It was a night to forget for the San Diego Padres, as their offense went silent in a 6-0 shutout loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. The defeat marks the team's second straight loss, and the frustration is starting to build at Petco Park.

For a team built around star power, the bats simply didn't show up. The Padres' big three—Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado—combined to go just 1-for-10 with three strikeouts. When your lineup's engine stalls like that, the results are almost always ugly.

The game started as a classic pitcher's duel between Griffin Canning and St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy. But everything unraveled in a tumultuous fifth inning. JJ Wetherholt came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a single that turned into a Little League grand slam after Tatis Jr. committed a three-base error, allowing all runners to score. The Cardinals tacked on two more runs after that, providing all the offense they would need—though, as it turned out, one run would have been more than enough.

McGreevy was simply dominant, holding the Padres to no runs and just one hit over six brilliant innings. He struck out nine batters while walking only two, completely shutting down a San Diego lineup that has been struggling mightily of late.

"I just think we saw some pitches to hit and we just didn't hit them," Merrill said after the game. "Just classic baseball night, you know, just kind of went that way. We just missed some pitches."

The numbers tell a concerning story. Entering Friday's game, the Padres ranked fifth-lowest in baseball with a .231 batting average and a .684 OPS. Over their last 10 games, they've lost seven and are hitting just .185 with a .669 OPS. For a team that expected its offense to be a strength, these are alarming trends.

"It just looks like the pitcher is kind of dictating the at-bats," manager Craig Stammen said. "From the box, we're not able to dictate and force the pitcher into throwing the pitches that we can hit. A lot of things on the table to figure that out. We'll get back to the drawing board and keep working on it."

The four-game series continues, and the Padres will need to find answers quickly. When your stars aren't starring, even a pitchers' duel can turn into a blowout.