Guardians felled by big night from Padres superstars

SAN DIEGO -- It was yet another tough night for the Guardians against the Padres, who were backed by a dominant outing from starter Michael Wacha and home runs from a trio of superstars -- Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Juan Soto.

The Guardians fell 5-0 to the Padres on Wednesday, marking a second straight night the offense couldn’t get it going. For a team that led the Majors with a .901 OPS and scored the third-most runs (38) last week, the beginning of this series has been somewhat of a letdown, as Cleveland has mustered just three runs across the first two games.

Guardians hitters had no answer for Wacha, who tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and one walk. No offense has figured out Wacha of late. On the heels of winning National League Pitcher of the Month in May, Wacha has allowed just two runs in his first three starts in June. No pitcher has a lower ERA than Wacha’s 0.91 mark since the beginning of May (minimum 30 innings pitched).

“We got a little impatient against him,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “With the veteran that he is, he changed speeds, located the curveball against lefties, got the changeup in and out of the zone and kept us honest with the fastball.”

On top of dealing with one of baseball’s hottest pitchers, the Guardians also ran into a hot night for the Padres’ superstar hitters. For just the second time this year, Tatis, Machado and Soto each homered in the same game. Tatis was especially dominant, becoming the first player since Trea Turner on June 30, 2021, to record at least three extra-base hits and at least two stolen bases in the same game. He also tacked on an outfield assist from right field in the ninth inning.

Tatis' first-inning leadoff home run, which was nearly brought back by a leaping Steven Kwan in left field, kicked off the game’s scoring. Machado homered in the third to extend the Padres' lead to 2-0. In the sixth, following a run-scoring wild pitch from Guardians reliever Sam Hentges, Soto chipped in an opposite-field shot to make it 4-0.

In general, there was no stopping the top of the Padres' lineup, whose top four hitters -- Tatis, Soto, Machado and Xander Bogaerts -- combined for eight hits, three home runs and three stolen bases. Even 42-year-old veteran Nelson Cruz drilled a home run into the second deck that traveled a Statcast-projected 433 feet to give the Padres a 5-0 lead late in the game.

“It’s a deep lineup, one of the best in the game,” Guardians starter Aaron Civale said. “We went in with an attack plan, but there were just a handful of pitches that got away.”

It was the second straight night that a Guardians starter couldn’t make it beyond four innings. Civale, who entered the game with a 2.31 ERA in four starts, lasted just 3 2/3 innings while allowing two earned runs. Civale generated a season-high seven strikeouts along with a season-high four walks.

“I thought the ball was coming out of his hand good. He just wasn’t commanding it the way he normally was,” said Francona. “There were a lot of deep counts, and he had a really high pitch count."

Amid several ongoing issues, the lack of production from the Guardians' catchers is glaring. Entering Wednesday, Cleveland backstops owned an MLB-worst .491 OPS at the plate. The second-lowest OPS among catchers belonged to Miami (.560).

Behind the dish, the Guardians have also had issues controlling the running game, having allowed the second-most stolen bases (67) in the Majors entering the day. That issue was present Wednesday, with Mike Zunino going 0-for-3 at the plate and allowing three steals.

It’s certainly fair to wonder if this current group of catchers -- Zunino, Cam Gallagher and David Fry -- will see a shakeup in the coming days or weeks. Luckily for the Guardians, their solution to their catching issues might be straightforward, as they have one of the best catching prospects in the sport in Bo Naylor.

Naylor has been torching Triple-A pitchers for most of this season. In 59 games with Triple-A Columbus, Naylor has a .905 OPS with 13 home runs and nearly as many walks (49) as strikeouts (52). He has, however, had issues controlling the running game like his MLB counterparts, as he’s thrown out just 17 percent of would-be basestealers, allowing 53 swiped bags.

Naylor -- the Guardians' No. 3 prospect and No. 45 overall, per MLB Pipeline -- had a cup of coffee with Cleveland late in 2022 and was included on the playoff roster. Given his production at Triple-A and the Guardians' MLB-worst -0.6 fWAR at his position, Naylor’s time could be coming soon.