The Padres came out on the wrong side of a pitchers’ duel Wednesday, dropping the closing game of their brief home stand 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs.
The Friars scored first, when Manny Machado singled to drive in Tommy Pham in the 3rd inning.
The Cubs tied it up the next inning when Joc Pederson led off with a home run to center off starter Yu Darvish, as he faced his former team.
But the Padres couldn’t manage a hit after the 5th, when Victor Caratini singled, but stayed put as Cub starter Jake Arrieta struck out the side.
Chicago went ahead in the 7th, when Ian Happ, who had walked, scored on a double play ball off the bat of Anthony Rizzo. They added an insurance run when Sergio Alcantara homered in the 8th.
Darvish took the loss, though he pitched seven innings of three-hit ball while striking out eight.
The Padres lost two games in the three-game set. They won the opener Monday, 9-4, then lost Tuesday, 7-1. The Cubs also swept the Friars last week in Chicago.
“We just got a group kinda cold right now, that are struggling,” said manager Jayce Tingler, who credited the Cubs with beating “us in a lot of facets” over the two series.
The San Francisco Giants sit atop the tight National League West. The Padres slipped to third place, a half-game behind the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
The team has an off day Thursday before opening a six-game road trip in New York. Blake Snell takes the mound Friday, as the Padres again have to deal with the Mets’ Jacob deGrom. The ace shut them out at Petco Park last Saturday.
Fan alert: When the Padres return home June 17, the team will get to play before a full-capacity crowd for the first time since 2019, as pandemic restrictions continue to ease.