The San Diego Padres completed a six-game home stand with a sweep of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and winning two of three from the AL West-leading Houston Astros. After an off day on the road in Cleveland, the Padres took on the fourth-place Guardians of the AL Central.
With the team still deploying their “pitching chaos” approach for one of those games, the Friars took two of three with new starter Casey Mize throwing a shutout for six innings in the final game of the series.
Overall,
the Padres took seven of nine games at home and on the road, and improved their season record to 67-58, good for second place in the NL West behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Arizona Diamondbacks have dropped out of the Wild Card standings, with the Padres tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the second spot in the Wild Card race.
With 37 games remaining, the Padres are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff slot. The road trip continues with three games in New York against the Mets, then the team comes home for three games against the Minnesota Twins and three games versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. That six-game home stand is bracketed by days off both at the beginning and the end of the two series.
Joe Musgrove update
The possibility of no longer needing the TBD designation as their starting pitcher seems imminent for the Padres. Righty Joe Musgrove has completed his third rehab start and has reached 70 pitches in the latest of those three games.
In his last start on Friday with Triple-A El Paso, Musgrove allowed five runs and nine hits, maxing out his velocity on his fastball at 97 mph. He hung between 93-95 mph through his 4.2 innings pitched and was able to throw all his pitches, reportedly feeling good afterward.
There should be one more minor league appearance, probably on Wednesday, and then he could be available to start against Pittsburgh during the home stand.
The offense is booming
The turnaround by the Padres offense has been impressive and is badly needed. President of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, got the pitching help the team needed at the trade deadline because the offense began a surge that promised to give them a shot at a playoff spot.
With the acquisition of Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, the pressure is on the offense to continue their success, which allows pitchers to be aggressive with their pitches. Getting ahead of hitters and throwing strikes has led to better outcomes for the Padres’ starting staff.
There has also been a power surge from this team. Over August, the Friars have slugged 21 homers, tied for third in MLB. Their slugging percentage in August is .430, ninth in baseball. For the better part of May, through June and into July, they had the worst offense in MLB.
This chart, taken from Kevin Acee’s daily newsletter from Aug. 17, shows how the offense has turned the corner. The key now is to be consistent with this turnaround.
Pitching on the way up
The Padres pitchers had a 3.98 ERA in June, a 4.77 ERA in July, and have a 3.69 ERA in August. The starters have six quality starts over their past 12 games, while they only averaged one every six games before August.
Newly acquired starter Robbie Ray has had an underwhelming start with the Padres. With the San Francisco Giants, Ray pitched 122.2 innings with a 3.08 ERA. In his two starts as a Padre, Ray has nine innings pitched and a 6.00 ERA. Assuming a return to form for the rest of the season, the Padres will have another quality pitcher to help fill out their rotation as they sprint to a playoff spot.
The team has a 17-5 record since July 24, which is the best record in MLB over that period. Improved pitching, as well as a more potent offense, makes them one of the teams to beat for the rest of the season.
Manny Machado doesn’t have to carry them anymore
For the last several years, it was repeated every season that the Padres go as Manny Machado goes. The reality was that they couldn’t win unless Manny was playing well and basically carrying the team in stretches through the season.
That is not the case this year. As we all know, Machado has struggled for much of the season. He has maintained his power stroke, hitting 23 home runs with 70 RBI, both tops on the team. But his .211 batting average is the lowest of his career and the worst of all the regular starting position players.
Luis Rengifo, signed by the Padres on June 29 after being released by the Brewers, leads the team in average with a .323/.411/.473 line. He is being outslugged by Ty France, who sits at a .516 slugging percentage. Catcher Luis Campusano leads all Padres with a .925 OPS.
Of the qualified players (those with enough at-bats to statistically qualify), Fernando Tatis Jr. has a .778 OPS with Jackson Merrill sitting at .711.
It is a good thing that the leadership on this team is now spread out amongst three or four offensive stars and not just a burden for Machado to carry. They are a better team as a result.
Jackson Merrill gets paid
The Padres played the Cleveland Guardians on Friday. Michael King started the game and went six innings, getting the win in the 7-5 contest. He leads the team with nine quality starts of their 22 total.
Just as noteworthy was the milestone reached by center fielder Jackson Merrill. His contract, which was signed in 2025 and began this season, rewards him for his successes on the field. He gets a raise with every 500 plate appearances he achieves in a season. His first time up on Friday was his 500th appearance this year and the escalator adds $1 million to five different years of his contract. The nine-year, $135 million guarantee gets pushed to $140 million. There is a total of $30 million available in escalators over the length of the contract and tied to his performance.
There is also an escalator for MVP votes that would turn his team option for 2035 into a player option.
Roster and injury updates
The Padres signed outfielder Austin Hays to a major league contract on Aug. 9. Hays was released by the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 7.
Reliever Jason Adam has begun playing catch. His shoulder strain is healed enough that he can throw without pain. Now he has to increase his effort and get to a mound before any timeline can be set. According to reporting from San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee, the team hopes for a mid-September return.
Nick Pivetta is still throwing bullpens but there is no timeline for his next step. Per the report in Kevin Acee’s daily newsletter, Pivetta is throwing every two days and has increased his intensity this past week.
The team has not provided any update on pitcher Lucas Giolito. The last report was he was building up his strength and fixing some issues with his mechanics.
Neither Miguel Andujar (broken wrist) nor Samad Taylor (oblique strain) appear close to rejoining the team. Andujar is out of his splint and beginning some activity, but there is no timeline for his return. Taylor was sent to Arizona to work in the bridge league over a week ago, and there has been no update on his progress or if he will begin a minor league rehab stint.
The Padres signed RHP Brent Honeywell, 31, to a minor league contract. Honeywell pitched for the Padres for 36 games in 2023. He will be assigned to El Paso. Honeywell has not pitched since 2024, when he won a World Series ring by pitching 34 innings for the Dodgers.
RHP David Morgan completed his rehab assignment and was optioned to El Paso.
RHP Germán Márquez cleared waivers and was released by the Padres.
