All of a sudden, Padres swagger was replaced by Padres stagger.
After scoring six runs in the second inning of Game 3 to take a 6-1 lead, the Padres. The Padres mugged to camera, preened around the field, and generally acted like impetuous jerks.
Then the baseball gods stepped in.
Since that six-run second, the Padres eleven more hits. Not eleven more hits in that game, but eleven more hits total.
Nine singles, one double, and one triple in the following twenty-five innings. And no runs.
The Padres were shut out in Game 4 and Game 5. They weren’t just shut out in Game 5, they were shut down, mustering just two singles, both in the third inning. A double play wiped out that rally. Then they never got a runner on base after that, going down meekly. Not a single baserunner.
The Dodgers move on, the Padres move over.
Swaggerless.
*****
TODAY’S GAME:
12:08, Detroit 2 @ Cleveland 2, TBS