Padres’ Craig Stammen takes responsibility for team’s offensive struggles

The San Diego Padres continue to remain in the National League West race, but the club’s offensive struggles have become impossible to ignore during a recent skid. After dropping four consecutive games and scoring only seven runs over their last five contests, manager Craig Stammen addressed the team’s ongoing issues at the plate.

“In my opinion, it has nothing to do with him,” Stammen said about hitting coach Steven Sousa Jr., according to Marty Caswell of Foul Territory. “This is the Padres hitting. This is the Padres organization. How we go about taking at-bats, it’s on all of us, and more specifically on me.”

San Diego’s offensive numbers have fallen near the bottom of Major League Baseball despite the team holding a 31-24 record entering the weekend. The Padres currently rank tied for 25th in runs scored, 29th in slugging percentage, and sit last in MLB in both batting average and on-base percentage.

For San Diego, the one bit of relief comes off the field, as the club recently received a positive Joe Musgrove injury update, offering hope that pitching stability could help ease the pressure on a struggling lineup.

Craig Stammen #14 of the Padres takes the ball from Randy Vasquez. Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

Padres offense continues difficult stretch

The Padres’ lineup has struggled to generate consistent production throughout the past week. Over their last six games, San Diego has scored only 14 total runs while posting a .190 team batting average and a .278 on-base percentage.

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Much of the limited offensive production has come from Manny Machado, who has recorded two home runs and five RBIs during the stretch despite batting just .100. Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr. has continued reaching base at a high rate, hitting .450 with a .560 on-base percentage over the last week, but the overall run production around him has remained limited.

The lack of offensive consistency has placed additional pressure on the Padres’ pitching staff as the team attempts to stay within striking distance of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West standings.

Padres look to rebound against Nationals

Despite the recent struggles, San Diego remains only 4.5 games behind Los Angeles in the division race and still has time to turn things around offensively before the summer stretch intensifies.

The Padres will have an opportunity to reset this weekend when they open a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, a team currently ranked 25th in Major League Baseball in team ERA.

For Stammen, however, the focus remains on improving the team’s overall approach at the plate rather than pointing blame elsewhere as the Padres attempt to snap out of their offensive slump.