Aug 26, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; San Diego Padres heart fielder Jackson Merrill (3) hits a one run single in opposition to the St. Louis Cardinals throughout the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports activities The San Diego Padres will look to reignite their offense on Friday after they open a three-game collection in opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Padres settled for a break up of their four-game collection in opposition to the host St. Louis Cardinals after being restricted to only three hits in a 4-1 setback on Thursday.
Rookie Jackson Merrill supplied the lone shiny spot after going deep within the fifth inning for his twentieth homer of the season. Merrill has hit safely in 12 of his previous 14 video games and is batting .311 (28-for-90) with seven homers and 22 RBIs this month.
San Diego was unable to muster a lot else on Thursday; nonetheless, supervisor Mike Shildt was fast to credit score his group’s competitiveness.
“You do not have to win to have coronary heart,” Shildt mentioned. “These guys give every little thing they’ve. Their guys threw the ball fairly nicely. I like how the fellows went about issues this entire collection. If there is a comfort prize, they battled their tails off on daily basis. We had some alternatives, we simply could not money in.”
The Rays did not money in whereas limping to the top of their current 10-game highway journey. Tampa Bay fell for the fifth time in seven video games with a 6-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
San Diego will attempt its luck in opposition to right-hander Taj Bradley (6-8, 3.77 ERA), who has surrendered seven homers throughout his five-start winless skid. He misplaced 4 straight outings earlier than escaping with a no-decision on Saturday after permitting six runs (5 earned) on seven hits — together with two homers — in six innings in opposition to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bradley, 23, has but to face the Padres in his profession.
San Diego will counter with left-hander Martin Perez (3-5, 4.60), who’s 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 5 begins since being acquired by the Padres from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He obtained his second straight no-decision on Sunday after permitting one run on 4 hits in 3 2/3 innings in opposition to the New York Mets.
Perez, 33, is 4-7 with a 5.98 ERA in 19 profession appearances (16 begins) in opposition to Tampa Bay.
Perez can be smart to maintain a eager eye on Josh Lowe, who has answered a pronounced droop on the plate by going 4-for-12 with two solo homers in his previous three video games.
Lowe’s current success on the plate pales compared to the excellent news he obtained lately. His mom, Wendy, who’s battling mind most cancers, was informed by her physician that her tumor is reducing in dimension.
“To take it in a special path outdoors of baseball, I talked to my mother just a few days in the past on the telephone and he or she went to the physician and had a extremely good go to lately,” Lowe informed Bally Sports activities Solar. “That simply kinda modified my perspective about every little thing. We’re simply taking part in a sport. We’re so blessed to be right here. There’s greater issues in life, issues which might be extra necessary — and that simply freed me up a bit.”
–Subject Degree Media
