Padres' Xander Bogaerts Sounds Off on Home Sweep Against Phillies: 'We Can't Have Any Defenders Over the Wall'

Eva Geitheim | Apr 29, 2024

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres were swept at home by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, capped by an 8-6 loss on Sunday. Though this was the closest game the Padres managed during this series, they still fell short.

The Phillies' lineup was particularly dominant through the three-game series over the Padres' pitching. Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, and Michael King all allowed at least five earned runs during their starts.

In particular, the Phillies' home runs caught up quickly to the Padres. The Phillies hit nine home runs over the three-game series, including three in their win over San Diego on Sunday. These three home runs accounted for six of Philadelphia's eight runs on the day, giving the Phillies a huge advantage.

With the Padres' lineup yielding less than its best results in the first two games of the series, they needed their pitching staff to step up. This did not happen.

“It’s tough when you got a team like that and they come in here and they’re hitting everything — and hitting it over the wall,” Padres' Xander Bogaerts said, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We can’t have any defenders over the wall.”

These losses are especially disappointing for the Padres, who came into the series at 14-14 with a chance to end their week with a winning record. Instead, the Padres failed to win even one game during the series and have now dropped to 14-17. They'll need to string together multiple wins for a shot at returning to above .500.

The Padres will get the opportunity to rebound from this series starting on Monday when they begin a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at home. If they falter in this series and continue to allow plenty of home runs at Petco Park, they'll put themselves in a poor position heading into May.