Happy 250th birthday, America! What better way to celebrate than with the San Diego Padres (hopefully) breaking their losing streak tonight. The Friars had a heartbreaking continuation to their losing streak last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Michael King had dominated for six innings, he was taken out in the seventh inning after allowing the first two batters to reach base.
High-leverage left-hander Adrian Morejon came in to pitch relief and induced a tailor-made double-play ball from
Kyle Tucker. Unfortunately, Jake Cronenworth dropped the ball, and everyone was safe. Now, with the bases load, Teoscar Hernández lifted a fly ball to left center field and the game was over. All the momentum that had been built ended with one error and one swing. Over the final two innings, the Friars would put zero men on base in a dismal attempt to come back.
It can’t be said any other way: the Padres need a win. It’s been said every day for the last week (which is already ridiculous), and it needs to end now. San Diego is now below .500 for the first time since early April. The turnaround needs to happen now, or it may never happen.
Taking the mound
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) v. Griffin Canning (SD)
Yamamoto has been fantastic for L.A., posting a 2.67 ERA on the season with 90 strikeouts. He’s looked electric lately, with only six runs allowed in his last three starts (20.1 IP). The Padres will need to tag him for enough runs to give Canning a cushion.
San Diego definitely has its hardest pitching matchup of this series in Yamamoto. He dominated the Friars last week, pitching six innings of two-run ball against San Diego. That game was the first loss in the current losing streak. Hopefully, it can be ended against Yamamoto as well.
Wandy Peralta will be used as an opener for Canning despite the fact that the latter pitched pretty well against the Chicago Cubs earlier this week. He only went 4 1/3 innings, but that’s more of a byproduct of his short leash than his performance that day. He allowed just two runs and had been relatively efficient (by his standards), throwing 75 pitches in that time.
The problem is that Canning has been ridiculously inconsistent. There’s been times that he’s shown promise and times that he looks downright awful. It’s impossible to tell which version we’ll get tonight until he steps out on the mound.
Batter up!
The lineup has looked pretty good this series. It’s hard to say positive things when the losing streak is this bad, but the offense has put up 10 runs in the last two games. Jackson Merrill homered in back-to-back contests, which is fantastic. His breakout has been much anticipated by the Friar Faithful.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Gavin Sheets, DH
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Luis Campusano, C
- Samad Taylor, LF
Campusano will likely make his return to the lineup in today’s game. He’s been on the IL for a few months after fracturing his toe and has been long-awaited to return after breaking out at the beginning of the season. Campusano was activated after Freddy Fermin returned to the IL on concussion protocol. Hopefully, he can continue to flash the offensive prowess he displayed at the start of the year.
Relief corps
The relievers have been taxed lately. Last night was the first time a San Diego starter has gone five innings in exactly one week. It’s been rough for the rotation lately, and it’s shown in the current slump the club can’t get out of.
Thankfully, King’s gem last night allowed the bullpen to get some rest. Only Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez needed to be used to finish out the game. That leaves plenty available for San Diego. Kyle Hart, Alek Jacob, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui and Mason Miller will all be available in relief after Canning departs.
