Juan Soto Calls Out Padres Players for Giving Up in Loss to Julio Rodríguez, Mariners

Frustration continues to mount amid a disappointing season for the San Diego Padres, with Juan Soto calling out the team's effort in a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

Soto told reporters after the game that his club has a tendency to give up:

"We've got to play as a team. We've got to go out there grind every day. Grind every at-bat. ... It's been really inconsistent. Some days we do, some days we don't. We gotta do it every day. Days like this series, we just give up. Like literally, we just give up instead of keep grinding, keep pushing. We've got to forget about yesterday and keep moving."

The score was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the eighth before the Mariners broke out for five runs off San Diego relievers Steven Wilson and Tom Cosgrove.

AJ Cassavell of MLB.com noted the Padres held a players' only meeting after the game "to talk through whatever needed to be talked through."

Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the meeting was "at least" the fourth held by the team this season to discuss "issues pertaining to its lack of execution, mainly on offense."

Soto wasn't the only player who was critical of San Diego's performance. Manny Machado called it "unacceptable."

Xander Bogaerts was upset about San Diego's inability to execute with runners in scoring position.

"We just weren't able to execute," Bogaerts said. "It's not like he had anything special. But he threw strikes, had some movement on his pitches. First time seeing the kid. But we definitely should have played better, for sure."

This has been an ongoing problem for the Padres in 2023. Their .229 team batting average with runners in scoring position ranks 29th in MLB, ahead of only the Oakland Athletics (.219). Their .708 OPS is slightly better, tied for 24th with the Cleveland Guardians.

After reaching the NLCS last season and continuing to spend big in the offseason, expectations were as high as they have ever been for the Padres coming into this year.

Wednesday's loss was San Diego's fourth straight and dropped its record to 55-60. The team is currently 4.5 games behind the Miami Marlins for the final playoff spot in the National League.