Padres News: Juan Soto Explains Lapse in Judgement That Led to Double Play

A microcosm of the team's current form.

Far below expectations, the Padres seemingly can't get out of their own way lately. In an essential divisional clash against the Diamondbacks, the Friars dropped games and sorely decreased their playoff chances dropping three of four in the series. 

During the final game of the series, superstar Juan Soto made an uncharacteristic play on the basepaths, getting doubled off first in embarrassing fashion after thinking teammate Manny Machado clobbered a homer to center.

this is unbelievable pic.twitter.com/CP0U8wb8qi

— Sam (@sam_scherer99) August 20, 2023

Explaining his thought process after the game, Soto took the blame for his careless attitude that may have cost his team some runs in a contest they'd eventually go on to lose. 

“I thought (Machado) got it all, but I made a mistake. It was all me,” Soto said. “I forgot about the outs and everything and just ran into it.”

via Dennis Lin, The Athletic. 

Continuing their downward spin since the trade deadline, the Padres are now 59-66, losing four of their past five series in the weeks after buying for pieces such as Rich Hill, Ji-Man Choi, Scott Barlow and Garrett Cooper. 

The aggressive moves from GM AJ Preller haven't worked and the entire roster has not played up to the standards that the fans at Petco or manager Bob Melvin expect. 

For as high as some individual talents on the team may rank in the award races, such solo performances haven't amounted to the success that the entire ensemble desire. 

Fresh off an NLCS appearance and riding high from defeating the rival Dodgers to get there, the 2023 edition of the Padres fall dangerously close to missing the postseason party with their recent play. 

Such mistakes from Soto just about sum up the effort from San Diego lately as the team sits six games out of a similar Wild Card berth as they did in 2022. 

Friar fans may not see Slam Diego for an encore in the playoffs should the team continue to slip not just in judgement during games, but in the overall standings, too.