For the second time this season, the San Diego Padres swept the Seattle Mariners. They did so in terrific fashion, outscoring their opponents 17-7. It was production the Friars desperately needed before heading into tonight’s series against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lucas Giolito had an encouraging debut. He pitched five innings of one-hit ball before emerging for the sixth and failing to record an out. And, to be honest, it wasn’t totally his fault. Colt Emerson was walked on a ball four
call that caught some of the plate. But, after that, the command fell off a bit and Giolito loaded the bases on three walks.
Yuki Matsui limited the damage, but not by much. The lefty gave up a walk to force in a run before allowing consecutive sacrifice flys to make the score, 7-3. He finally got out of the inning by striking out Cole Young.
But the story of the game (and the series) was Gavin Sheets’ incredible offense. That was apparent more so in this game than anywhere else, as the slugger went 3-for-3 with two walks, two homers and four RBIs. The Friars will need him to keep that up if they hope to beat the rival Los Angeles Dodgers this week.
Taking the mound
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) v. Michael King (SD)
Yamamoto pitched great at the beginning of the year but has looked slightly worse for wear in his recent starts. He’s given up 15 runs in his last four outings. That’s still good for a 3.60 ERA, but he’ll be looking to right the ship after surrendering a season-high five runs to the San Francisco Giants in his last outing.
Limiting hard contact has been the biggest problem for Yamamoto. He allowed five home runs in that four-game span. In his last start he gave up three to the Giants. The Padres have faced him before and struggled but could take advantage of his recent trouble tonight.
King, on the other hand, has been fantastic this season. It’s been a return to normalcy after an injury-plagued 2025 season. He boasts a 2.63 ERA across nine starts.
Ironically, the name of the game has been limiting hard contact. King has only allowed four homers all year. It will be interesting to watch what happens when the slug-happy Dodgers lineup faces him tonight.
Batter up!
The lineup has worked well the last few days, and it seems likely that manager Craig Stammen will stick with it. Fernando Tatis Jr. has played a ton of second base. But the club may want him in the outfield for his defense against L.A.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Sung-Mun Song, 2B
- Rodolfo Durán, C
Sheets had himself a fantastic road trip, batting .625/.739/1.438 with a 2.177 OPS. Those almost feel fictional, but he’s really been that elite. The breakout is hopefully here to stay for this series.
Machado has swung a cold bat lately, but could return tonight against Yamamoto. The third baseman owns a .375 batting average and 1.194 OPS in his career against the right-hander (8 at-bats).
Relief corps
With Giolito’s debut going just about as well as it could have, the Friars only needed to use two of their relievers. Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez covered the final four innings (two apiece), not allowing a hit and striking out five.
That leaves plenty available for game on against the Dodgers, with Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and closer Mason Miller all fresh. All but Marinaccio and Peralta are high-leverage options that will likely be used tonight if the game is close.
