Padres stumble in 6th to extend losing streak

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres' sixth inning Wednesday night sure felt like a microcosm of something a lot bigger.

In a 7-5 loss to the Giants, San Diego found itself on the wrong end of a thoroughly bizarre 10-minute stretch. First, Luis Perdomo plunked Kevin Pillar on a lob, because he believed -- incorrectly -- that time had been called. Then, Wil Myers let a routine inning-ending popup fall, because he lost the baseball in the hazy San Diego sky.

The Giants capitalized, scoring four runs in the frame, en route to a sweep. Meanwhile, after a promising start to the night, things came unraveled on the Padres awfully quickly.

They need to make sure the same doesn't happen to their 2019 season.

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For the most part, it's been an encouraging first half in San Diego. The Padres are lingering on the fringe of the Wild Card race, as young stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Franmil Reyes and Chris Paddack have burst onto the scene.

On Saturday, they routed the Cardinals before a packed house to move two games above .500. The vibe in the East Village was as positive as it's been in years. Since then, however, the Padres have dropped four straight and were outscored 30-11 in three games against the last-place Giants this week.

“This was not a good series for us, especially where we stood in this race,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “This is a frustrating opportunity we let slip by.”

Now, the Friars are staring down a critical four-game series in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers are winning 80 percent of their games this year.

“Every time we play the Dodgers it's big,” said left fielder Hunter Renfroe, who went 3-for-4 with a homer Wednesday night. “To play them to end the first half ... we go there, and we're not playing real well right now, but we have a chance to step up and get on a winning track and finish the half strong.”

Easier said than done. The Dodgers, who have won consecutive pennants, sit atop the National League once again. They’ve beaten San Diego four times in five games this season.

It’s a daunting task. But -- fair or unfair -- the tenor of the Padres’ first half will probably be defined by their weekend at Chavez Ravine.

Bash brothers

Renfroe and Reyes aren't headed to the Home Run Derby next week. But they're swinging like they belong.

On Tuesday, Reyes became the second hitter in franchise history with 25 homers before the break. On Wednesday, Renfroe joined him, demolishing a solo shot in the eighth inning into the right-center-field beach area. Only Greg Vaughn, who hit 30 in 1998, had more Padres home runs before the break.

“It’s awesome that we really, truly have two players who could hit for 40 home runs a season,” Renfroe said. “Of course Manny [Machado] has that ability as well. Three people who could hit 40 home runs here is a huge, huge step.”

As things stand, Renfroe and Reyes are tied for fourth in the Majors in home runs, and they’re the only pair of teammates with 25 this season. Neither is headed to Cleveland. Major League Baseball unveiled the full Home Run Derby bracket Wednesday night, with the Dodgers' Joc Pederson and the Astros' Alex Bregman taking the final two spots.

“We can’t really do anything about it,” Renfroe said. “It isn’t up to us.”

Strange sixth

The sixth inning started inconspicuously enough with a Stephen Vogt flyout to left. Then things got weird.

Pillar appeared to call time before an 0-1 pitch from Perdomo. But he did so after Perdomo had begun his windup, and home-plate ump Jeff Nelson never granted Pillar’s request. Perdomo eased up and lofted a meatball toward home plate. It hit Pillar on the left foot.

“I've never seen anything like that,” Green said. “Time wasn’t granted. They didn't mishandle that. Jeff didn't do anything wrong behind home plate -- he just didn't give Pillar time.

“If you don't give the hitter time, you can throw a strike right down the middle. He wasn't going to swing. That pitch was right there to throw. Don't stop in that instance. And if you're going to stop, you just stop your windup and don't pitch. That was a mistake, and it cost us.”

Pillar scored two batters later on Donovan Solano’s RBI double, but the damage would’ve been limited to one run -- and a tie game -- if Wil Myers had seen Pablo Sandoval’s ensuing popup to center. Instead, he took a few strides back toward the track, and the ball dropped in front of him.

“That was the most routine fly ball ever hit to a center fielder,” Myers said. “If I would’ve saw it, I would’ve caught it.”

It became the second of four straight Giants hits to break the game open.

Quick hook

Padres starter Cal Quantrill coughed up back-to-back homers in the third, but he’d otherwise held the Giants in check when Green emerged with one out in the fifth.

“He’d been throwing out of the ‘pen for 2 1/2 weeks,” Green said. “So you’re not going to push Cal too terribly far.”

On the surface, the hook came a bit early. But Quantrill has moved back and forth between a starting and bullpen role, and he hadn’t thrown more than 33 pitches since June 14.

“Yeah, it was a quicker hook based on his situation,” Green added. “... We need some bullpen guys to step up and bridge that gap.”