The San Diego Padres have had a streakier bullpen than usual lately.
The two runs they combined to give up on Wednesday afternoon ended up costing the Friars incredibly in their 5-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. It was their first series loss in the entire month of April.
And here’s the thing. As much as we talk about the Padres like they aren’t a good team, as much as we bring up that the big three (Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill) aren’t producing, the team has raced to a 19-11
record for second place in the NL West.
San Diego has had an incredible start to 2026. If the Padres can keep it up with their series this weekend against the Chicago White Sox, it would be great momentum heading into their upcoming road trip.
Taking the mound
Noah Schultz (CWS) v. Germán Márquez (SD)
The rookie lefty Schultz has flashed some great stuff so far with the Sox. He’s pitched to 3.52 ERA and 1.11 WHIP marks. Across 15 1/3 innings he’s only allowed eight hits. That’s translated to a .151 opponent batting average in his first three starts of the year.
If Schultz can do the same against this Padres lineup, it would spell disaster for a club who has started to flounder lately. San Diego will need to build on the slug they showed in Wednesday’s series finale.
Márquez, on the other hand, is a battle-tested veteran fighting for a rotation spot with San Diego. With Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito coming up soon to the major-league club, Márquez could be the odd man out in this group if he doesn’t make his case soon.
He’s started off the season with an uninspiring 4.38 ERA, but he’s pitched three wins for the Friars. That’s been due to the Padres’ offense showing out when he’s taking the mound. If Márquez pitches the way he has, he’ll need San Diego to put some runs on the board.
Batter up!
After Ramón Laureano was out of the lineup in Wednesday’s game (aside from pinch-hitting in the ninth), he’ll likely be back batting leadoff today. The lineup will look pretty typical after that:
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Miguel Andujar DH
- Luis Campusano, C
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Machado has been hot lately after a torrid stretch to begin the year. He’s batted .310 with two home runs over his last seven games.
Campusano has been on a similar hot streak, batting .333 with two homers in his last seven. He’s been one of the Friars’ best hitters this year, slashing .326/.380/.674 with a 1.054 OPS.
Relief corps
Waldron’s mostly solid start on Wednesday saved San Diego from a true bullpen game. That being said, they still used four of their relievers to make it through the game.
Adrian Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam and Mason miller combined to cover four innings, giving up two runs that ended up making the difference in the eventual loss to Chicago.
That group is rounded out by Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta. That group especially has been spotty lately. The off day may offer the ’pen a reset on that front.
With the off day yesterday, San Diego will have all of their relievers available. David Morgan was optioned on Thursday night to Triple-A. In a corresponding move, the Padres reinstated Jeremiah Estrada from the 15-day injured list.
Estrada just finished a short rehab stint in Triple-A after an inconsistent start to the year. The stint will hopefully act as a reset for the right-hander as well, allowing Estrada to return to his dominant self.
