PHOENIX — The San Diego Padres expect at some point to get significant contributions from the top of their lineup.
At this point, that belief is based on the law of probability more than anything currently being evidenced.
“These guys are guys that are established, guys who have track records,” Xander Bogaerts said last week. “If there is one thing I know about this game it is you believe in a guy’s track record. That goes a long way, man, I’m telling you. These are not guys that it’s their first year in the big leagues. Nah. These guys are established stars.”
There remain 140 games for Juan Soto and Manny Machado to hit like the players they have been over the course of their careers.
It’s good they have a long runway, because they don’t seem close to taking off.
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s first hit of the season was the only one in 24 at-bats by the top three batters in the Padres’ lineup in the two games in this series.
“We know we’re going to get big time production from the top,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said before the game.
On Friday, Tatis’ single and a double in the second by Bogaerts were the Padres’ only hits.
With the Padres’ bats again flaccid against Zac Gallen and two relievers, the Diamondbacks beat them 9-0 on Friday at Chase Field.
The Padres’ top three batters were 1-for-11.
Tatis struck out and grounded out before his two-out single in the sixth inning and then flied out to center field in the ninth.
His line drive to center field was his first hit since Oct. 2, 2021, in that he sat out all last season because of injury and a PED suspension. The hit also halted Gallen’s streak of retired batters at 14.
Soto followed by striking out for the second time, which was Gallen’s 11th strikeout.
Their fruitless at-bats Friday dropped Machado’s batting average to .221 and Soto’s to .173.
Bogaerts, who has reached base in all 22 games, drove a double off the base of the wall leading off the second inning, but that was followed by three quick outs.
Gallen went on to record nine more outs in succession to get through five innings on 66 pitches. With his seven shutout innings Friday, he has run his scoreless streak to 20 2/3 innings over his past three starts. The last team to score against him was the Padres on April 4, when they did so four times in six innings.
Padres starter Seth Lugo allowed two runs in six innings. The Diamondbacks scored seven runs in the eighth off Luis Garcia and Reiss Knehr. Garcia left after recording one out while allowing four hits and being visited by Melvin and an athletic trainer.
Lugo escaped a jam in the third before being unable to navigate another threat in the fourth.
Christian Walker laced a one-out double off the wall in center field. Lugo got Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a line drive to left field before ending his walk of Pavin Smith with a wild pitch that allowed Walker to get to third. That became important when Moreno bounced a ball up the middle that second baseman Ha-Seong Kim fielded as he ran into left field. A ball that would not have scored Walker ended up doing so.
The lead was 2-0 after Josh Rojas singled and scored on Marte’s double in the fifth inning.
That is the kind of situational hitting the Padres are not getting from anywhere in the lineup on a consistent basis.
After going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position (with Grisham getting both hits) on Thursday, the Padres ranked 29th among 30- MLB teams with a .193 batting average with runners on second and/or third base. Thursday was just the fifth time in an 11-game span they got even one hit with a runner in scoring position.
The Diamondbacks (12-9) remained in first place in the National League West, ahead of the Dodgers (10-11) and Padres (10-12).
