The San Diego Padres couldn’t have asked for much more in Nick Pivetta’s return to the mound. It’s been almost five months since the starting pitcher touched a big-league mound, having hit the 60-day IL after exiting his start on April 12. His rehab took quite a while, but he’s finally back. He returned in shocking fashion, stymieing one of the best offenses in baseball for five scoreless innings.
The Friars’ offense looked healthy as well. They scored just three runs despite getting on base 12 times
(9 H, 3 BB). The Padres edged out the Washington Nationals despite Kyle Hart surrendering a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Pivetta and Co. locked it down, giving San Diego a much-needed win in the series opener.
Taking the mound
Riley Cornelio (WAS) v. Casey Mize (SD)
Cornelio has been shuttled between the minors and majors for most of the season, working out of the bullpen for Washington. He’ll likely serve as an opener tonight for the Nats, with the club expected to pitch a bullpen game against the Padres. Their bullpen is one of the worst in baseball, so that spells good news for San Diego.
It seems likely that knuckleballer Matt Waldron will pitch in bulk relief tomorrow against his former team. Waldron was claimed off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in late August. He’s pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings with the Nats since joining the ball club.
Since joining the Padres, Mize has pitched downright awful. Through six games with San Diego, he’s authored a 6.67 ERA with just 15 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Mize will need to turn things around soon in order to cement himself as a major contributor for the Friars.
Mize hasn’t faced most of the Nationals’ hitters in the past. Only CJ Abrams and Jacob Young have seen the righty before, to little success. In five at-bats, the duo has scratched one hit across versus Mize. If the right-hander can limit Washington’s potent lineup tonight, it will go a long way towards improving his status on the Padres’ pitching staff.
Batter up!
The offense was solid on Monday afternoon, though they struggled to scratch runs across despite plenty of opportunities to do so. The Padres went 3-for-8 with RISP, dominating starter Jake Irvin in the first three innings. After that, Irvin mostly settled in.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Campusano, DH
- Dustin Harris, LF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Freddy Fermin, C
San Diego’s superstar trio (Tatis, Machado and Merrill) went a combined 8-for-12 with three RBIs in the series opener. The rest of the lineup went 1-for-19. How that trio of stars performs in the next few weeks may very well decide the San Diego’s postseason future.
Relief corps
With Pivetta dominating for five innings, Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller recorded the final outs. When the Friars loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, Yuki Matsui started warming up in case Miller could be saved for Game 2. Bogaerts lined into a double play to end that threat, and Miller slammed the door.
With Jhony Brito having been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Pivetta on the roster, the Padres will have Griffin Canning, Matsui, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vásquez working out of the bullpen. If Mize’s struggles with the brown and gold continue, expect Canning or Vásquez to be first out of the ‘pen.
