Dodgers 5, Padres 1

Let's see...so we lost the first game to the Dodgers, 3-1, despite a really great performance by Musgrove. Manny came back and was tested immediately on a base hit in the first inning, a double that he really had to hustle for. It drove in our only run, and somehow a bunch of Dodgers relievers shut us down the rest of the way. Manny being back is nice, although they sat him for Game 2, in which it was Tony Gonsolin's turn this time to play Cy Young against our popgun offense. 

Blake Snell pitched five, struck out 12 and gave up only one run. On the face of it, that might look good. Of course, our bullpen has been shaky lately, blowing back-to-back leads against the Phillies and the Snakes. In other words, that's four innings the bullpen will need to give you if you are to win in regular time. Turns out it wasn't necessary, as Stammen gave up the winning homer to Bellinger in the sixth. Hill gave up another couple of runs, and they cruised the rest of the way. The difference between Snell and Gonsolin: 107 pitches and five innings for Snell, 98 pitches and 7 2/3 for Gonsolin, who is now 10-0 for the season. Big difference, no? It's no coincidence that Snell has yet to win a game this year. The Padres have won the last five games Clevinger has started, although he has been shaky at times. Snell is just plain unlucky, I guess. Either he pitches poorly and loses, or he pitches well, and we can't score for him. Either way it's an L. Melvin is giving him plenty of rope, although I still believe he will be traded when the time (and the price) is right.

The Dodgers have now won 13 of their last 14 against us, which is no surprise at all. Their batting lineup blows ours out of the water. Their bullpen is much superior. I would say our rotations are about even, although the Dodgers have a few guys on the DL. Let's forget about winning a season series against them, a best-of-19. We haven't done that in over a decade. Our hope lies in making the playoffs and outlasting them in a best-of-seven. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Except that we still have to make it there, and the competition in the NL is kind of stiff. 

Our offense, in this shape and form, is hopeless. We have four real starters on this team (Manny, Grish, Hos, and Cron), and Grish is still hitting below .200, which doesn't help. Hos has slumped all the way to .273, and Cron is at .245. Voit is an out machine at this point, Kim never hits above .230, and the kid Abrams just get hit Major League pitching. Nola, Profar, and Mazara, though they have their merits, are really platoon players and struggle to produce on an everyday basis. We are at 46-33 and struggling to make it to the All-Star break.