Padres blanked by Dodgers 2-0

In one of the best pitching matchups of the year, the Padres and Yu Darvish went toe-to-toe with Clayton Kershaw in the Dodgers for most of Saturday’s game, but ultimately fell short 2-0 in Petco Park.

The Friars had a rough time against the vaunted Kershaw as the 33-year old finished with eight K’s while allowing just two hits across six innings and 98 pitches thrown. On the other side, Darvish recorded nine strikeouts of his own while allowing just one run on one hit and two walks while also throwing 98 pitches in seven innings.

The only points of the night were thanks to walk by Darvish in the fifth with the bases loaded and a solo home run by Justin Turner in the top of the ninth.

The Padres almost tied the game at the very end when Tommy Pham lined one to center over the second baseman’s head, but Mookie Betts came flying over to make the game-ending out, securing the ball just inside the palm of his glove before it could make contact with the field. It was seriously this close to being dropped and the Padres would have assuredly scored their runners on second and third.

Only Trent Grisham, Manny Machado, and Wil Myers were able to record a hit on the night. Fernando Tatis Jr. finished hitless in four tries with three strikeouts and is currently hitting .143 through seven games played and 28 total at-bats.

With last night’s loss, the Dodgers will come away with the series victory. The Padres still have another opportunity later today to show that they can show up when needed against a better team, but they’re going to have to get more-consistent play out of their best players on a night-by-night basis.

The season is still in its’ infant phase but fans have every right to worry about whether or not this team managed to find the “it” that was missing from a season ago. Injuries have played a part, yes, but how long of a leash do those injuries warrant? I’m not sure.

Catch the Padres in game three today at 1:10 p.m.