Major League Baseball's trade deadline is July 31. That gives the Padres a little less than a week to make moves that might fix their maddening inability to hit with runners on base. Instead of breaking down the whole game piece by piece let's give a frustratingly telling synopsis:

On Friday night in St. Louis the Friars had 11 hits, put at least one runner on base in eight different innings, and had the leadoff hitter reach five times. They didn't score a single run, an almost impressive showing of offensive ineptitude, in a 3-0 loss that further tightened an increasingly suffocating National League Wild Card picture.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals took advantage of their opportunities. In the 2nd inning they scored when Jake Cronenworth booted a Nolan Arenado ground ball. A sacrifice and RBI

See Full Page