The Padres broke their ten-game losing streak on Tuesday, behind a strong pitching performance from Eric Stults. On Wednesday, it took a poor pitching performance to return the Padres to losing ways as the Colorado Rockies hung on to beat the Friars 5-4.

Andrew Cashner, who has been a relatively steady starting pitcher this season, couldn’t locate his pitches at times and gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks. Cashner went high in his pitch count early and only lasted for five innings.

Cashner gave way to five Padres relievers who gave up two more runs, Tim Stauffer in the sixth inning and Miles Mikolas in the eighth each gave up a score. The Rockies pounded out a total of 13 hits off of Padres pitching.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Carlos Quentin hit his 11th home run of the season – a two-run shot which cut the Padres deficit in half at the time. The Padres then got a run in the seventh inning and a run in the ninth, but their rally fell short.

Chase Headley and Everth Cabrera each collected two hits, with Cabrera stealing his National League leading 32nd base of the season. But other Padres bats were mostly cold, with Jesus Guzman striking out four times in four plate appearances.

Each loss brings the Padres closer to a point of no return, where it would take an amazing winning streak to bring the club back into contention. General Manager Josh Byrnes has already indicated that the team is reaching a point where the front office could consider the Padres as sellers before the trade deadline, rather than buyers to bolster a team that would otherwise be contending.

In fact, if the Padres were in any other division in baseball, they would be completely out of contention. But because they are in the National League West, they remain only 6 1/2 games in back of the division leading Arizona Diamondbacks, tied for last place.

Notes:

Jedd Gyorko (groin) went to Lake Elsinore to play in his first rehab game with the single-A Storm on Wednesday and went 2 for 3 with a double. Yonder Alonso (hand) continued his rehab assignment at AAA Tucson and went 2 for 4. It’s possible that either or both players could join the Padres in San Diego before the All-Star break.

Manager Buddy Black indicated that Sean O’Sullivan will come up from AAA Tucson to make the start in San Diego on Friday. O’Sullivan is 7-4 with Tucson this season with a 3.88 earned run average. The 25-year old O’Sullivan was born in San Diego and attended Valhalla high in El Cajon and then went to Grossmont College. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and later traded to the Kansas City Royals, and signed with the Padres as a free agent. In the big leagues, O’Sullivan is 10-14 with a 6.13 earned run average.

Thursday, the reeling Padres – losers of 11 of their last 12 – will host another struggling team in the San Francisco Giants who have lost 16 of their last 19 games. The Padres will send Jason Marquis (9-4, 3.79) to the hill to face Madison Bumgarner (9-5, 3.05) of the Giants. Game time is 7:10 PM, and can be heard on 1090 AM or watched on Fox Sports San Diego.