I was going to lead in with a bit about Japanese koto music, but all the good feeling I derived from listening to that at work yesterday disappeared in a flash last night. This was a game the Padres should have won. The things that didn’t come back to bite them in the opener led to their undoing on Tuesday.

We’ll start out positive and then work our way into the stuff that had me screaming at the television. First off, some nice defensive work early in the game, particularly by Phil Nevin, Ramon Hernandez, and Jay Payton. Nevin made a nice diving stop of a grounder hit by Cesar Izturis in the first. Yes, he dove. No, it wasn’t full extension; it was more of a slide-on-one-knee kind of thing. Effective and safe. Nevin also started a beautiful double play to end the third. Dave Roberts hit a smash just over the bag. Nevin fielded it, stepped on first while crossing into foul territory, then spun and fired to Khalil Greene, who tagged a bewildered (and standing) Odalis Perez to complete the twin killing.

Earlier that inning, Hernandez pounced on Perez’ sacrifice attempt and nailed Adrian Beltre at third. Hernandez looked like a third baseman coming in on slow grounder and made a strong and accurate throw while falling away from the play. Pretty athletic move for a stocky guy slogging a bunch of gear. Hernandez also hit a towering three-run homer in the second. That and Jake Peavy’s opposite field double were the offensive highlights.

The last standout defensive play came when Payton gunned down Izturis trying to leg out a double to start the fourth. The Dodgers were down 4-0 at the time and on their way to being laughed out of their own stadium again. It was a nice play by Payton and a bizarre decision on the part of Izturis.

At this point in the game, things are going well. Real well. Peavy is dealing. He’s mostly hitting his spots. Sure, the 0-2 hanger that Alex Cora slaps to center for a single isn’t pretty, but we’re nitpicking.

The box score will tell you that the game turned in the sixth, when the Dodgers cut the lead in half. But it really started to go downhill the previous inning. After two quick outs, the Pads managed to load the bases for Greene. Let me make it perfectly clear that I’m not picking on Greene here; this is what rookies do. He fell behind in the count, 0-2, and then popped weakly to first to end the inning. Right there I’m starting to think the Pads might be in trouble. (Years of losing will do that to you.)

The bottom of the sixth starts well. The Dodgers have already gone to the ‘pen and now they bring a pinch-hitter up to lead off the inning, which means they’ll be on their third pitcher come the seventh. That hitter, Jason Grabowski, strikes out on four pitches.

Peavy is cruising.

Then Dave Roberts lays down a perfect bunt wide of first. Nevin bobbles the ball, but even if he comes up with it cleanly, he puts it in his pocket. Roberts proceeds to steal second and then (this is the killer) Izturis singles him to third. Then, with Milton Bradley at the plate, Peavy comes off the rubber badly and balks in a run.

With me so far? Bunt to first, single to one of the worst hitters in Major League Baseball, balk. Then Bradley singles and it’s 4-2. Exit Peavy. Thankfully Eddie Oropesa and Scott Linebrink shut the door without further damage, but what happened to Peavy? I don’t pretend to know what’s inside anyone’s head, but it sure looked like Roberts’ bunt rattled him. Or maybe he was running out of gas. Whatever the case, it unraveled for him in a hurry.

But the Padres still have the lead, so it’s all good. Enter Antonio Osuna. With one on and one out, he falls behind Beltre 3-1. Next pitch: meatball, gone. Tie game. Sigh. The bullpen was supposed to be a strength this year. I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering, as Beltre rounds the bases, where is Rod Beck?

I won’t go into all the gory details, but things got worse. Infielders started looking confused (Ramon Vazquez may yet learn how to play first base, but maybe sticking him out there in a tight ballgame isn’t the best way for him to do it) and there was a general inability to hit with ducks on the pond. The Pads ended up stranding 14 baserunners (6 alone by Greene, who twice walked away empty with the bases loaded) and basically gave away a game they had numerous opportunities to win. Give the Dodgers credit for hanging close and chipping away at the lead. But this one hurt.

Okay, now that I’ve meandered my way through various verb tenses, let’s end on an up note. The Padres didn’t go down quietly againt Eric Gagne. It may look that way from the box score, but what the numbers don’t tell you are that Ramon Hernandez crushed the first pitch he saw from Gagne to deep center field. Only a spectacular running catch by Bradley kept that from being a one-out double, which completely changes the inning. Also, Terrence Long, of all people, battled valiantly against Gagne before flying out to end the inning.

Tonight it’s Adam Eaton against Jeff Weaver. Same time, same channel. It’s only the third game of the season, but I’m interested to see how the club responds to Tuesday’s heartbreaker. Early gut check for the Friars. Here’s hoping they bounce back and take the series before coming home to open Petco…