In what has become an all-too-familiar narrative for Padres fans this season, the team’s struggles hit a new low as they were stifled by Mariners rookie pitcher Emerson Hancock on Thursday.
The lifeless loss which dropped the Padres to 55-60 prompted superstar outfielder Juan Soto to call out his teammates.
“We’ve got to play as a team,” Soto expressed in a postgame interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “We’ve got to go out there and grind every day. Grind every at-bat… It’s been really inconsistent. Some days we do, some days we don’t.”
“We gotta do it every day. Days like this series, we just give up. Like literally, we just give up instead of keep grinding, keep pushing. We’ve got to forget about yesterday and keep moving.”
Juan Soto says Padres 'just give up' amid four-game losing streak that has wild-card race slipping away https://t.co/sE5kIqEDTr
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) August 10, 2023
Soto’s remarks came in the aftermath of a 6-1 loss to the Mariners, during which rookie right-hander Emerson Hancock, the Mariners #4 prospect, delivered an impressive debut performance, limiting the Padres to just one run over five innings.
Soto’s frustration was palpable as he acknowledged his displeasure with the effort he occasionally witnesses from his teammates.
The Padres offensive firepower, led by Soto alongside Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts, was anticipated to dominate this season.
However, the reality has been far from the expectation – and the reality is the 2023 San Diego Padres will go down as one of the most disappointing teams of this century.
Yes, it’s been that bad.
The Padres offensive statistics tell a tale of underperformance. With a total of 530 runs scored, they currently sit 15th in the league. Their team wRC+ of 105, where 100 signifies league-average performance, places them ninth in the league.
These numbers starkly contrast the preseason projections.
Sitting at a disappointing 55-60 record, the Padres have fallen significantly behind their NL West rivals. Their 13.5 game gap behind the Dodgers and a 4.5 game deficit from a Wild Card spot have placed their postseason aspirations in major jeopardy.
Both Soto and Machado, two of the team’s key stars, have struggled to ignite the Padres and close the gap with their division rivals. Despite these challenges, the Padres made notable moves at the trade deadline, acquiring Rich Hill, Ji-Man Choi, Scott Barlow, and Garrett Cooper, signaling their hope to turn the tide.
Following their disheartening loss to the Mariners and Hancock’s strong debut, the Padres held a postgame meeting in a bid to rally and rejuvenate the team’s morale.
Machado summed up the team’s feelings, labeling their performance as “unacceptable.” Despite acknowledging Hancock’s skill on the mound, Machado expressed confidence in the Padres abilities, emphasizing: “We’re way better than that, than what we did today.”
On paper, yes, they’re way better than what they’ve showed.. Unfortunately for them, games aren’t played on paper.
Who has had the more disappointing season – the Padres or Mets?
Assuming they fail to make the playoffs and don’t show any signs of life or improvement, would you blow it up in San Diego?