Darvish solid, but Padres' bats go cold

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres have scored two or fewer runs in 10 of their past 15 games. They have only two wins among those 10 offensively challenged days.

The latest of those challenges came Saturday afternoon, when the Padres were disarmed by left-hander Carlos Rodón, who struck out 12 en route to a complete game in the Giants’ 3-1 victory at Petco Park. The Padres can claim a series win on Sunday behind rookie MacKenzie Gore, nonetheless, but the lack of offense magnifies whatever other issues exist.

• Box score

Manny Machado aside, there simply aren’t enough big boppers in the Padres’ lineup to provide cover. Here are four things to consider after Saturday’s setback:

1. Darvish still dandy
If there was any concern about right-hander Yu Darvish after he yielded a season-high three home runs in his previous start, he quelled that against the Giants. Darvish battled Rodón to equal terms over seven innings, allowing the exact same number of runs (one), hits (three) and walks (two) as his counterpart.

Whereas Rodón overpowered with high fastballs approaching 100 mph and his sharp slider, Darvish was as unpredictable as ever in mixing six pitches. He threw only 14 four-seam fastballs while going heavy with his cutter and sinker. But he did record outs via the four-seamer in the fifth and sixth innings.

“From the middle of the game, I was able to locate my fastball very well,” Darvish said via an interpreter. “I’ll be able to carry that over into my next game.”

The big difference between the two starters is that Darvish was up to 101 pitches through seven innings and handed the ball over to the bullpen, while Rodón was at 85.

2. About that bullpen
On the Statcast charts, right-hander Luis García ranks in the top 2% in average fastball velocity but in the bottom 13% in hard-hit rate. Reconciling the two is an ongoing process.

García surrendered the decisive home run, a two-run drive by Wilmer Flores on a 1-2 slider in the eighth inning. Well, “drive” might be generous. It was well-struck, with 98.3 mph exit velocity, but the 38-degree launch angle was more akin to a flyout. (The expected batting average was .190.)

“It was a good pitch,” García said. “I thought it was a fly ball -- it was. But it got out.”

García is getting regular duty in high-leverage situations and has acquitted himself well -- a .217 opponents’ batting average in such situations coming into Saturday. But manager Bob Melvin certainly would prefer more late-inning options to play matchups rather than defaulting to García’s power pitching.

Nabil Crismatt and his changeup have gotten key outs. Right-hander Dinelson Lamet returned from the Minors on Saturday with hopes that his wipeout slider is back. And righties Pierce Johnson, Robert Suarez and Steven Wilson all are throwing bullpen sessions as they rehab from injuries.

3. Shortstop unsettled
Ha-Seong Kim exited after six innings because he aggravated a left thumb sprain that has bothered him since Monday. Melvin said Kim is day to day, but any extended absence would magnify how badly the Padres need Fernando Tatis Jr. back from injury.

Not only would that boost the lineup’s overall power, but it would add flexibility as the Padres toy with the idea of using Tatis both at shortstop and in the outfield, as they did for part of the 2021 season.

If Kim misses any extended time, rookie C.J. Abrams figures to see greater playing time. Abrams and second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who has shortstop experience, both bat left-handed, so there’s no real advantage to moving Cronenworth. Veteran second baseman Robinson Canó is down in Triple-A, but he, too, is a lefty bat.

4. New faces aboard
With left fielder and leadoff batter Jurickson Profar on the seven-day concussion injured list after that scary collision on Thursday, Matthew Batten and Brent Rooker each got their first Padres start in the two games since.

Batten made a tremendous catch on Friday, going the necessary 87 feet to snare a ball in the left-center gap -- a play given 35% catch probability. Rooker, meanwhile, ran into the Rodón buzzsaw and was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. But he saw game action after getting two earlier callups without making his actual Padres debut.

“I’m coming up to fill whatever role I’m asked to,” said Rooker, a Twins first-round Draft pick in 2017. “I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, try to help this team win. Obviously, we’ve got a good thing going here -- a really good team with a lot of good players. However I fit into that roster is good with me.”