Padres Swept By Braves
In their first series post All Star break, the Padres were swept by the NL East leading Atlanta Braves.
The series began on Friday with the Braves winning 5-3. Josh Donaldson open the game with a three run homer in the top of the 1st and Ronald Acuna added another run in the 5th with a solo bomb.
Manny Machado hit his 21st home run of the year in the bottom of the 6th to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Josh Donaldson hit his second home run of the game in the top of the 8th giving the Braves a 5-1 lead. The Padres scored single runs in the 8th and 9th but were unable to rally as the Braves got the win on Friday.
The Padres once again fell behind early on Saturday as Josh Donaldson homered again, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.
However, Manny Machado continued his hot hitting, driving a solo shot over the wall in left to cut the Braves lead to 2-1.
San Diego took the lead in the 5th on a solo home run by Francisco Mejia and a sac fly by Josh Naylor to give the Padres a 3-2 lead.
Ronald Acuna tied the game in the top of the 7th with a solo home run but the Padres took the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a double steal by Manny Margot and Fernando Tatis Jr.
However, the shakiness of the Padres bullpen once again came back to haunt them. Kirby Yates came in with one on and no out in the 8th inning and was unable to close out the game, giving up a sac fly to Austin Riley which tied the game at 4.
The Padres had a chance to win it in the 9th with two on and two out and Tatis Jr. at the plate but he struck out which sent the game to extras tied at 4.
Atlanta took the lead in the 10th on a RBI single by Ozzie Albies and added two more runs on a double by Tyler Flowers giving the Braves a 7-4 lead.
Manny Machado hit his second home run of the game to cut the deficit to 7-5 and the Padres loaded the bases with two out in the inning but Luis Perdomo struck out as the Braves held on for the win.
Padres starter Cal Quantrill had his best start in a Padre uniform and Fernando Tatis Jr. had his first career four hit game but once again the San Diego bullpen faltered giving up four runs in the top of the 8th.
Freddie Freeman hit a two out, three run homer and Nick Markakis singled as the Braves tooka 4-0 lead. Josh Naylor singled home a run in the bottom half of the inning but that was it for the Padres offense in a 4-1 loss.
One highlight for the Padres in this game was this unbelievably athletic play by Tatis Jr.
The Padres record now stands at 45-48 and are currently in third place in the NL West yet are only three games out of the second NL Wild Card spot.
San Diego will have an off day on Monday before a three game series in Miami vs the Marlins.
