Padres drop second straight in ugly shutout loss to Cardinals

SAN DIEGO — The Padres' stars are simply not starring.

After Griffin Canning and St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy engaged in a good old fashioned pitcher's duel, it was a tumultuous fifth inning that led to another uninspiring home loss for San Diego. 

JJ Wetherholt came around to score on his own bases loaded single after Fernando Tatis Jr. committed a three-base error, allowing all runners to cross the plate. The Cardinals tacked on two more after that to supply themselves with all the offense they'd need. Although, one run would've been more than enough.

McGreevy held the Friar bats to no runs and one hit through six brilliant innings, striking out nine while issuing just two walks in the process. 

“I just think we saw some pitches to hit and we just didn’t hit them,” Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill said postgame. “Just classic baseball night, you know, just kind of went that way… We just missed some pitches,” he added.

San Diego's big three of Merrill, Tatis, and Manny Machado went 1-for-10 with three punch outs at the dish in Friday night's 6-0 defeat. An offense that is built around those three is veering toward a concerning direction. Especially when they can't seem to hit starting pitching as a team.

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

May 8, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) walks back to the dugout after striking out during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Padres entered Friday’s game with the fifth-lowest average (.231) and fifth-lowest OPS (.684) in the big leagues. They are batting .185 with a .669 OPS while losing seven of their past 10 contests. 

“It just looks like the pitcher is kind of dictating the at-bats and from the box we’re not able to dictate and force the pitcher into throwing the pitches that we can hit,” manager Craig Stammen said. “A lot of things on the table to figure that out. We’ll get back to the drawing board and keep working on it.”

The four-game set continues Saturday evening in the Gaslamp Quarter when Randy Vásquez squares off against former National League West foe Dustin May. First pitch is slated for 4:15 p.m. PT.