If we get to the end of the season, take a look back, and see this is the worst stretch of the season for the San Diego Padres it won’t seem all that bad. But while they’re stuck in the middle of the slide, it just feels awful. The Padres fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Thursday, los ing all six games against Philly in 2026 and falling a half game behind them in the National League Wild Card standings (no, in June it is not too early to keep an eye on that kind of thing). San Diego has lost five straight games and 11 of their last 15. Once again they had issues scoring runs against a good starting pitcher. Zack Wheeler took a shutout into the 7th inning before finally surrendering a two-run home run to Manny Machado. Jackson Merrill also his a two-run homer in the 9th inning off Jose Alvarado, but the Friars are still struggling to manufacture runs outside the long ball. They drew five walks but managed just two other hits, both singles. Lucas Giolito started for the Friars and overall took a step forward. Plagued by walks his first few outings, Giolito only issued one free pass while striking out five. His day was cut short in the 5th inning after allowing a solo homer to Adolis Garcia and a double to Justin Crawford, prompting manager Craig Stammen to go to the bullpen. Yuki Matsui and Ron Marinaccio both tossed a scoreless inning but the Phils got to Adrian Morejon for three runs in the 7th despite hitting just two balls out of the infield. Crawford led off with a walk, stole 2nd, and scored on a Trea Turner single. Turner then stole 2nd, advanced when Bryce Harper hit a comebacker off Morejon (who was OK), and used his speed to score on a Brandon Marsh grounder to 1st base, just beating the throw from Ty France. Alec Bohm finished the scoring with a grounder up the middle to plate Harper and put the game out of reach. The Padres are back at Petco Park on Friday night when they start a three-game series against the New York Mets. ...read more read less