The San Diego Padres just have not been able to catch a break, and they are coming off back-to-back losses to the lowly Washington Nationals. Now, as the Padrres gear up for a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yu Darvish has been scratched from Tuesday's start due to an illness, per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

‘Well … Yu Darvish will miss tonight’s start due to illness. Reiss Knehr will start for the Padres.'

The Padres are getting close to rock bottom, and there have been rumblings of some clubhouse discord between teammates. Now, Darvish, who inked an extension in the offseason, won't be starting. On the year, he has gone 5-6 with a 4.84 ERA in a bit of a rough season for the 36-year-old. In his last three starts, he has given up at least four runs, although he threw seven shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs at the start of June.

Reiss Knehr will get the start for the Padres, and he has pitched just 3.2 innings this season with the big-league club. If there's any sort of silver lining, it's the fact that the Pirates are seven games below .500 and the Padres are playing at Petco Park.

Still, if they don't get back on track soon, the hole to climb out of might be too much at the end of the day. A three-game home series against the Pirates, followed by a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds might be just what the doctor ordered for San Diego. But not having Darvish is a tough blow for this team.