The Padres need a reset, and they need it fast.
After getting blanked 8-0 in the opener against Arizona, San Diego heads into Tuesday night trying to stop the slide and avoid letting this series get away from them early. The loss snapped back the frustration for a team that had finally won for the first time in nine tries on Sunday, only to tumble right back into the losing column.
There is at least one thing working in the Padres’ favor: Petco Park. San Diego is 23-22 at home this season, while Arizona has struggled away from home with an 18-25 road record. That gives the Friars a real chance to steady themselves, but only if they can get something going on both sides of the ball.
German Marquez gets the ball for San Diego, and this will be his first start since the beginning of May after he missed significant time with nerve inflammation in his throwing arm. He did return out of the bullpen on July 2 and gave up two runs and five baserunners over three innings. For the season, the 31-year-old has a 5.79 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 32 ⅔ innings, and the Padres are counting on him as an extra depth arm they added during the offseason.
Arizona counters with Zac Gallen, who has had a rough year of his own. The right-hander enters with a 6.36 ERA and 5.34 FIP across 18 starts in 2026, and he has not held an opposing lineup to two runs or fewer since May 18. Over his last three outings, he has allowed 20 runs in 16 ⅓ innings.
San Diego’s lineup will feature Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field, Jackson Merrill in center, and Samad Taylor in left. Across the infield, it will be Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Sung-Mun Song, and Jake Cronenworth from left to right, with Luis Campusano behind the plate and Gavin Sheets at designated hitter.
The offense has not given the Padres much margin for error. They have scored four or more runs only twice since the start of the month, and the pitching staff has matched that with just two games in that same stretch holding opponents to four runs or fewer. That combination has fueled the skid, and it leaves San Diego searching for answers as the All-Star break approaches.
Even so, the standings still leave room for hope. The Padres are one game behind Arizona for second place in the National League West and 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. Given how rough the last couple of weeks have been, that’s not the worst place to be - but the clock is ticking, and Tuesday night is another chance to stop the damage.
In Other News...
Padres Deadline Fears Just Shifted In A Way Fans Know Too Well
The Padres slide in the National League West has pushed them out of the wild-card picture, and now the front office is staring at a deadline that feels more complicated than it did a few weeks ago. Rather than locking into one lane, the club is reportedly weighing both buying and selling scenarios, a sign of just how much the standings have changed the conversation around this roster.
Walker Buehler sits at the center of that uncertainty, which is where the tension really starts to build for San Diego. His season has been uneven, and the questions around his value are now tangled up with what the Padres decide to do next, whether they try to keep chasing or turn the deadline into an opportunity to recoup something before the market moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans May Need To Brace For A Real Deadline Reset
If the Padres decide this month is less about chasing the race and more about reshaping the roster, the conversation gets bigger than a routine deadline shuffle. San Diego has enough recognizable pieces to at least entertain the idea of a reset, and the appeal would not be in nibbling around the edges. It would be in turning veterans and established bullpen arms into future value, then using the rest of the season to sort out what the next version of the club should look like.
Mason Miller stands out as the kind of arm that can change the conversation quickly, while Adrin Morejns role as a trusted lefty only adds to the appeal of moving a pitcher with real leverage value. Jake Cronenworth is also part of the calculus, even with his bat stuck in a rough stretch, because clubs always weigh track record against current production. The real question for San Diego is whether it settles for modest returns or pushes for the kind of deal that actually changes the direction of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Turn To Another Arm As Pitching Desperation Deepens
The Padres are reaching deeper into their pitching depth chart again, this time bringing Jhony Brito back into the mix as the club tries to navigate a staff hit hard by injuries. Brito has been working his way back from elbow surgery and has not appeared in the majors since 2024, but his recent rehab work has at least put him back on the radar as San Diego looks for any healthy arm it can trust.
Britos path back has been encouraging enough to earn him another look, with the right-hander performing well in rehab outings at Triple-A El Paso and Double-A San Antonio. For now, the bigger issue is simply getting him available, because the Padres injured list keeps growing and the need for pitching help keeps getting more urgent by the day. [Read more 🡒]