New Padres take center stage against Brewers

MILWAUKEE – After falling short of expectations and missing the postseason in 2021, the Padres were aggressive this offseason looking for players to help them achieve their goals. In came Sean Manaea, Jorge Alfaro and Taylor Rogers.

All three were acquired by San Diego this offseason -- and all three played important roles in the Padres' 5-4 loss against the Brewers at American Family Field on Thursday night, which extended their losing streak to four games.

“We played a really good game up to the [ninth inning],” said manager Bob Melvin.

Rogers -- who has been one of the best closers in baseball this season -- came into the ninth inning with a sizable three-run lead. It was almost a sure thing for the lefty, whose 17 saves rank 2nd in the majors.

But Rogers didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday, giving up two hits, hitting two batters, allowing four runs and most importantly giving up the lead the lead -- all without recording an out.

“This was probably the worst outing of my career, nothing was working,” Rogers said. “The team was in a position to win and I screwed up.”

While Rogers has now given up 8 total runs (7 earned) over his last three appearances, the closer is still an important part of the Padres' bullpen. After losing Mark Melancon’s league-high 39 saves from last season, Rogers has stepped in for San Diego and fulfilled that offseason need -- just not on Thursday.

“This is really the first true blown [save], where he had a lead and came in for a full inning,” Melvin said. “Command was not that good, and hitting a couple batters is unlike him.”

Despite the three consecutive losses, Rogers remains a top closer in the game, and an acquisition that will help the team in late-game situations all season long.

“When you look up at the end of the season, I will be where I should be,” Rogers said. “You hope to minimize consecutive [blown saves]. So, the goal now is to get back to putting up zeros.”

Unfortunately, his outing on Thursday didn’t allow Manaea to capture his third win of the season after another quality start from the left-hander.

Manaea -- who was acquired from Oakland as part of a four-player trade on April 3 -- was looking to continue his 2021 success with a new team after he struck out 194 batters with two complete-game shutouts for the A’s.

And while the lefty has shown glimpses of that on the mound this season, Thursday’s performance was exactly what the team was looking for when it traded for the 30-year-old pitcher. Manaea went six strong innings, allowing just five hits, one run and two walks with eight strikeouts.

“I felt really good,” Manaea said. “I think it was probably the most consistent I’ve been as far as each pitch, and it felt really good.”

With his performance, Manaea earned his eighth quality start of the season, tied for third in the Majors. That’s the type of production that the Padres desperately needed last year, and that has been a key to success this season.

Manaea, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish have given the starting rotation an eye-opening 28 quality starts in 57% of San Diego's games -- the best in the Majors. Last season, the starters had just 42 quality starts representing 26% of the Padres’ games, which ranked 24th in the league.

“Our rotation has been a strength for us,” Melvin said. “We’ve been getting deep into games with these guys. Our rotation has been really good this year.”

Manaea was an inning away from securing his first victory since April 18 after a two-run homer from Jorge Alfaro in the sixth inning gave the Padres a commanding 3-1 lead and a Sergio Alcántara sacrifice fly added another run in the 8th.

Alfaro's home run was his first since May 8. But despite the recent home run drought, the catcher continues to be one of the team’s most underrated acquisitions of the offseason.

On Thursday, the catcher went 2-for-2 with a homer, two RBIs, a run and two walks. With those two hits, Alfaro has now hit safely in 14 of his last 18 games, and each of the last four.

“I saw quality at-bats,” Melvin said. “Walks, seeing the ball good and hitting the ball out of the ballpark. [He] had a good game.”

Alfaro helped the Padres score four runs, which is usually a recipe for success for the team in 2022. Just not on Thursday.

"Typically, we score four runs, we win a game,” Melvin said.