Padres notes: Homer disparity is outlandish; pitching plans up in air; Stammen picks up innings

Tommy Pham’s home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 8-7 loss to the Cardinals was the Padres’ fourth in 12 games.

Fourth. In 12 games.

It is the first time since June 2014 the team has had that low of a total over a 12-game span.

Worse, in those dozen games, their pitchers have yielded 23 home runs. Sunday was the first time in the 12 that an opponent did not homer.

This stretch is the first time in since 2019 Padres pitcher gave up that many homers over a 12-game span, and their offense hit 17 in that stretch.

“That never makes it easy,” manager Jayce Tingler said of the disparity over the past 12 games. “There are different ways to score, but we’ve got to drive the ball. Today we drove some balls and had a lot of hits. You can do it that way. But (the pitchers) have to find a way to keep the ball inside the fence so we can make some plays and collect our outs. No doubt, (it’s difficult) when you’re getting outslugged, especially when we work so hard to score runs and one swing of the bat and (the other team is) on the board. We’ve got to find a way to keep them in the ballpark, and we’ve got to find different ways to manufacture runs.”

Not surprisingly, the Padres are 3-9 while being outscored by 28 runs (69-41) over the past 12 games.

The Padres have hit 164 home runs this season, seventh fewest in the majors. They have allowed 184, which is 13th most.

Rotation takes another hit

The Padres already were not counting on having Chris Paddack or Blake Snell back this season, and now they appear to have lost Jake Arrieta.

The right-hander departed his start Sunday with what was termed a “mild” right adductor (groin) strain. He was the second pitcher to leave a game in the first inning with the same injury on this trip, joining Snell, a lefty who is on the IL with a left adductor strain. Paddack is on the IL with right elbow inflammation.

Snell returned to San Diego after his Sept. 12 injury to do his rehab work there. Paddack has played catch out to 75 feet the past two days. Sources said this weekend that it is likely neither returns this season, especially if the Padres are out of the playoff picture.

Asked who will start against the Giants from Tuesday through Thursday, Tingler said, “Give us some time to think through what we’re going to do for the home stretch.”

While the Padres’ three healthy starters — Joe Musgrove, Vince Velasquez and Yu Darvish — would be available for the Giants series, the team must also plan to fill at least 10 innings Friday. That is when the Padres resume a suspended seven-inning game against the Braves in the bottom of the fifth inning before playing a regularly scheduled nine-inning contest.

“We’re going to have to figure out who’s available and what we can do going forward,” Tingler said.

The fireman

Craig Stammen has thrown two or more innings in 18 games this season, one more than he had in his first four seasons with the Padres combined.

That included his going 3 2/3 innings Sunday, more than he had since 2014 while with the Washington Nationals.

Stammen allowed two inherited runners to score when he replaced Arrieta before retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced the rest of the way.

“My thinking is I’ve got to keep the game where it’s at and give us a chance to come back and sneak a win out of it,” Stammen said.

Stammen leads major league relievers with 83 2/3 innings this season while posting a 2.90 ERA.

The 37-year-old right-hander has had to enter three games in the first inning this season due to injury to or ineffectiveness by the starter. His unflappable personality and ability to get warm quicker than almost anyone else makes him the ideal candidate for such a role.

“So impressive,” Tingler said. “… Unfortunately, he’s had some practice at it this year.”