September 5, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar (10) watches a grand slam go over the wall by Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Poroy-Imagen Images The San Diego Padres don’t have time to be sad about losing a game they could have won.
One step away from defeating the Detroit Tigers and improving its playoff position, San Diego lost 4-3 on Thursday night when reliable closer Robert Suarez gave up a two-strike grand slam to Parker Meadows.
The Padres aim to bounce back Friday night when they host the San Francisco Giants in the first game of a three-game series.
San Diego (80-62) still leads the Arizona Diamondbacks by a half-game for the National League’s first wild card but missed a good chance to gain a lead over the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres fell behind by five in the division with 20 games remaining.
“We play every day,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “We play the game the right way every day. That’s what we do. So we’ll be OK.”
After losing for just the 12th time in 42 games, San Diego will look to Michael King (11-8, 3.17 ERA) to get back into the winning position. King has lost his last two starts, including a 4-1 loss at St. Louis on Aug. 29 where he allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.
King got a few extra days of rest after the Padres activated Yu Darvish from the injured list to start Wednesday night. King is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts against San Francisco this year. He lost his only previous meeting with the Giants in a relief appearance in 2023.
King won 4-0 at San Francisco on April 6 after firing seven shutout innings and allowing only four hits. A week earlier, he drew a career-high seven walks in four innings during a no-decision against the Giants.
San Diego has sought extra rest for King in the second half, as his 150 2/3 innings are the highest of his career.
“I’m feeling really good,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s because of this pause where I got eight days. That kind of reset me almost and I’m feeling really good … knock on wood.”
As for the Giants (69-72), they are in the role of spoilers for the rest of the season. They gave San Diego some help on Thursday, when they rallied from an early two-run deficit to beat Arizona 3-2 on Patrick Bailey’s walk-off double in the ninth inning.
Bailey, who drove in all three runs for San Francisco, entered the game at 6-75 (.080).
“The last month and a half hasn’t gone the way I wanted it to, but the last couple of days and the last couple of games, I’m feeling better,” Bailey said.
The bad news from that game is that the Giants needed eight innings from their bullpen, as Blake Snell was gone after a 42-pitch first inning in which he gave up both runs. San Francisco may need some length from rookie Mason Black (0-2, 7.45 ERA) on Friday.
In his most recent appearance, Black suffered a 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins on Saturday while striking out six batters in five innings and allowing just two runs on four hits and no walks. That was the longest stretch in his four Major League starts and five appearances. This will be his first against the Padres.
San Francisco holds a 4–3 lead in the season series. The two teams played four games in San Diego at the beginning of the season.
–Field Level Media