"The Braves came with a four-game winning streak and the second-best record in the National League, but Friday was a reminder of their biggest flaw. They don't hit much.

If that seems an odd thing to point out after a game in which the Braves were blown out 11-2 by the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, well, it's not if one considers how close the game was much of the night.

The Padres led 2-0 after five innings against the Braves' Derek Lowe (3-6), whose winless streak is at nine starts. He had not pitched poorly to that point, and retired 10 consecutive batters after giving up a run in the second inning and another run in the third.

Meanwhile, Braves hitters were going down with alarming ease against Padres starter Tim Stauffer (3-5), who became the latest in a series of pitchers to record a career-high in strikeouts against the Braves this season. He had nine in seven innings, with no walks and four hits allowed.

"Unfortunately we just didn't get him any runs while he was out there," said Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose two-run homer off Stauffer in the seventh inning was one of only four hits for the Braves.

"[Lowe] is trying to make the perfect pitch, and he can't do that every time he's out there. We just didn't get him any runs to feel a little bit comfortable. He was always on the edge tonight."

Stauffer retired 16 consecutive batters between Chipper Jones' two-out single in the first inning and Jason Heyward's leadoff single in the seventh. The Braves did not hit a ball in the air for four consecutive innings.

Two outs after Heyward's seventh-inning single, Freeman hit a mammoth shot over fence in straightaway center field to end Stauffer's shutout bid and cut the lead to 5-2. It was the eighth homer for the rookie first baseman, and came on a full-count pitch."