsequent. However that’s simpler stated than performed.

“We’re all human beings, on the finish of the day,” Machado stated. “You’re mentioning gamers, sure gamers. As people, it’s irritating. It takes a toll in your physique, in your thoughts. So it’s not straightforward. On the finish of the day, you’ve acquired to go on the market and concentrate on baseball and profitable any manner you probably can.

“It’s not straightforward, nevertheless it’s a part of the sport, a part of baseball. You simply need to learn to take care of it, transfer ahead and attempt to be as skilled as you may. It’s positively a troublesome week.”

Ha-Seong Kim gave Petco Park a jolt of power with the third leadoff homer of his profession — all this yr — suggesting the Padres might block out the noise of Deadline season and set a tone for this homestand. However Darvish yielded homers to Jack Suwinski, Carlos Santana, Liover Peguero (his profession first) and, lastly, Santana once more.

Kim recorded his first multi-homer recreation when he went deep towards rookie Pirates starter Quinn Priester within the fifth inning, however the Padres had too large a gap to beat.

“There’s been lots of disappointments,” Padres supervisor Bob Melvin stated. “This simply sort of provides to the frustration. We haven’t been in a position to do something to offer ourselves a ton of confidence. So we have now to try this — come again tomorrow and win a recreation after which win a sequence.”

Darvish’s line included seven runs, eight hits and three walks throughout 4 1/3 innings. Statcast credited him with eight varieties of pitches thrown. Velocity was down on six — all however his slider and solitary knuckle-curve. Spin was down on all however his curve.

“I simply didn’t have really feel for my spin,” Darvish stated, by way of interpreter Shingo Horie. “I attempted to make changes within the recreation, however simply couldn’t convey it to some extent the place it was efficient sufficient.”

Darvish stated it was merely a recreation to “flip the web page” on. The Padres are hoping the pages forward change the plot, however not the characters.

“I’m all the time within the camp that we have now sufficient right here to go the place we need to go,” Melvin stated. “I positively assume we do. If it finally ends up [we’re] including, then nice. However I like our crew.”