(Sports Network) - The San Diego Padres have lost more games than any team in baseball so far this season, not to mention their most significant player for what could be an extended amount of time. On Monday, general manager Kevin Towers finally lost his patience.

Shortly after San Diego's 8-2 dismantling by the St. Louis Cardinals, Towers met with a throng of reporters gathered around the clubhouse and provided a candid and rather unflattering account of the club's current state, while sharing his frustration resulting from the Padres' precipitous fall from grace as well.

"We're bad, no question about it," said Towers. "You can't just say it's early in the season. I haven't seen any signs in the last couple weeks that lead me to believe or our fans to believe we're going to turn this thing around. It's up to the guys in this clubhouse. I am certainly not going to watch this for four more months."

Monday's loss, the Padres' 24th in their last 32 contests, dropped San Diego to a lowly 16-30 for the season and put the expected playoff contenders 13 games back of first-place Arizona in the National League West standings. That's an awful big hole for any team to dig its way out of, let alone one that scores about as much as Beavis and Butthead and figures to be without ace pitcher Jake Peavy for at least a month.

Peavy was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, one day after the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner underwent an MRI that revealed swelling and a strained muscle in his throwing elbow. The competitive right-hander is hopeful that he'll only have to miss a couple of starts, although that's a highly optimistic outlook.

The two-time All-Star's only other career trip to the DL came during the 2004 campaign, when Peavy was bothered by a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm. He missed six weeks with that injury, then amassed a 10-3 record and a stellar 2.18 earned run average in 18 starts upon returning to action.

Unless the Padres somehow manage to gain ground in the standings over the next couple of weeks, there appears to be no reason to implore their franchise pitcher to make a speedy recovery.

"The way we're going right now, we're not going to rush him back," Towers remarked. "We want him to be 100 percent."

Monday's poor showing also triggered an impromptu closed-door meeting between manager Bud Black and his players prior to Tuesday's tussle with the Cardinals. The Padres responded with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory, fueled by third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff's three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The surge turned out to be short-lived, however, as St. Louis routed San Diego by an 11-3 count in Wednesday's series finale.

ANOTHER BAD BREAK

The Padres jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in Wednesday's game on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez's 12th home run of the season, but a drastic momentum shift occurred on account of two ill-fated plays in the top of the third inning.

With two men on and one out, Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols lined a Chris Young pitch back to the mound and the ball struck the towering San Diego right-hander square in the face. Young suffered a broken nose as a result of the smash and was forced to leave the contest.

Cla Meredith came on in relief of Young and induced a bases-loaded RBI grounder for the second out before St. Louis' Troy Glaus laced a single into right field. On the play, Pujols slid cleanly into Padres catcher Josh Bard while attempting to beat the throw to home plate, resulting in Bard sustaining a high left ankle sprain.

Pujols was called safe on the play, which gave the Cardinals a 3-2 edge and led to Young receiving the loss.

It's not yet clear whether Young, who had won two straight outings prior to Wednesday's abbreviated stint, will have to miss his next start, slated for Tuesday against Washington. Bard, on the other hand, will almost certainly be placed on the disabled list in the coming days.

Fortunately, San Diego does appear to have a healthy alternative at catcher in veteran Michael Barrett, who began a rehab stint with Triple-A Portland on Monday. The former Chicago Cubs backstop has been sidelined since April 7 with a sprained throwing elbow.

Barrett racked up five hits in seven at-bats and knocked in four runs during his first three games with Portland, and the 31-year-old may be able to provide a needed boost to San Diego's sagging offense. Bard was hitting a weak .200 with no home runs and just seven RBI in 130 at-bats this season.

Bard's injury also means the Padres will likely keep backup catcher Luke Carlin around for a while longer. The team has gone 4-2 in the switch-hitting rookie's six starts behind the dish, and Carlin has received praise from none other than future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux for his game-calling skills.

WORTH THE WAIT

The one feel-good story concerning the Padres is that of pitcher Shawn Estes, the one-time All-Star who hadn't pitched in the majors for over two years while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old has performed well in back-to-back starts since joining the rotation and was especially sharp in Sunday's matchup at Seattle.

Estes worked a season-high 6 1/3 innings and limited the Mariners to one run and two hits before exiting with a one-run lead. The veteran lefty was denied a victory, though, when Seattle scored twice off reliever Heath Bell in the bottom of the eighth.

On May 13, Estes allowed three runs -- two earned -- over 5 1/3 frames in San Diego's 4-3 decision over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was his 100th career win and first in the big leagues since September 9, 2005, when Estes was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"He's done very well in his two starts," Black told the Padres' official site. "We hope we can keep it going. He's pitching with a lot of confidence."

WHO'S HOT

Right fielder Brian Giles is a scorching 15-for-25 (.600) with five runs scored and four doubles over his last seven games. That tear has raised the seasoned pro's average from .259 to .308.

WHO'S NOT

Starting pitcher Randy Wolf has lost three consecutive starts and is 0-4 with a 7.52 ERA over his last five outings. The left-hander has not posted a victory since defeating Arizona on April 20 and is now 2-4 with a mediocre 5.05 ERA for the season.

Wilfredo Ledezma took Peavy's scheduled start on Monday and was tagged for four runs on five hits -- two of them homers -- in just four innings to take the loss against St. Louis. The southpaw swingman was coming off an ugly relief stint in Chicago on May 14 in which he surrendered three runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings.

ON DECK

The Padres resume their current 10-game homestand with four straight meetings against Ken Griffey Jr. and the Cincinnati Reds. The series pits a pair of last-place clubs, with Cincy residing at the bottom of the NL Central with a 21-26 mark.

Wolf (2-4, 5.05) gets the call in Thursday's opener and will be matched up against Aaron Harang (2-5, 3.12). Estes (1-0, 2.03) opposes Reds phenom Edinson Volquez (7-1, 1.33) on Friday, with Ledezma (0-1, 3.54) and Bronson Arroyo (2-4, 6.02) set to go Saturday. Maddux (3-4, 3.94) will close out the set for the Padres, with Cincinnati handing the ball to Matt Belisle (1-4, 6.75) on Sunday.