The Padres didn’t just sweep the Twins - they rolled into this week with momentum and a little breathing room in the standings, and now the next test is sitting in their own ballpark.
San Diego enters the three-game set against Pittsburgh at 71-60, clinging to the final wild-card spot in the National League. The race around them is tight enough that every series carries weight, and the Padres know they can’t afford to let a club like the Pirates hang around. Pittsburgh comes in at 63-69 after getting swept by the Dodgers, still technically alive in the playoff chase, but 8.5 games back of San Diego in the wild-card standings.
The series opens Monday, August 24, with a left-on-left matchup: Robbie Ray for the Padres against Braxton Ashcraft for the Pirates. Ray is coming off one of his sharper outings in a Padres uniform, throwing six innings and giving up one run on three hits against the Mets. Since arriving at the trade deadline, he’s made three starts for San Diego and has a 4.20 ERA with 10 strikeouts across 15 innings.
Ashcraft has been dealing lately. Over his last two starts, he became the third starter ever to string together back-to-back outings of at least eight innings while allowing one or fewer runs on 85 or fewer pitches. For the season, the right-hander has a 3.68 ERA in 25 starts.
Tuesday’s game sets up another strong pitching duel, with Michael King facing Paul Skenes. King has been steady all season and has been especially sharp in August, posting a 3.42 ERA in four starts this month. Overall, he owns a 3.38 ERA across 26 starts and has been the most reliable arm in the Padres’ rotation.
Skenes, meanwhile, has had a rougher stretch than expected. He has a 3.95 ERA in 26 starts this year, but he hasn’t worked past the fifth inning in any of his last four outings. Over that span, he’s allowed 12 runs in 18.1 innings.
The Padres have not officially named a starter for Wednesday’s finale, but Randy Vásquez is expected to get the ball. Vásquez has been on a good run and earned praise from manager Craig Stammen, who said, “Kind of a man on a mission, proving that he deserves to be in the starting rotation,” Stammen said.
Vásquez last pitched seven innings against the Twins, allowing two runs on two hits. On the year, he has a 4.19 ERA in 25 appearances, 20 of them starts. Pittsburgh is expected to counter with Bubba Chandler, a hard-throwing right-hander who has posted a 4.38 ERA in 25 appearances, 24 starts.
Monday and Tuesday’s games are set for 6:40 p.m. PT/9:40 p.m.
ET, while Wednesday’s finale is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m.
ET. All three games will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.
In Other News...
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Padres Just Made A Curious Roster Call Before The Pirates Series
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To clear space, the Padres optioned infielder Sung-Mun Song to Triple-A and transferred right-hander Lucas Giolito to the 60-day injured list on the 40-man side. It is the kind of transaction that can fly under the radar in the moment, but it also hints at how the Padres are managing both their immediate bench mix and the longer injury-related picture as they head into the series. [Read more 🡒]