This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The San Diego Padres will look to reignite their offense on Friday when they open a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Padres settled for a split of their four-game series against the host St. Louis Cardinals after being limited to just three hits in a 4-1 setback on Thursday.
Rookie Jackson Merrill provided the lone bright spot after going deep in the fifth inning for his 20th homer of the season. Merrill has hit safely in 12 of his past 14 games and is batting .311 (28-for-90) with seven homers and 22 RBIs this month.
San Diego was unable to muster much else on Thursday; however, manager Mike Shildt was quick to credit his team’s competitiveness.
“You don’t have to win to have heart,” Shildt said. “These guys give everything they have. Their guys threw the ball pretty well. I love how the guys went about things this whole series. If there’s a consolation prize, they battled their tails off every day. We had some opportunities, we just couldn’t cash in.”
The Rays didn’t cash in while limping to the end of their recent 10-game road trip. Tampa Bay fell for the fifth time in seven games with a 6-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
San Diego will try its luck against right-hander Taj Bradley (6-8, 3.77 ERA), who has surrendered seven homers during his five-start winless skid. He lost four straight outings before escaping with a no-decision on Saturday after allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits — including two homers — in six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bradley, 23, has yet to face the Padres in his career.
San Diego will counter with left-hander Martin Perez (3-5, 4.60), who is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five starts since being acquired by the Padres from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He received his second straight no-decision on Sunday after allowing one run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings against the New York Mets.
Perez, 33, is 4-7 with a 5.98 ERA in 19 career appearances (16 starts) against Tampa Bay.
Perez would be wise to keep a keen eye on Josh Lowe, who has answered a pronounced slump at the plate by going 4-for-12 with two solo homers in his past three games.
Lowe’s recent success at the plate pales in comparison to the good news he received recently. His mother, Wendy, who is battling brain cancer, was told by her doctor that her tumor is decreasing in size.
“To take it in a different direction outside of baseball, I talked to my mom a few days ago on the phone and she went to the doctor and had a really good visit recently,” Lowe told Bally Sports Sun. “That just kinda changed my perspective about everything. We’re just playing a game. We’re so blessed to be here. There’s bigger things in life, things that are more important — and that just freed me up a bit.”
–Field Level Media
