This was a good weekend to be a San Diego Padres fan. The Friars finished off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t much of a contest. The Padres slugged out eight runs against the Twins, with three homers. Two came from Fernando Tatis Jr., and one from Jackson Merrill. In doing so, Merrill added to the first 20/20 season of his career.
It was a potent weekend for the Padres’ offense. They should be able to continue that against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it wouldn’t be a huge
surprise to see some regression in the coming series. Hopefully, San Diego can keep the good vibes rolling as they march toward the postseason. With their win Sunday, the Padres are two games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Wild Card.
Taking the mound
Braxton Ashcraft (PIT) v. Robbie Ray (SD)
Ashcraft has pitched well in what has been a surprisingly stalwart Pittsburgh rotation. The right-hander owns a 3.68 ERA with 13 wins for the Pirates. The strikeout numbers look good as well, with 159 Ks in 149 1/3 innings pitched. He’ll be a tough opponent for the Friars in what should be an interesting matchup.
That said, the righty has regressed a bit since his stellar rookie season in 2025. After posting a 2.71 ERA in 69 2/3 innings working as a swingman, his ERA has bumped up a bit this year. That’s to be expected, as Ashcraft transferred to a full-time starting role with the Pirates, but it’s still noteworthy.
Since joining the Friars, Ray has looked solid in each of his starts. His debut with San Diego wasn’t the best (4 ER, 5.0 IP), but he’s looked stellar since then. The lefty has given up just three runs on five hits in his last 10 innings of work. His bigger problem has been limiting walks, with six free passes in that same time.
Not many of the Pirates have faced Ray before. The only hitter with more than 10 at-bats against the left-hander is veteran Brandon Lowe (14). The second baseman owns an abysmal .143 average against Ray in that time. That should bode well for the Friars, as it’s possible that tonight could turn into a pitching duel in Petco Park.
Batter up!
This is Tatis’ second multi-homer game in the last five games. It’s an incredible turnaround from the same player who didn’t hit his first home run until May 30. Tatis has put the Friars on his back while carrying the club towards the playoffs. He’s been a massive contributor in their second-half surge.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Gavin Sheets, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Luis Rengifo, LF
- Freddy Fermin, C
Not many of the Padres have faced Ashcraft before. They’ll have to be able to adapt to the righty quickly, otherwise it’ll be a quick loss for San Diego. Of the two Friars who have faced him (Jake Cronenworth and Freddy Fermin) the duo is 1-for-2 with a double.
Relief corps
The Padres needed a performance like this from starter Walker Buehler, and they got it. Buehler pitched six pristine innings, giving up a lone run to Brooks Lee on a solo shot. After that, Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui covered the final three innings, each giving up a hit.
That will allow the Friars to be creative if Ray stumbles in his start tonight. San Diego has Griffin Canning, Kyle Hart, Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez available out of the ‘pen. Canning just pitched four scoreless innings for the Padres on Saturday so it seems unlikely he pitches. Estrada will likely be the first out of the bullpen given his lack of usage lately.
