The Padres found a way to finish Saturday night with a 6-5 walk-off win over the Giants, but the box score only tells part of the story. San Diego moved to 57-54 behind a late surge, a five-out save job from Mason Miller, and a clutch ninth-inning hit from Jake Cronenworth.
Miller handled the final stretch after Adrian Morejon struck out three over 1.1 innings and Walker Buehler gave up three earned runs in the first 4.1 frames. The closer struck out three himself, locked down the last five outs, and picked up his fourth win of the season. The biggest scare came between innings, when Miller cut the middle finger on his right hand while throwing a cooler in the dugout.
After the game, Miller was blunt about his mindset.
“I don’t like giving up runs,” Miller said to reporters after the game. “I like it even less when they’re somebody else’s.
I take pride in being able to come in and try to pick my teammates up, and I wasn’t able to do that today. They picked me up, fortunately.”
The offense gave San Diego enough support to survive the back-and-forth finish. Ty France collected three hits, while Xander Bogaerts and Freddy Fermin had two apiece.
Fermin’s night was especially loud, thanks to a two-run homer and an RBI single. Jackson Merrill also chipped in with a two-run double in the first inning, and Cronenworth delivered when it mattered most, lining an RBI single on the seventh pitch of his at-bat with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth.
Before the game even ended, the Padres had already added another arm, agreeing to a minor league deal with a 31-year-old veteran pitcher who is about two years removed from shoulder surgery and has thrown just 36 innings across parts of the last three seasons.
The deadline chatter around San Diego is only getting louder from there. New York has made clear its interest in Mason Miller, and even if he stays put before Aug. 3, the Padres could still send a few players to the Bronx before the week is out.
There’s also been buzz around a Padres reunion with Freddy Peralta, another right-hander tied to San Diego in the deadline conversation. With starting pitching standing out as one of the weakest areas in the first half, that kind of move would fit the need.
Elsewhere, an MLB insider pointed to three Padres relievers who are more likely to be traded than Miller, while another deadline prediction included three Friars besides Miller in possible deals. And Joe Musgrove offered a positive update after his bullpen session, saying the day went great and that the next step could be a rehab assignment.
He added, “This is the best I’ve felt in a long time. Consistent recovery ...
I genuinely feel really good now, and just kind of hoping to maintain this recovery.”
Nick Pivetta also threw a bullpen session, and if that goes well, the next step would be a rehab start of some kind. The Padres have also been linked to a Luis Arraez reunion, after he was scratched from the Giants’ game because of cramps.
In Other News...
Padres Just Put Michael King At Center Of A Deadline Mystery
Michael Kings turn on Sunday disappeared just as the deadline chatter around him started to sharpen. The Padres scratched the right-hander from that scheduled start and will instead hand the ball to lefty Kyle Hart in a bullpen game against the Giants, a move that immediately put Kings status in the spotlight as the front office works through the final days before the MLB trade deadline.
What makes this one linger is the timing, because Kings next outing has been pushed to Monday after the deadline, keeping him in the middle of a situation that has more to do with contract control than performance. No trade has been confirmed, but the combination of the lineup shuffle and the uncertainty around his future has turned a routine pitching change into one of the more closely watched Padres developments of the week. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Reunion Buzz Just Put One Deadline Question In Focus
Luis Arraez has become one of the more familiar names to surface as the deadline nears, and for good reason. The Giants second baseman is putting together a strong offensive season, which has kept him squarely on the radar of clubs looking for help, with the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Guardians, Padres, Phillies and Rangers all showing some level of interest.
For San Diego, the attraction is easy to understand. Arraezs bat would fit just about anywhere, but the market around him is complicated by his impending free agency and the fact that he has dealt with minor health issues lately, which helps explain why nothing is moving quickly. Even with the buzz building around a possible reunion, there is still no indication a deal is close, leaving the deadline picture open for now. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Deadline Push Could Hinge On One Massive Bat
The Padres are again in the middle of deadline speculation, and this time the conversation has a familiar Preller feel to it: big swing, big name, big complications. With August 3 approaching, San Diego is being linked to the kind of impact bat that can change the tenor of a pennant race, even as the roster's existing long-term commitments make any major addition tougher to fit under the payroll sheet.
Rafael Devers has surfaced as the most intriguing possibility, but the fit is anything but simple. He has not matched expectations this season, his contract runs deep into the future, and there is no clarity yet on whether the Giants would be willing to absorb enough salary to make a deal workable. For the Padres, the question is not just whether they want a bat of that caliber, but whether the path to land him is even realistic. [Read more 🡒]