The 2023 San Diego Padres have to be one of the most perplexing and puzzling teams in the history of the game.
In a season in which mediocre teams are contending with negative run differentials, the Padres are +90.
That +90 differential is the third best in the National League (!), yet the Padres are fourth in their own division.
Fourth.
They won’t be going to the playoffs despite a well above-average run differential because they are a disaster in extra innings and they can’t win close games.
It’s as simple as that.
They lost yet another of those close games on Monday, against the San Francisco Giants.
Blake Snell, the National League’s leading Cy Young award candidate, tossed six scoreless innings against the Giants and couldn’t get the win because the Padres’ offense went missing once again.
“It was only appropriate that the #Padres wasted Blake Snell’s latest 6-inning shutout performance, losing yet another one-run game, 2-1, to the #SFGiants. The Padres are now 7-23 in one-run games this season, the worst one-run record in MLB since 1935,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale tweeted.
It was only appropriate that the #Padres wasted Blake Snell’s latest 6-inning shutout performance, losing yet another one-run game, 2-1, to the #SFGiants.
The Padres are now 7-23 in one-run games this season, the worst one-run record in MLB since 1935.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 26, 2023
Several things need to go wrong for a team to have a 7-23 record in one-run games.
Bad situational hitting, bad luck, poor execution, and a not-so-reliable bullpen are some of them.
It has been tough to watch at times.
This might be one of the most talented squads to miss out on the playoffs in recent times.
The Padres will have no choice but to run it back next year with a similar core to the one they had this year, amid rumors of ownership cutting payroll.
NEXT: Blake Snell Had Another Must-See Start Monday
