The Padres lost their second straight Friday to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks, and in brutal fashion.
Reliever Craig Stammen gave up a walk-off home run to the first batter he faced, Arizona’s Daulton Varsho, for a final score of 3-2.
With the loss, the Padres fell to 10 games behind the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. The Cincinnati Reds, though are gaining on them in the race for the second wild-card spot, and now trail the Padres by 2.5 games.
The Friars had battled back to tie the game in the 7th inning on a Wil Myers two-run homer. He finished the game a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
Manager Jayce Tingler lamented the Padres getting men on base, but failing to bring them home.
“We just couldn’t get the big hit,” he said.
Myers said the team, despite facing challenges, is not panicking.
“We’re in that time of the year where it gets tough,” he said. “You know, these are the grinding days, but this is why we play.”
The Padres will try for a split of the four-game series with the last-place D’Backs beginning Saturday when Joe Musgrove takes the mound. Sunday’s starter is TBD.