Padres see difference even as they continue to scuffle, lose series to Reds

The results have not changed all that much for the Padres.

Their position in the National League West has gotten worse. Their hold on a playoff spot seems safe and also a bit tenuous.

But the Padres see a difference since they discussed what needed to change over eggs and assorted meats and pastries in a downtown Denver hotel on Saturday morning.

“I see a higher level of energy,” Gavin Sheets said of the past five games. “I don’t want to say better intent, but I just think that there is a different energy. We understand the importance of every out, every inning, and we’re busting our ass. That’s what it’s gonna take going forward, just every single game, every single night. And then if you do that every single night, and if you don’t win, go back out the next time bust your ass.”

The Padres lost 2-1 to the Reds on Wednesday by failing in their biggest at-bats before and after a shorthanded bullpen squandered a one-run lead in the eighth inning.

But a 3-2 record since Saturday is better than the 2-9 stretch that preceded it. Starting pitchers going five and six and seven innings is better than the not-quite-four innings they were averaging in the previous nine games.

“I think it’s a tale of two weeks for me,” manager Mike Shildt said. “The brand of baseball for about an 11-day stretch just wasn’t up to par relative to any consistency in the areas we talk about that allow you to have a chance to play consistently good baseball. So that bucket is there. I need to separate that bucket in the last five games or so. … You’re going to have nip-and-tuck games where you’re going to lose. It’s a little more execution on our part, we’ve got a better chance. But ultimately, over the last (five games) I feel really comfortable with how we’re playing.”

That is not to be confused with Shildt or anyone else not recognizing the Padres do need to win  more.

Wednesday’s loss, coupled with a Dodgers victory, left the Padres three games back in the NL West.

With 16 games remaining in the regular season, they sit in the fifth of six available NL playoff spots with a three-game lead on the Mets and a five-game cushion over the Reds and Giants, the two teams just on the outside of the postseason field.

“We don’t care about any other teams,” Jackson Merrill said. “We’re focused on what is in front of us, what we’re doing.”

To make that better will require some more consistent execution offensively.

“Probably just better adjustments as a group,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “I mean, nothing crazy, nothing special, just trust ourselves going out there and just performing.”

Tatis’ home run in the fifth inning gave the Padres their only run in seven innings against Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott. But after Padres starter Nick Pivetta’s seven scoreless innings, the Reds scored twice in the eighth inning against Kyle Hart and Adrian Morejón.

The Padres then squandered Sheets’ lead-off double in the ninth and finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“You had two aces going at it tonight,” Sheets said. “They were both on their ‘A’ game. That’s a game that’s got 1-0, 2-1 written all over it. We put together tough at-bats. … It’s just a shame that’s the way those ballgames go.”

That’s baseball, as those around the game are prone to say. A lot of things can go right, and the result can be the wrong one.

Unlike what was happening in series against the Mariners, Twins and Orioles, the Padres mostly like how they are playing since they gathered for breakfast and talked about the state of things the morning after a 3-0 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field.

This is a monthly team breakfast. But this one was a little different.

Manny Machado spoke. Shildt did too. Virtually all of the traveling party — players, coaches, athletic training staff — was present.

The message was mostly a reminder of how good they are but also a call to refocus on what had made them so good for so much of the season. It was essentially, according to several people in attendance, a recognition of the urgency of the situation with three weeks remaining in the regular season with the caveat being that all they had to do was get back to playing their brand of baseball.

They won their next two games against the Rockies and the series opener on Monday against the Reds.

They have gone 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and scored three runs since.

But they also faced three excellent starters this series on a Reds team fighting for a playoff spot. They won in extra innings Monday, lost on a ninth-inning home run Tuesday and had a lead in the eighth inning Wednesday.

“Everybody cares when they come to the field, and we care about winning,” Merrill said. “We can care all we want. When it comes to performing, that’s a different type of care. You know, it’s going up there with a plan, not getting away from it and staying with it and doing it. I feel like tonight we were right there at the end. The last inning, we just needed to execute a little more. … We cared today, and we put our hearts out there. And that’s what we care about. Don’t give a (expletive) about the loss. We don’t, because we’ve got more games coming up.”

Speaking of which, those games might help as much as anything.

The Rockies, who own baseball’s worst record, are coming to town for four games beginning Thursday.