Tom Krasovic: Strange season for Tatis Jr., Machado continues in series-clinching loss to Mets

Fernando Tatis Jr. was an efficient base stealer through six seasons.

Year after year, Manny Machado knocked out a good ratio of hits.

This season?

I don’t recognize either Padres star, and that season-long theme persisted Sunday in a 7-3 defeat against the Mets (28-36) that made it four consecutive losing series for the Padres (33-31).

Afterward, both Tatis and Machado made themselves available to reporters.

But there wasn’t much to say.

It’s been an exasperating season for each star, magnified by the realization that if they don’t turn it around, the Padres won’t return to the playoffs.

In this game, Tatis was caught trying to steal third base when he should’ve played it safe unless he was certain he’d get the bag.

It seemed he was trying too hard, attempting to make something happen with his legs in a season in which he famously has hit one home run.

“This is part of the game,” Tatis said, referring also to Mets fielders snagging a few hard shots by Padres hitters. “Baseball brings a lot of struggles.”

Machado went hitless in four tries in the cleanup spot, leaving him with a .169 batting average.

That’s not what anyone foresaw from the .276 career hitter, who’d batted .275 each of the past two seasons.

In his first at-bat, Machado put decent wood on a reliever/opener’s 97-miles-per-hour fastball. It went for a routine flyout to center field.

In his next chance, he didn’t look like Manny Machado.

Striking out, he swung through Sean Manaea’s center-cut, 91-miles-per-hour fastball.

Asked if the veteran lefty’s fastballs had good deception, Machado was succinct.

“No,” he said.

“We just didn’t hit,” he said of the offense’s day, highlighted by two home runs from catcher Freddy Fermin.

Beyond the 11 home runs and career-high walk rate, Manny hasn’t been Manny this year.

In the past 31 games, he’s hit .116.

Tatis’ power outage at age 27 has stumped the baseball world.

He has helped out in other ways, playing very good defense in right field and second base, and hitting for an above-average batting average. His footspeed has benefited the offense in several games.

But he’s getting thrown out too often for someone of his abilities.

Tatis knows how to steal bases.

He succeeded on 82.1% of his 150 career attempts before this year. Just last year, when had career-highs of stolen bases (32) and attempts (39) under manager Mike Shildt, he succeeded on 82% of his tries.

He’s still very fast, and is actually clocking as faster than last year.

But his caught-stealing Sunday was his seventh in just 21 tries, a 66.6% success rate.

And this one smarted.

He ran on the at-bat’s first pitch, a ball to No. 3 hitter Ty France with two outs and the Padres down 4-2 in the fifth inning.

The play at third base wasn’t close.

Off the hook, as a result, was Manaea.

The lefty was fading in his fourth inning. Two outs into the frame, he’d walked No. 8 hitter Samad Taylor, allowed a home run to No. 9 hitter Fermin off an 88-miles-hour fastball and given up Tatis’ hard double before retiring Jackson Merrill on a flyout.

It hurt to see the bat taken from France, who in his previous chance saw a called third strike from Manaea that should’ve been called a ball. The righty has six home runs and, entering the day, led the Padres in batting average and on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Manager Craig Stammen said Tatis’ caught-stealing was a “mistake” but that he wasn’t going to “crucify” him for it.

Stammen reiterated that he’ll stick up for aggressive baserunning.

Tatis noted that “we have been more aggressive on the bases this year.”

The game’s MVP was Mets rookie Carson Benge, a 23-year-old leadoff hitter who had five hits.

The day’s best pivotal play?

Mets left-fielder MJ Melendez’s A+, backhanded snag of a hooking liner by Miguel Andujar. The first-inning play may have changed the whole game.

For the Padres, the top standout was left-fielder Taylor, who made three difficult catches

The 7-3 defeat created an unwelcomed bookend for the Padres. It resembled the 5-2 defeat against the A’s that began this bad stretch, which has seen the Padres drop 11 of 13 games and also put outfielder Ramon Laureano and reliever Jeremiah Estrada on the injured list. Within the plummet, the Padres are 1-6 at home.

Bookend?

I spoke too soon. Monday’s series opener, against the Reds, will determine if the misery continues.