The San Diego Padres continued their winning ways on Friday night, taking their series opener versus the Miami Marlins with another commanding performance from the offense. San Diego scored eight runs, hanging a six-run frame in the bottom of the fifth. It’s the third consecutive game where the Friars have scored eight-plus runs.
More than that, San Diego took advantage of a day where the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies all lost. That moves San Diego into a three-way tie
with the Cubs and Phils for the top NL Wild Card spot. After their loss to the New York Yankees on Friday night, Arizona is now five games back in the Wild Card standings.
Taking the mound
Eury Pérez (MIA) v. Casey Mize (SD)
Pérez has struggled on Miami since his bid for a perfect game came up short earlier this season. The righty has pitched to a 5.19 ERA in his last seven starts. Pérez has also surrendered 14 runs in his last three starts. That seems likely to continue with the Friars’ offense playing white-hot baseball lately.
That said, Pérez has shown an ability to command his pitches well. The problem lately has been minimizing hard contact. Pérez has allowed 23 hits in his last three games. That started to turn for the better in his most recent start versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (4 H, 5.0 IP), but he may still struggle against San Diego.
Despite his tough track record with the Padres, Mize has pitched quite well in his last few starts. The righty is coming off a five-inning gem in Colorado, having surrendered just two runs to the Rockies. He did so allowing eight hits and two walks, but worked through the base traffic.
Mize has given up five runs in his last two starts (10.2 IP). However, he gave up just one run in his start against the Washington Nationals before departing. The other two runs came when Randy Vásquez entered the game in the sixth and allowed the inherited runners to score on a double. Since then, Mize has looked electric and should pitch well against Miami’s middling lineup.
Batter up!
The offense has been white-hot lately for San Diego. The Friars continued that in their series opener last night, going 12-for-35 with four walks. The Padres collected just eight hits, but they made them count. Ty France slugged a three-run homer in the crucial fifth inning and Jackson Merrill continued his torrid stretch with a long ball in the eighth.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Dustin Harris, LF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Campusano, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Freddy Fermin, C
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Bogaerts has had a particularly hot few days at the plate. The veteran shortstop has gone a blistering 5-for-9 in his last two games. If Bogaerts can continue that surge in the box, it would mark a turn for the better in what has been a tough year for the Padres’ long-term shortstop.
Relief corps
With the Friars taking a five-run lead in the fifth inning, starter Nick Pivetta departed ahead of the sixth in place of Wandy Peralta. David Morgan, Adrian Morejon and Griffin Canning finished out the final 2 2/3 frames following Peralta. Apart from Morejon, the remainder of the relievers used were all lower-leverage.
That affords the Padres plenty of options for the remainder of the series. They’ll have an off day on Monday that will serve as the final reset before the Friars face the Dodgers next week. For Game 2, San Diego will have Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez and Vásquez available out of the ‘pen.
