SD 2, STL 10: Friars fun-streak gets paused in St. Louis

Ahh, well, that was fun while it lasted. Our first sweep of the season came through the first series after the break. Our first game after that sweep was a very decided loss at the hand of the Cardinals. Nothing really clicked on the offense or defense like it has been the past week. Even the return of our hottest Melvin threw things off whack.

Christian Friedrich hasn't had that much to show for his last few games. His ERA is rising, his starts aren't looking good, and this game was no different. It wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't that good. He went the typical 5-and-some innings, he gave up 6 hits and allowed 4 runs. He walked 5 Cardinals, and only struck out 2.

But his backup wasn't helping him in the slightest. Carlos Villanueva gave up 2 runs after "relieving" Friedrich, Jose Dominguez gave up 3, and Matt Thorton gave up one. Very generous pitching from a Padres crew that was previously slapping around a league-leading Giants team.

Another disappointing part of the night was the lineup. Save Matt Kemp's 19th home run and a sac-groundout from Alexi Amarista, the San Diego bats put in bupkis. Yangervis Solarte went 2-for-4, and so did Alexei Ramirez, and Melvin Upton Jr., who we're all very happy to have back and hope is doing well, went 1-for-4.

Wil Myers, Ryan Schimpf, and Derek Norris all had nothing. The Padres put up 2 runs on the board and couldn't muster anything else. Meanwhile, the Cardinals piled on runs every inning from the 5th on. A lopsided loss, and one the Friars will need to bounce back from tomorrow before Comic Con week starts.