San Diego — The Braves hoped to move a little closer in the National League East on this trip. Closer to the division cellar isn't what they had in mind.

Their lineup was shut down again Friday night in a 4-0 series-opening loss against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, which left the Braves as close to last-place Washington as they were to division leader Philadelphia.

Lenny Ignelzi/AP (ENLARGE)

Atlanta Braves left fielder Gregor Blanco misplays a bouncing single by San Diego Padres' Jody Gerut for a two-base error that allowed a run to score in the sixth inning Friday.

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The Braves are 7 1/2 games behind the Phillies and 7 1/2 ahead of the Nationals. The resurgent New York Mets are on a seven-game winning streak that has moved them six games ahead of the Braves, who also trail the Florida Marlins by six.

Things don't look good for the Bravos, who've hit barely .200 during a 3-9 skid since June 28.

"If we get to the trade deadline ... if we get to 10 [games back], I'm sure we'll probably be sellers as opposed to buyers," Chipper Jones said. "Bottom line, we just haven't been able to overcome early- season injuries. Slowly but surely, we're being exposed."

They are 9-25 on the road since April 26, and in their past five road games they've been shut out three times and held to one run in another.

This latest loss came against a Padres team that had lost 10 of 11 games at Petco Park. The Braves had won 16 of their previous 20 games against the Padres.

But seldom in recent memory have the Braves looked so punchless. Brian McCann had three of their eight hits Friday, and their only extra-base hit (double).

They played without shortstop Yunel Escobar, a late scratch after reinjuring his left shoulder in the Dodgers series this week. Manager Bobby Cox said Escobar would probably miss the entire series and that there is some concern.

"Hopefully it's nothing serious," Cox said. "He's got some issues in there."

It's not just that the Braves have lost three of the first four games on this six-game trip that takes them up to the All-Star break, assuring that they will not have a winning record on any trip before the break.

It's that the Braves have been completely manhandled by opposing pitchers in all three losses.

"It's like the old days with the Giants and Dodgers," Cox said, "when teams came to the West Coast and had to face [Juan] Marichal, [Gaylord] Perry, [Don] Drysdale and [Sandy] Koufax. That's what it looks like to me."

Hiroki Kuroda carried a perfect game through seven innings of Monday's 3-0 Dodgers win. Derek Lowe had a perfect game through six innings of Wednesday's 2-1 Dodgers win.

(Not to mention the seven scoreless, four-hit, 11-strikeout innings that Toronto's A.J. Burnett threw against them in the final game of the last trip.)

It was Padres ace Jake Peavy's turn Friday, and the hard-throwing Alabama native retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced.

Peavy (7-5) allowed four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in seven innings, for his second win in seven starts against a team he grew up loving.

Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes (3-8) labored through four innings (five hits, two runs) and fell to 1-7 in his past 10 starts. During his current four-start losing streak, the Braves haven't scored a run while Reyes has been in a game.

"You've got to give some credit to those [pitchers]," said Jones, who had an infield single Friday and is 1-for-14 on the trip. "I haven't seen a pitch over the middle of the past in a week. I'm really struggling to get something generated offensively myself.

"With me struggling, hopefully somebody will swing the bat. Mac's swinging the bat, but other than that, it's slim pickings."

The Padres opened a 2-0 lead after hot-hitting leadoff man Scott Hairston tripled and scored on a groundout in the first inning, then doubled and scored on an Adrian Gonzalez single in the third.

Peavy had some trouble in the fifth after a McCann single and one-out walk by Mark Kotsay. With potential tying runs on base, rookie Brent Lillibridge grounded out on a bunt before pinch-hitter Greg Norton flied out weakly.

Lillibridge replaced Escobar and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to drop his average to .133.