For a brief shining moment, it felt like the San Diego Padres might actually win this one. They did that thing they always do. They gave the Friar Faithful hope for a comeback only to snuff it out almost immediately. It’s easy to get down in moments like this one. Four consecutive losses to contending teams that have felt like beatdown after beatdown. But it’s just as important for fans to rebound as it is for the players.
It was a rough loss to take, but there were plenty of positives. Four home
runs from the Friars. The last time they did that was against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024. Fernando Tatis Jr. went yard twice. He hasn’t done that since April 14, 2025 against (ironically) the Chicago Cubs.
The blame for this loss is more on the back of starter JP Sears, who struggled to keep the ball in the yard the whole night. He surrendered seven runs, six of which came via the long ball. The Friars certainly made it interesting, and it was nice to see them show some fight. But, at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. And San Diego badly needs a win right now.
Taking the mound
Colin Rea (CHC) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
Rea looked great down the stretch in 2025 for Chicago. That hasn’t been the case this year. The righty owns a 4.80 ERA this season through 84 1/3 innings pitched. It hasn’t been much better lately, with Rea posting a 4.58 ERA across his last seven games.
The Padres haven’t faced the right-hander very much. But, when they have, they’ve managed to string plenty of hits together. The lineup owns a combined .385 batting average across 26 at-bats against Rea. They’ll need to replicate that to stave off the sweep against Chicago.
Buehler, on the other hand, has been fantastic for San Diego. Despite a seemingly high 3.81 ERA on the season, he owns a 2.45 mark across his last 36 2/3 innings. It’s been a renaissance for the veteran right-hander, and he’ll seek to continue that production Wednesday afternoon.
The Padres righty just pitched a gem against his former team, limiting the Dodgers to one run across 5 1/3 innings pitched. If Buehler can do the same against the Cubs lineup, it would go a long way towards a victory for the Friars.
Batter up!
As stated, the lineup has looked pretty healthy. It’s certainly been inconsistent, but the runs have come in bunches. Excluding Tuesday night, across all 2026 games in which the Padres have scored seven-plus runs, they’ve won 17 of 19 contests. If the offense can do it again this afternoon, the odds are good they’ll win the finale.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Samad Taylor, LF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Rodolfo Durán, C
Cronenworth went 0-for-3 in his return to the lineup Monday night. He’ll likely be back in today’s game after sitting for most of Tuesday night. He pinch-hit in the ninth for the Friars but lined out to left field for the first out. The second baseman owns a career .500 batting average against Rea and will hopefully show that off tonight.
Relief corps
The bullpen has been taxed lately. If Buehler is able to work deep into the game, it would be a Godsend for the Friars. Thankfully, Sears was able to work relatively deep into yesterday’s game, meaning only Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta pitched. Marinaccio looked rough but Peralta covered 1 2/3 scoreless innings for San Diego.
That leaves plenty of options for the Friars. Jason Adam, Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez are all available for the Padres to turn to. Morejon and Adam may not come out after being made to throw 22 and 24 pitches, respectively, on Monday night. The rest all figure to pitch in relief once Buehler exits.
