PHOENIX, Aug 11 \u2014 Despair. Dismay. Defeat. Dejection. All accurately describe the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> in their current funk, one that dates back to July 2. The latest entry in the Diary of the Downtrodden came Friday night as the Diamondbacks fell apart early en route to a crushing 10\u20135 loss to the San Diego Padres<\/a>. An early 1\u20130 lead for the Diamondbacks did not even survive past the second hitter of the next half-inning. And as the Padres continued pounding away at pitch after pitch, starter Ryne Nelson<\/a><\/strong> saw his already-high ERA climb as observers saw his shoulders slump.<\/p>\n Postgame, a downcast Nelson was at a loss to fully explain his brief, \u201cfrustrating\u201d outing. He had faced the minimum in the first, thanks to a foul popup to the catcher by Ha-Seong Kim<\/a><\/strong> and a 3-6-3 double play groundout by Juan Soto<\/a><\/strong> that erased a single to center by Fernando Tatis Jr.<\/a><\/strong> But the second inning was a different story. Manny Machado<\/a><\/strong> led off with a walk and scored on a mammoth (430 feet) home run to left-center by Xander Bogaerts<\/a><\/strong>. Jake Cronenworth<\/a><\/strong> followed with a 69-mph single to center. But Nelson settled down, retiring Ji Man Choi<\/a><\/strong> on an unassisted groundout to first, Gary Sanchez<\/a><\/strong> on a punchout, and Trent Grisham<\/a><\/strong> on a mile-high popup to the mound.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Nelson, the Padres resumed their abuse in the third. Tatis singled to center with one out and stole second. Soto plated him with a triple to right-center. Machado stroked a single to right, scoring Soto. After a foul popup by Bogaerts, Cronenworth jerked a homer down the right-field line. Choi struck out to retire the side, but that was the end of the day for Nelson.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was frustrating for all of us, myself included,\u201d Nelson said after the game. \u201cThe game isn\u2019t treating us very well right now. I feel better than I ever have, and it\u2019s just not quite showing up\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Six of the seven Padre hits off Nelson except the Cronenworth single left the bat at over 100 mph. A few weeks ago, pitching coach Brent Strom<\/a><\/strong> said Nelson might have been tipping pitches. Nelson said they talk about it a lot, adding with a hint of a forced grin, \u201cIf anybody knows what I’m doing (and) would like to tell me, that’d be nice. But we can’t seem to figure out if that is the case or if it’s not.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson acknowledged, when asked, that it might explain some things. An example he cited was the Bogaerts home run on an inside fastball. \u201cThat was a pitch that he numbers-wise doesn\u2019t hit very well. It could just be luck that he was guessing fastball and got it, maybe. But if I am tipping, I would like to know.\u201d<\/p>\nPadres Pour It On, Put Diamondbacks in Huge Hole<\/h3>\n
An Alarming Plunge<\/h3>\n