The Padres left Saturday night with an 8-7 win over the Blue Jays, but the bigger picture around San Diego included roster movement, a reunion that never happened, and another trade-deadline question hovering over the club.
San Diego moved to 47-48 after surviving a back-and-forth game in which the offense kept answering Toronto’s punches. The Padres got on the board first when Gavin Sheets drew a bases-loaded walk and Ty France followed with a sacrifice fly.
Toronto then put up four runs in the second inning, only for San Diego to chip back with two runs across the second and third. Jake Cronenworth’s RBI single in the fourth pushed the Padres ahead again, but the Blue Jays answered with a three-run homer in the sixth to tie it.
France then delivered the decisive swing in the bottom of the inning, launching a solo home run that proved to be the winner.
Before that final result, the Padres made a pitching change. The club demoted a right-handed pitcher and brought back Matt Waldron, who was reinstated for the first time since mid-May after recovering from a right brachialis muscle injury.
There was also a note of nostalgia from Jackson Merrill, who talked about missing James Wood, his former travel ball teammate from his teen years and a former minor league teammate in the Padres’ system. Wood now plays for the Nationals, and Merrill said, “It’s cool to see him from time to time,” Merrill said about the Padres and Nationals' two yearly series.
“Obviously, I wish we were still on the same team. He’d be a huge problem on our team."
Wood’s numbers help explain why Merrill feels that way. He has posted a .278/.407/.567 slash line with 26 home runs and leads the National League in total bases with 208.
And with the trade deadline getting closer, Mason Miller’s name is starting to come up more often. A former MLB general manager has added to the speculation about the right-hander, though any possible deal would likely return a significant package for San Diego. Even then, the source noted it probably would not match what the Padres gave up to get Miller last season.
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Michael King has been the one starter who has consistently given the Padres something close to stability, and that is exactly why his name figures to surface in deadline conversations. Moving him would not just subtract an arm, it would take away the rotations most reliable presence at a time when the rest of the group has not done enough to make up for it. [Read more 🡒]