With the Padres mired in a four-game losing streak that’s halted all of their second-half momentum, a litany of issues has impeded their path. But, as star outfielder Juan Soto described following their 6–1 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday, the primary fault lies not within the team’s skillset or execution, but simply their effort.
“It’s been really inconsistent. Some days we [grind], some days we don’t. We gotta do it every day. Days like this series, we just give up,” Soto said, per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Tribune. “Like literally, we just give up instead of keep grinding, keep pushing. We’ve got to forget about yesterday and keep moving.”
Prior to this skid, San Diego had strung together a couple weeks of solid play, posting an 11–6 record in its previous 17 games. That run improved the Padres’ record to just one game under .500 and three games behind the Reds for the National League’s third wild-card spot. Entering play on Thursday, the team is 4.5 games behind the Marlins for the NL’s final playoff berth.
Though 47 games still remain, the Padres have been among the league’s most disappointing teams to this point in the season. They broke through with a run to the NLCS last fall and appeared primed to challenge the Dodgers for the NL West crown, but have not had a winning record since early May.
