Interleague losing streak continues for Padres

June 18, 11:51 AMSan Diego Padres ExaminerJudson Green

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Franklin Gutierrez is congratulated after scoring the winning run for the Mariners. (ESPN)

The Padres' record for longest losing streak in interleague history has reached 13 games. Thirteen is considered an unlucky number, but the streak is more because the Padres have sucked than any bad fortune.

I originally thought the latest loss was a moral victory, as it was only by one run. I didn't get the chance to watch the game. However, I learned from the postgame show that Franklin Gutierrez scored the winning run for the Mariners off a throwing error by Nick Hundley, and so the moral victory became a stab-myself-in-the-jugular loss.

Fortunately, eight of the thirteen games were from last year's 99 loss season, which is a blemish on the franchise's history, but has no bearing on this season. Five losses is much more manageable. Certainly, the Padres got crushed in the first four games like a sparrow under an elephant. And last night's loss was about as frustrating as spending a six hour flight seated next to a two year old. But there are ways to handle it, such as methadone.

On the other hand, we could just realize that baseball is just a game for fans to enjoy. But that would be un-American, and also stupid. Watching a team lose makes fans shake their heads in dismay. Watching them lose in the fashion the Padres have been doing makes them shake their heads vigorously in the hope of inducing memory loss.

There are just ten more interleague games to play this month. And sure, maybe the Padres have struggled with interleague baseball more than any other team. Maybe they have been dominated by their opponents so far. Maybe Jake Peavy could be on the DL into August, and maybe Chris Young could miss this entire stretch of interleague games. But if the Padres really fight, really scratch and claw to get the most out of what they have, they could win two of them.