Padres on the Verge of Making MLB History, and Not in a Good Way

Their competition doesn't even EXIST anymore.

After another disappointing loss to the Cardinals toward the end of August, the San Diego Padres are on the verge of adding another notch of futility to their belt of a disappointing year. 

Losing in 10 innings to St. Louis on Tuesday, the Friars are close to matching a mark concerning extra inning play not seen since baseball was in Montreal many years ago. 

Final: Cardinals 6, Padres 5 (10 innings)

The Padres fall to an utterly inexplicable 0-11 in extras this season. Only the 1969 Expos have ever begun a season worse. They finished 0-12.

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) August 30, 2023

Late game execution has long been an issue for the team this season and there's finally a tangible measure for their ineptitude on the year. 

Whether it's failure to score with runners in scoring position or late game bullpen collapses after some solid starting pitching, the Padres simply can't figure things out when the game is close in the later portions on certain nights. 

Though the series was meant to be a nice homecoming for long time Cardinal Matt Carpenter, it was his old team that got the last laugh against his new club for the three game set in St. Louis. 

Worst in the NL Central in their own disastrous season, the Cardinals took two of three from the Padres thanks to back to back walk-offs from Tommy Edman in a series that San Diego simply couldn't afford to lose. 

It's becoming more urgent by the day that each and every game the Friars have dropped signals that the team won't be able to defend their place in the postseason for 2023. 

A slew of recent injuries to the pitching ranks certainly haven't helped this cause in the last few days, but the hitting core for as expensive and star studded as they may be simply haven't performed up to standard. 

Many questions will need answering toward the end of the season should the Padres officially be out of the race and some of them could involve organizational personnel losing their jobs.