Craig Stammen threw good pitches and bad pitches.

He also did what he almost never does.

And so the Padres bullpen did what it has done a fair amount lately, allowing too many baserunners and too many runs and letting another victory escape down the drain.

With three runs against Trey Wingenter and Stammen in the seventh inning and two more off Stammen in the eighth, the Phillies came back to beat the Padres 7-5 in the finale of a three-game series Wednesday at Petco Park.


“We’ve got enough down there to be successful,” Andy Green said of his bullpen.

That’s what a manager must say, hope, believe.

This is the Padres’ new reality with a group that was so good last season and was expected to be so much better this season — before injuries, under-performance and a heavy workload conspired for a disappointing run.

Not much they can do besides ride it out, believing those who are here will stop the leaking and the help growing on the farm (and about to be rehabbing there) is ready soon.


The pen, more a strength than a weakness on some bad Padres teams over the years, began this season as such before withering because some arms were hurt and others (like Robert Stock and Gerardo Reyes) couldn’t throw enough strikes.

The bullpen has allowed at least one run in 11 straight games and has a 6.54 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in that span. After posting a 3.57 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in the season’s first 32 games, those numbers are 5.30 and 1.38 since. In that 30-game span, which began May 3, they have lost four games and blown six leads.

“Gotta find a way to get it done,” said Stammen, who was charged with three runs in his 1 1/3 innings, which did not include the inherited runner he allowed to score.

That will have to do for now.


The Padres, who fell to 31-31, are not inclined to make a significant move to acquire veteran arms. Not this season.

They also believe help is on the way. Some arrived Wednesday — and did well.

Right-hander Miguel Diaz, who had meniscus surgery in February, was activated off the 60-day injured list and pitched a scoreless sixth inning in his season debut.

Before Wednesday’s game, left-hander Jose Castillo, out since late February with a flexor strain, took fielding practice at Petco Park. He is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week that could be the next step in getting him back in the bullpen by July.


The Padres are also charting a course for prospects Andres Munoz and Adrian Morejon to make their big-league debuts, perhaps within the month. Eric Yardley is also a strong candidate to be promoted this summer.

Starter Dinelson Lamet is expected back around the end of June, which the Padres anticipate will give them further flexibility in manipulating innings.

The good news out of Wednesday was that rookie Cal Quantrill threw five strong innings.

Quantrill and Josh Naylor, the two rookies from the Canadian province of Ontario, combined with Wil Myers to stake the Padres to a 5-2 lead that in another time would have been safe.


Quantrill, who earned his first victory May 25 in Toronto, made his first start since and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out seven.

His only real trouble came against Jay Bruce, the guy who troubled almost every Padres pitcher he faced the past three days. Back-to-back two-out doubles by Kingery and Bruce gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and Bruce’s third home run in two games got them to 5-2 in the fourth.

The Padres’ five runs came via the bats of Naylor and Myers, as well as Myers’ feet.

Naylor, called up to make his major league debut while the Padres were in Toronto last month, hit a three-run homer in the third inning that gave the Padres a 3-1 lead.


Two pitches after Naylor lined his second career home run, Myers hit his 11th homer of the season. Myers walked, stole second and scored on Ty France’s single in the fifth inning.

That lead stood for another inning, which portended good things, as the Padres entered Monday 21-2 in games they led after six innings.

But they lost such a game for the third time since May 3.

Wingenter struck out Kingery to start the seventh before walking Adam Hasely. He got pinch-hitter Maikel Franco on a pop-up, but Cesar Hernandez turned on a 2-2 slider for a triple down the right field line.


Stammen came in to face Bryce Harper, who doubled to center field to score Hernandez. Jean Segura followed with a single up the middle that tied the game 5-5.

Stammen got the first two outs of the eighth before walking Kingery — just the third walk Stammen had issued in his 32 innings this season.

Haseley, who made his major league debut here on Monday, followed by reaching out to poke a slider several inches off the plate the other way down the left field line for his first hit and first RBI. Pinch-hitter Andrew Knapp then bounced another decent pitch for an RBI single through a hole created by the Padres having shifted.

“Little bit of bad luck,” said Stammen, who has been among the majors’ most reliable high-leverage relievers the past three seasons. “But I could have stopped the bleeding a little earlier the inning before.”


Austin Allen’s second infield single of the day and walks by Manuel Margot and Greg Garcia loaded the bases with one out in the eighth before pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler struck out and Manny Machado hit ahigh fly ball to shallow left field that Segura, the shortstop, caught on the run.

Hector Neris, who got the final two outs of the eighth, retired the Padres in order in the ninth for his 12th save.

That came after Padres closer Kirby Yates, needing work after not pitching since Friday, worked a perfect ninth inning.

That lowered his ERA to an even 1.00 over 27 innings. The rest of the bullpen has a 4.86 ERA.