SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer Leonys Martin Jersey , wasn’t as good as he needed to be in what was supposed to be a steppingstone season for the rebuilding Padres.The burst of energy provided by Hosmer’s signing during spring training didn’t last long. The Padres, who have had three waves of young talent come up since beginning their deep rebuild during the 2016 season, staggered through another dismal year, finishing last in the NL West at 66-96, five losses worse than in 2017.Hosmer’s average of .253 was down 65 points and his on-base percentage was his lowest in four seasons. His 18 homers and 65 RBIs were also his lowest in four seasons.“Not where I want to be,” said Hosmer, who was an All-Star and World Series champion while with Kansas City. “It was just a down year, definitely not the way I wanted to perform here the first year. Nothing I can do about it now. All I can do is go put in the work in the offseason and try to be ready to go next spring.“There’s no excuse for it, I just didn’t perform the way I wanted to perform. I think if I performed the way I wanted to, it translates into more wins.”It certainly wasn’t all Hosmer’s fault, considering that the Padres continued to rank at the bottom of the majors in key offensive stats.Also struggling was Wil Myers, whose $83 million, six-year extension had been the biggest contract in team history until Hosmer came along. Myers had yet another injury and struggled after being moved from the outfield to third base.And in an oh-so-Padres moment, Myers was heard criticizing manager Andy Green during a livestream of the video game Fortnite with Carlos Asuaje, who had been optioned to Triple-A late in the season.“The Padres are doing cutoff and relays tomorrow at 3 o’clock — in September, dude.” Myers was heard saying. “Oh my God. It’s so miserable http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , man. It’s insane. Andy could not be any worse than he is right now.”Asuaje then said, “Dude, I’m streaming this.”Myers apologized to Green. Around that same time, he also committed three errors in a game.Other things to know in the wake of the Padres’ eighth straight losing season and 12th year out of the playoffs:TIMETABLERon Fowler, the executive chairman, had said he expected the Padres to be better this season than last, and to be .500 in 2019.“I’m not going to throw out record stuff anymore,” Fowler said. However, he heard general manager A.J. Preller say during a function for season ticketholders that gradual improvement will lead to a tipping point. “And I leaned over to him and said, ‘I’m an old guy. Let’s get to the tipping point sooner rather than later.’ He laughed. He thinks we’re closer than people think. Whether that means next year or sometime in 2020, I think we’ve got the talent.”BIG DECISIONSWith so much young talent in the farm system, particularly pitchers, the Padres have to decide who to protect on the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft. And with the big league roster, there are decisions to make at several positions. They need to figure out if they’ll keep Myers at third, try to get him back into a crowded outfield or try to trade him, although his value is low. Outfielder Hunter Renfroe solidified his status by hitting 26 homers again and rookie Franmil Reyes hit 16 homers. Franchy Cordero is due back from elbow surgery.FREDDY GALVISThe Padres want to keep the shortstop, who is eligible for free agency but might want to move on with top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. set to come up sometime next season. Galvis was acquired from Philadelphia for prospect Enyel De Los Santos and played in all 162 games http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , including 157 starts at shortstop and five at second base. Viewed as a placeholder for Tatis, Galvis solidified the position and was a mentor to several young Latino players.TATIS JR.He broke his left thumb sliding headfirst for Double-A San Antonio in July and has been cleared to play winter ball. While the Padres will certainly control his service-time clock, “Everybody in our baseball front office would be shocked if he wasn’t up here somewhat early in the season,” Fowler said.WAVES OF YOUNG TALENTLeft-handed starters Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer, plus right-hander Jacob Nix made their big league debuts this year. Coming up late in the year were rookie second baseman Luis Urias, who showed nice flashes in the field and at the plate before injuring a hamstring. Also coming up was catcher Francisco Mejia, obtained from Cleveland for All-Star closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber. The Padres could try to find room for both Mejia and Austin Hedges, or trade one of them. ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb is fighting for a spot in the rotation for the Atlanta Braves‘ hopeful march to the postseason.The way he’s been going recently at home, Newcomb is leaving doubt that he can handle the job.“It’s just more a mentality,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and get right after guys and not worry about too much about what’s going on as far as what’s working and what’s not.”Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon hit two-run homers, 19-year-old rookie Juan Soto added an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Braves 6-4 on Sunday.Atlanta maintained a 6½-games lead in the NL East over second-place Philadelphia but has lost two straight following a season-best, six-game winning streak. The Braves are 38-36 at home, where they have lost eight of their last 11.Tanner Roark (9-15) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings, and Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances.Newcomb (12-9) made 31 pitches in the first and allowed five runs and six hits in three innings. He has lost four of five home starts since coming within one strike of a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta on July 29, and he has an 11.32 home ERA over that span.“I wasn’t commanding the fastball, so it was hard to get everything else going,” Newcomb said. “You could tell they were laying off pitches Jeimer Candelario Jersey , waiting on their pitch to kind of do something with.”Washington built a 3-0 lead in the first when Harper hit his 34th homer and Ryan Zimmerman’s grounded into a run-scoring forceout. Rendon hit his 20th homer in the third to make it 5-0; he has reached safely in 25 straight games.Soto singled in the first to extend his on-base streak to 21 straight games, tying Mickey Mantle in 1951 for the second-longest by a teenager behind Mel Ott’s 22 in 1928. Soto is batting .357 during a 10-game hitting streak.“He’s been a blessing for us all year long,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “Just watching him play, he’s just out there having fun and playing the game the right way.”Atlanta closed to 5-4 on two-run homers by Tyler Flowers in the fourth and by Charlie Culberson in the eighth against Greg Holland.Roark’s streak of 27 2/3 consecutive innings without a walk ended in the third, and he struck out Freddie Freeman to strand two runners.Rendon dove to field a grounder at third in the fifth and jumped to throw off one leg to get pinch-hitter Preston Tucker at first. Late in the inning, center fielder Victor Robles ran hard to his left and chase down Ozzie Albies’ liner at the wall.But it was the Nationals’ offense that dominated the last two games. Harper just hopes Washington can stay in contention despite being 7½ games back of Atlanta.“It’s a bummer when we’re not winning ballgames,” Harper said. “That was the biggest thing on my mind. I’m not really worried about my numbers or anything like that because I am who I am. That sounds bad, but I am. Any given night I’m able to go out there and do some things for this team that are special, and I was able to do that again today.”TRAINER’S ROOMBraves 3B Johan Camargo missed his fourth straight game with left groin tightness, but manager Brian Snitker said he should be back in the lineup on Monday. … Atlanta RHP Arodys Vizcaino was not available after pitching a scoreless ninth inning Saturday, the former closer’s first appearance after he missed 55 games with right shoulder inflammation.UP NEXTRHP Erick Fedde (2-3, 5.12 ERA) will make his first career appearance against the Marlins when the Nationals begin a two-game series Monday at Miami. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (11-9, 2.66 ERA) will face 15-game winner Miles Mikolas when the Braves begin a three-game series against St. Louis.