Padres drop rubber match, fall 4-3 to Rangers

ARLINGTON — After rallying for an extra-inning victory behind a five-RBI performance from Manny Machado on Saturday, the San Diego Padres reverted to an all-too-familiar script Sunday afternoon, dropping the series finale 4-3 to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. 

San Diego (39-37) entered Father's Day looking to avoid a sixth series loss in its last eight opportunities. Instead, a lineup that ranks at the bottom of Major League Baseball in most offensive categories failed to rally against a strong Texas bullpen that entered the day sixth in the majors in ERA.

When a team struggles to score runs, the margins are razor thin.

San Diego appeared poised to replicate Saturday's late-inning heroics in the ninth against reliever Jakob Junis. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the frame with a pinch-hit single before Xander Bogaerts followed with a sharp base hit to center, putting the tying run in scoring position with no outs.

Despite the promising start and a chance to hand Junis his second blown save of the season, the next three Padres hitters were retired in order, sealing San Diego's 10th one-run loss of the year.

After scoring 13 runs in the first two games of the series, San Diego came into Sunday looking to keep the bats hot against a veteran right-hander in Nathan Eovaldi. 

The 36-year-old right-hander tossed six innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine. After center fielder Wyatt Langford's three-run homer gave Texas a 3-0 lead, the Padres responded with three runs of their own behind hits from Gavin Sheets, Xander Bogaerts and Sung-Mun Song.

Third baseman Josh Jung, who entered the game with the second-highest home batting average in Major League Baseball, put Texas back in front with an RBI single.

That proved to be all the support Eovaldi and the Rangers bullpen would need. The Padres were held scoreless over the final five frames, failing to deliver a timely hit late in the game.

We just couldn't quite get it going when we had him (Eovaldi) on the ropes," Padres manager Craig Stammen said postgame.

For the second straight outing, the Padres deployed an opener ahead of Lucas Giolito, with left-hander Wandy Peralta handling the first inning before Giolito took over in the second. The right-hander toss four innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits and punching out two.

Stammen suggested Giolito's struggles could be attributed to a lack of spring training after signing with San Diego in late April. 

"It's hard to get into the mode of the season," Stammen said.

San Diego's grueling nine-day road trip is finally over, but its biggest challenge may still lie ahead. The Padres return to Petco Park for a six-game homestand against two of baseball's top teams: the Atlanta Braves and division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers. 

"It's a fun challenge," Stammen said. "We get to see if we're good enough to hang with them."