The Padres finally stopped the bleeding by taking the last game of their series against the Dodgers, but there’s no time to breathe. San Diego now heads into a four-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and second place in the National League West is hanging in the balance.
Both clubs enter the series at 44-45, which gives this matchup some real weight right away. Arizona comes in after dropping two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers, while the Padres have lost eight of their last nine overall.
This is also the first time the teams will meet at a home ballpark this season. They split a two-game series in Mexico City back in April, with each side winning once.
San Diego is set to open the series Monday night with Walker Buehler on the mound against Brandon Pfaadt. Buehler is coming off a rough outing against the Chicago Cubs, when he gave up nine runs on nine hits across four innings.
Still, he had been on a strong run before that and looked like his old All-Star-caliber self. For the season, the veteran has a 4.61 ERA over 82 innings.
Pfaadt has been uneven for Arizona, carrying a 5.40 ERA over 43.1 innings.
Tuesday’s game is listed as TBA for the Padres, though Jhony Brito is the likely option against Zac Gallen. Brito could be making his season debut after finishing his rehab assignment.
He missed last season following UCL brace and flexor tendon surgery, and after posting a 0.96 ERA over four starts in Triple-A, he may get the call here. Gallen, meanwhile, has had a tough 2026 season, with a 6.36 ERA over 92 innings.
Michael King gets the ball Wednesday for San Diego after turning in a strong outing against the Dodgers over the weekend. He allowed two runs over six innings, though the Padres couldn’t hold on after he exited.
King owns a 3.52 ERA over 102.1 innings this year. Arizona will counter with Jose Cabrera, who is making the fourth start of his MLB career and has a 4.73 ERA.
The series wraps Thursday with Griffin Canning against Merrill Kelly. Canning could again work behind an opener, something the Padres have used in different spots, including in his last outing against the Dodgers.
That start went well: four innings, one run, two hits. Kelly enters with a 5.71 ERA over 86.2 innings and allowed two runs over five innings in his last start against the Brewers.
Monday’s opener starts at 6:40 p.m. PT/9:40 p.m.
ET and will air on Padres.TV, DBACKS.TV and FS1. Tuesday’s game also begins at 6:40 p.m.
PT/9:40 p.m. ET and will be shown on Padres.TV, DBACKS.TV and in the MLB app.
Wednesday’s matchup starts at 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m.
ET on ESPN and the ESPN App. Thursday’s finale begins at 6:40 p.m.
PT/9:40 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Padres.TV, DBACKS.TV and in the MLB app.
In Other News...
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Now the conversation has shifted from what Soroka can do on the mound to what the Diamondbacks should do with him beyond this season. He has already given the organization enough to keep the debate alive, but injuries have also shaped too much of his recent track record to make the answer simple. Arizona will have to weigh the appeal of keeping a pitcher with real swing-and-miss ability against the uncertainty that has followed him for years. [Read more 🡒]
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The flip side came in the kind of ugly loss that can linger well beyond one night, when the Twins blew the game open and left the Diamondbacks sorting through the fallout. Torey Lovullo did not hide from it afterward, saying the club needed to pitch, prep, coach and manage better, and the roster move that followed showed how quickly the pressure can tighten in a month like June. For Arizona, the bigger question now is whether the same players who helped steady the group can keep doing it when the margin for error gets thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Ketel Marte Has Diamondbacks Fans Eyeing Another Big Night
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Marte has also handled Marquez well enough in past meetings to make Diamondbacks fans pay attention, with extra-base damage already on the ledger and a track record that suggests comfort against this particular arm. For a team trying to squeeze every bit of offense out of its best bats, that history is enough to make another big night feel less like a guess and more like a possibility. [Read more 🡒]