Padres' late rally falls an inch short vs. D-backs

SAN DIEGO -- Wil Myers remained red-hot on Sunday afternoon, Manuel Margot extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games, and the Padres came an inch shy of tying Arizona on a Freddy Galvis double that refused to leave the yard.
But -- as has been the case all too frequently this month -- the deficit created by a San Diego starting pitcher was too much to overcome in Sunday's series finale at Petco Park.
The Padres' late rally fell short in a 5-4 loss to the D-backs, their fifth straight. On the day Trevor Hoffman was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a save opportunity was nowhere to be found.
That's become something of a recurring theme. In July, San Diego starters have combined for a 7.35 ERA -- worse than any other big league club by more than a run and a half. Only four of their 23 outings this month have resulted in quality starts. Contrast that with the 11 July starts in which a Padres pitcher has allowed at least five runs.
"Of course we all want to do [better]," said starter Joey Lucchesi. "All you can do is work hard for your next start, and that's what we're going to do. You don't want to suck out there. It's just tough sometimes."

Lucchesi surrendered five runs in 4 1/3 innings, allowing as many homers as he recorded strikeouts (three). After the Padres' two-run third inning tied the game, he coughed up three runs on homers from A.J. Pollock and Nick Ahmed in the fourth.
"I left a couple pitches up," Lucchesi said. "They took advantage of my mistakes. ... I was getting in bad counts. They took advantage of that as well."
The Padres again fought back from the deficit. Jordan Lyles, Robert Stock and Phil Maton pitched scoreless relief. Eric Hosmer and A.J. Ellis joined Myers with two hits. In the eighth, the Padres came an inch from tying the game -- and perhaps two inches from winning it.
Hosmer led off the frame with a single, before Christian Villanueva hit a blooper to right. The ball landed just in front of D-backs right fielder Steven Souza Jr., who fired to second base in an effort to get Hosmer. It was a tricky read for Hosmer, who stood slightly more than halfway to second base when the ball dropped. He slid into the bag and was ruled safe initially -- but out on replay.

The Padres could have had two men aboard when Galvis, the next batter, launched a deep drive to the opposite field.
"I hit it right on the sweet spot, and I knew I hit it good," Galvis said. "For one moment, I thought it was going out."
The ball nicked off the glove of left fielder Jon Jay before hitting the padding on the top of the fence. In a cruel twist, it caromed back into the field of play. One run scored, when two would've tied the game. Galvis was stranded at second.
"It stings," said Padres manager Andy Green. "That's the way things have gone for us. We were waiting for that big swing. That looked like the big swing. Just a couple inches shy."

GALVIS GOING STRONG
Galvis extended his Major League-leading consecutive games streak to 271 on Sunday afternoon, but there was some cause for concern in the bottom of the fourth inning when he fouled a Clay Buchholz curveball squarely off his right kneecap.
Galvis spent a minute or two in serious pain, while he was looked at by a team trainer. Nonetheless, he remained in the game. He struck out meekly to end the at-bat, but nearly tied things up a few inning later.
"Just sore," Galvis said afterward, a large pack of ice wrapped around his knee. "I'm fine."
He added that -- like every other day -- he expects to play on Monday night against the Giants.
STOCK WATCH
Stock kept the D-backs off the board in the seventh and eighth innings on Sunday, giving him seven scoreless frames in the past week. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out eight in that stretch, and he's yet to walk a batter since he was called up in late June.
On Sunday, Stock pumped a 99.2-mph fastball to D-backs center fielder Pollock, marking the fastest pitch thrown by a Padres pitcher this season. He complements his high-octane heater with a filthy slider that he put on display against D-backs slugger Goldschmidt in a 3-2 count.

INJURY UPDATE
After the game, Green noted that an MRI taken Saturday on Luis Perdomo's right-shoulder strain revealed no structural damage. The club believes the injury to be mild and is hopeful that Perdomo could be back to full health in 2-3 weeks.
Robbie Erlin will start in Perdomo's place on Thursday against the Cubs. Lyles, who was recalled Sunday and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless frames, will fill Erlin's spot in the bullpen.
HE SAID IT
"It was special -- the best Hall of Fame speech I've ever heard. It was very impactful in a lot of ways. I'm honored to be associated with him. Our guys were moved by it, motivated by it." -- Green, on Hoffman's speech, which the team watched from the dugout on the Petco Park videoboard, 30 minutes before first pitch
UP NEXT
Eric Lauer (5-7, 5.29 ERA) is coming off consecutive rocky outings, having allowed 11 runs over six innings in that span. It's a step backward after an impressive month and a half for the rookie left-hander. Lauer will look to bounce back when the Giants visit Petco Park for a quick two-game series beginning at 7:10 p.m. PT on Monday. San Francisco counters with lefty Derek Holland (5-8, 3.92).