The Padres found their footing just in time to avoid a bad week getting worse.
San Diego shook off a rough debut from trade-deadline pickup Casey Mize and rode a familiar formula Wednesday, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 to earn a 2-2 split in the series. It wasn’t the cleanest win, but it did stop Arizona from creating any separation and left the Padres still a game back in the standings while also tying the season series.
The night started with Mize, who was making his Padres debut, and it didn’t go the way San Diego hoped. Walker Buehler handled the start after that, and even though he allowed Arizona’s only run, he managed to limit the damage well enough to keep the game within reach. Gabriel Moreno drove in the Diamondbacks’ run with an RBI single in the third, and Buehler left with one out in the fourth after allowing six hits and a walk.
From there, the Padres did what they’ve done so often when they’re at their best: lean on the bullpen and scratch out runs any way they can. Bradley Rodriguez earned the win by covering two scoreless innings, and Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller each followed with an inning of shutout work.
The offense never needed a big swing. San Diego opened with a run in the first when a Manny Machado double-play ball brought one home, then added another pair of small-ball runs in the third. Machado knocked in one with a groundout, and Ty France followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
The Padres kept stacking on insurance in the sixth and seventh. Freddy Fermin singled in a run in the sixth, and Jackson Merrill did the same in the next inning to push the margin to 5-1 and settle things down for good.
Arizona starter Kohl Drake took the loss after the Padres jumped on him early and put his club in a hole it couldn’t dig out of.
Now San Diego turns the page and welcomes the Houston Astros. The next test comes with the team’s other deadline addition, Robbie Ray, set to make his Padres debut tonight against Ronel Blanco. The hope inside the clubhouse is simple enough: better length from the starters, and more nights that look a lot like this one.
In Other News...
Padres Made A Surprising Outfield Decision After A Red-Hot Triple-A Run
A brief Triple-A surge wasnt enough to keep Dustin Harris in the Padres organization, even after he arrived and immediately gave El Paso a lift. The outfielder got into 16 games for the Chihuahuas and put together a .329 average with four home runs, a run that suggested he might be building some momentum in a crowded system.
Instead, San Diego moved on after less than a month, leaving Harris once again looking for his next opportunity. The 2019 draftee has now already bounced through stops with the White Sox and Astros before landing briefly with the Padres, a reminder of how quickly depth-chart decisions can change even when a player is swinging well. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Rotation Wait On Nick Pivetta Just Got More Complicated
Nick Pivettas road back to the Padres took another detour this week when the club halted his rehab assignment for further evaluation after he left during the first inning of a Low-A Lake Elsinore game. Manager Craig Stammen framed the move as precautionary, tied to Pivettas recovery from the flexor strain he sustained in April, but any pause in a rehab program always adds a little more uncertainty to a rotation that has already been waiting longer than expected.
The bigger picture here reaches beyond the immediate health check, because the timeline around this injury is now carrying contractual stakes as well. Pivettas next steps will matter not just for when San Diego can count on him again, but also for how his stay on the injured list could affect a future salary and contract option, turning what looked like a straightforward rehab return into something the Padres have to monitor on multiple fronts. [Read more 🡒]
Robbie Rays Padres Debut Comes With One Brutal Test
Robbie Rays first look in a Padres uniform comes with an opponent that has given him plenty of trouble before. The left-hander, recently acquired by San Diego, arrives with solid momentum this season at 10-6 and a 3.08 ERA, and the club is banking on the version of Ray it has seen lately rather than the one Houston has usually been able to solve.
Still, the Astros have been a bad memory for him more often than not, which makes this assignment a meaningful early measuring stick for San Diegos newest arm. Rays pitching style and results have changed since those earlier meetings, but his track record against Houston lingers in the background, adding a layer of pressure to what should be one of the more watched outings of his Padres stint. [Read more 🡒]