The San Diego Padres continued their recent stretch of success by winning their MLB-leading sixth straight game, taking the series opener from the Seattle Mariners.
It was an all-around success, with fantastic defense, great pitching and an offense that just wouldn’t quit against one of the game’s best pitchers in Bryan Woo. They’ll look to keep their win streak tonight against right-hander Emerson Hancock.
Their recent success has been unprecedented, with their streak being the longest one of the 2026
MLB season. The Padres are doing great, and are looking to add to it as they sit just below the Los Angeles Dodgers despite their turnaround performance.
If they can continue to prove their mettle against Seattle, it’ll go a long way to showing the league who this San Diego club really is.
Taking the mound
Emerson Hancock (SEA) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)
Both Hancock and Vásquez are young guys who have been off to incredible starts to the season. Hancock has put up a 2.04 ERA and 0.74 WHIP to begin the year, allowing only four runs on 10 hits.
He’ll look to continue that run against a Padres lineup that has been downright deadly as of late. Not many in the Padres have faced him (only Fernando Tatis Jr. has seen him more than four times), so he could prove difficult. But the Friars managed to get to Woo last night, so anything’s possible.
Vásquez will look to continue his burgeoning success. He has a 1.02 ERA and 19 strikeouts across 17 2/3 innings of work this season.
Vásquez has emerged as a borderline ace for the club, dominating on the mound every time he comes out. He’ll give San Diego a great chance to win the game, but faces his first true test against a Mariners lineup that can slug. Facing stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, it will be a true test of Vásquez’s mettle.
Batter up!
With a righty on the mound for Seattle, the Padres will probably stick with what they had against Woo last night. That will look something along these lines:
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Freddy Fermin, C
Luis Campusano got the start yesterday after a week of his bat being red-hot, but Fermin seems likely to start tonight. His bat has been cold, so hopefully he can get it going soon enough.
Bogaerts will look to build on a fantastic 3-for-4 night, driving in three of the Padres’ four runs. Merrill will do the same after a similar good night (3-4, 2B, 2 R, SB).
The Friars managed to get to the Mariners just enough to take a 4-1 win in the series opener. If they can do the same tonight, especially with Vásquez on the mound, it should be enough.
Relief corps
With the off day on Monday, the relievers got plenty of time to rest before yesterday’s game. Adding to that, King went a full six innings of work, taking the burden off of most of the bullpen.
Craig Stammen only used Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Mason Miller to cover the final three innings. Miller extended his scoreless streak to 29 2/3 (though, surprisingly, only struck out one batter), and Morejon looked much more like his dominant self than he has lately.
The only problem is that leaves only David Morgan as a high-leverage option for San Diego. The others available are Kyle Hart, newcomer Alek Jacob, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta. If it’s a tight game, it could be difficult for the Friars to hold on if Vásquez doesn’t go deep.
