Baseball fans for all teams tend to get tunnel vision during the season. We focus so much on the good and bad with our own team that we forget that many other fan bases are experiencing the same ups and downs. With a 24-16 record and an offense that ranks in the bottom five in multiple categories, the San Diego Padres remain in first place in the National League West with the latest loss by the Evil Empire to the North.
It would be hard to find a Padres fan that feels sorry for the Los Angeles Dodgers
or their fans, far from it. The standard stats, as well as the advanced stats, tell you that there is no way this Padres team should be sitting atop any division in MLB. Those stats make it easy to focus on what is wrong with this team. The fact they are doing enough things right to maintain a winning record, and squeak out late rallies to win games, is easy to ignore many days.
Playing in San Francisco against the Giants, the Padres took 2-of-3, scoring 10 runs in the second game. They squeaked out a win in the third game with late heroics and lost a close first game after only getting three hits.
Coming home to play a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Padres lost the first two games. The second loss was memorable for rookie JJ Wetherholt’s Little League grand slam which came off an error by Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres were one-hit in that contest while being shutout.
The final two games were again close affairs with more late-inning heroics to come back and win in the 10th inning of the series finale. They ended up with a winning week despite getting only 14 hits combined in the four games against the Cardinals and three hits in the first Giants game. The offensive outbreaks are welcome but rare.
Offensive futility
With a record that ranks fifth in MLB, the Padres’ .223 batting average ranks 28th in baseball. Their .667 OPS is 27th while their OBP of .297 is 28th. The slugging percentage barely climbs out of the lower five at 24th, sitting at .370.
Manny Machado summed it up best in his post-game interview after the series finale versus the Cardinals. “Yeah, we need to hit, I mean, you know, look, it’s obvious. We’re not hitting. It’s obvious, but we’re getting things done, man.”
They have a problem with starting pitchers. Starters mostly look like Cy Young early in games. Opposing starters have thrown 20 quality starts against the Padres (five innings or more, three runs or less) over their 40 games. The Padres starters have put them in holes for a few of those games, but the real issue is that they average less than three runs in the first six innings of games. That ranks 24th in MLB, and just seven of those pitchers have an ERA under 4.00.
Jackson Merrill batting leadoff
Centerfielder Jackson Merrill is the latest player to shoulder the responsibilities of the Padres’ lead-off hitter. After Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano both had opportunities, Merrill has had the job beginning the second game of the Giants series. Over those six games, his OBP is .387 versus his .303 OBP over the season. He is chasing less and seems to be focusing more on longer at-bats. Six of his 15 walks this season have come while leading off.
Mason Miller and Craig Stammen
In the Saturday win against the Cardinals, Mason Miller was needed in the eighth inning to get the last out after Adrian Morejon was unable to finish it off. Miller came back out in the ninth inning to finish his 12th (MLB leading) save of the 2026 season. It was not easy.
Miller struggled with fastball command and walked two while also unleashing a wild pitch. As a result, it took four outs to get the save, and he got those on four strikeouts. The third strikeout was the wild pitch, and Cardinals pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo reached first base safely when Freddy Fermin couldn’t corral it. Miller struck out Wetherholt for the last out.
Miller became the latest Padres pitcher to need four outs to get out of an inning. The last one before him?
Craig Stammen in 2021 while pitching in relief for the Padres.
Nick Castellanos finds his groove
The Padres signed Nick Castellanos during Spring Training after the Philadelphia Phillies released him. He is being paid league minimum ($780,000) by San Diego, with the Phillies paying the bulk of his $20 million salary. His role with the team has been to provide a bat off the bench and relieve regulars in need of rest. Castellanos does not have a good defensive position. Even during his best years, his defensive metrics have been subpar in any position he has played. This is the first time in his career that he has played this infrequently, and it has required adjustments on his part.
That makes what he did on Sunday against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien all the more notable. His line for the season so far, .192/.231/.329 in 73 at-bats, does not induce confidence. His home run in the ninth inning of that game tied the score and gave the Padres a chance to come from behind, yet again, for the win.
He even broke his bat and had to borrow one from Tatis Jr., after the 1-2 pitch, to complete his at-bat. Presumably, it was the same bat Tatis used for his longest out of the game, a 395-foot drive with an exit velocity of 106 mph that was caught at the wall.
Castellanos fought off sinkers clocked at 98 mph and sweepers that hugged the corners of the plate over his nine-pitch at-bat. After going down 0-2 with the first two pitches, Castellanos took a ball and then fouled off two more close pitches before taking two more balls to get to a full count. He fouled off another sinker then launched the last sinker over the left field wall to tie the game.
Castellanos has not hesitated to explain how this adjustment has been a challenge for him. “When I’ve been at my best is when, like, you just kind of fall into autopilot with the season and there’s not a lot of thinking that is involved. You wake up, you know what lies ahead. So learning how to navigate not knowing what your day is going to look like or what’s gonna be asked of you is an adjustment.”
Walker Buehler finds some rhythm
Starter Walker Buehler had his best start as a Padre against the Cardinals on Sunday. He went six innings on three hits and no walks allowed. His one mistake was an elevated pitch that traveled to the top balcony of the Western Metal Building, and that followed a single hit by the batter before. Buehler threw 17 first-pitch strikes to the 21 batters he faced and used all seven of his pitches, including a 95-mph fastball.
Lucas Giolito update
RHP Lucas Giolito made what could be his last start in the minor leagues on Sunday for the San Antonio Missions. Over six innings and 74 pitches, Giolito allowed three hits and one run with three strikeouts in his best outing in the minors. It was his fourth start, and he must be activated by Saturday per his contract. It is possible he could see action with the Padres this week against Seattle. When Giolito is activated, the Padres will need to make a roster decision regarding one of their other pitchers. With Germán Márquez already on the injured list, there is another tough choice to be made.
Injury updates and roster changes
Starter Joe Musgrove was moved to the 60-day IL to accommodate the promotion of catcher Rodolfo Durán to the Padres. Duran was needed when Luis Campusano fouled a pitch off his toe and was unable to play, being placed on the 10-day IL on May 7.
RHP Jhony Brito was sent to the ACL Padres to begin his rehab from the UCL surgery last year.
Infielder Will Wagner was activated off the injured list and assigned to the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Reliever Yuki Matsui was activated off the IL and reliever Kyle Hart was optioned to El Paso.
IF Sung-Mun Song was promoted to the Padres when 2B Jake Cronenworth was placed on the 7-day injured list with Concussion symptoms.
Note: This story was written prior to the results of the series opener between the Padres and Brewers on Tuesday.
