Situational hitting has become a major problem for the Padres.
"We haven't done the job we need to do in situational hitting," Padres manager Bud Black said toward the end of a 1-6 road trip to Colorado and Los Angeles that saw the Padres continually unable to get runs home. On the trip, the Padres hit .186 (11-for-56 with runners in scoring position). And in four games in Los Angeles, the Padres hit .139 in RISP situations, including an 0-for-9 in Friday night's 1-0 loss.
And some of the Padres' biggest guns are struggling the most in RISP situations.
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez has hit safely in 22 of the Padres' first 25 games, but he is just 4-for-21 with runners in scoring position. Brian Giles, who is hitting just .158 after the first 25 games, is 7-for-30 in RISP situations.
Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff is 5-for-25 while outfielder Jody Gerut is 3-for-16 and second baseman David Eckstein is 5-for-17.
The lone hitters on the plus side are center fielder Scott Hairston (5-for-10) and left fielder Chase Headley (6-for-13). Headley was promoted from the sixth to the fifth spot earlier in the season when Kouzmanoff got off to a 1-for-7 spot hitting behind Gonzalez in the No. 5 slot.
DODGERS 7, PADRES 3: In his first start for the Padres, RHP Chad Gaudin gave up three hits over five innings. Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, Gaudin gave up four hits before he retired a hitter and the Padres never recovered from the 3-0 deficit. Brian Giles and Jody Gerut both hit late solo homers while battling slumps. The loss was the Padres' fifth straight and 11th in 13 games.
