This was a tough series for the San Diego Padres. Not because their offense couldn’t put together runs in the finale. Not just because it was against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. It was tough for all those reasons and more. But what made it tough was how demoralizing it felt.
The Friars seemed to lose the fight that has marked the beginning of this season. They’ll need to find it again to claw back to first in the National League West. Wednesday night’s loss brought the Padres a game and a half
back from first.
They’ll face a young Athletics offense that has struggled as of late. A good performance this weekend against the AL West club would be incredibly encouraging for the Friars.
Taking the mound
Jeffrey Springs (ATH) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
The lefty Springs has had a solid 2026 with the A’s, pitching to a modest 3.93 ERA across 55 innings. His last few games have been serviceable, surrendering seven runs across a combined 16 1/3 innings.
His underlying statistics suggest that he’s been the subject of some bad luck, though not much. His 3.57 xERA is half a run less than his actual ERA. That suggests some luck with batted balls, but not enough to particularly matter.
Buehler was actually pretty great in his last start. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs to the Seattle Mariners. In doing so, Buehler lowered his ERA to 5.01 and his ERA over his last seven games has been an even-lower 4.15 mark.
Much of his success came from hitting his stride in his knuckle curve. That pitch has been his most inconsistent, but when it’s working there’s no better option for the righty. Buehler will have to pitch to keep his spot on the roster with Germán Márquez continuing to work his way back from injury.
Batter up!
The Friars’ offense continued to slump this week against L.A., while the contributors managed to show up a bit. Miguel Andujar homered twice in what’s been a productive week. But Gavin Sheets went cold after putting up a .625 batting average last week. San Diego will need those guys to get it going again this weekend.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Nick Castellanos, RF
- Bryce Johnson, CF
- Rodolfo Durán, C
Tatis has become the everyday second baseman without any real options outside of Sung-Mun Song to play the position. He’s been solid in his return to the infield, so Tatis seems to be it for now.
With Jackson Merrill exiting the game on Wednesday after tweaking his back, it seems likely the Padres’ outfield will look slightly different in the series opener today. Laureano has played some center and swings a much better bat than bench outfielder Johnson but the Friars have opted to go with the latter to give Merrill a day off.
Relief corps
With the Friars down, 3-0, for most of the game, the club used their low-leverage relievers to get through the final 4 2/3 innings. Wandy Peralta covered 1 2/3 innings, Yuki Matsui 1 1/3 and Ron Marinaccio 1 2/3 innings. The only blemish came in Marinaccio surrendering a home run to Teoscar Hernández.
But, apart from that, the taxed bullpen got a day to rest with the off day on Thursday. That should mean that most, if not all, of the relievers are available. But the primary options will be Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez.
