The San Diego Padres left on their current road trip three games over .500 and in contention for a Wild Card spot come playoff time. After the first six games of the nine-game road trip, playing against the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals, the Friars are three games over .500 and in contention for a Wild Card spot. In that sense, nothing has changed.
There was good and bad to be seen over the past week. There have been incremental improvements with the offense, especially with specific players.
Some players who were hitting well have stopped. The current roster has a large contingent of El Paso Chihuahua players trying to support the organization through an especially trying time with injuries and roster upheaval.
Highlighting some of the good
Let’s take Fernando Tatis Jr. as an example. We all watched as his futility at the plate had piled up over the start of the season. Finally getting two home runs over the past two weeks has taken a bit of the pressure off, but the real accomplishment is in his overall performance.
Tatis was definitely stuck in a rut.
Swinging at bad pitches, chasing out of the strike zone, and especially vulnerable to the up and in, then down and away pattern that pitchers routinely used against him.
Manager Craig Stammen had already mentioned to him during spring camp that Tatis might be needed in the infield. He had been taking grounders there since February.
On May 5, second baseman Jake Cronenworth went on the injured list with concussion symptoms. On May 12, Tatis made his debut as the Padres second baseman. Since that day, Tatis has hit .366/.420/.485 with two home runs and 11 RBI. He has acknowledged in the past that he loves playing in the infield (originally as a shortstop). Tatis has improved his defense at second base, and his offensive numbers have skyrocketed.
Over the past week, he has hit .320 with five RBI and a .757 OPS.
Third baseman Manny Machado had a horrible May, the worst month of his career. He hit .127 with a .526 OPS, which was only that good because he still hit home runs (6 HR, 14 RBI).
June has been better, and the past week has shown some hope for Padres fans that the normal Machado will show up going forward. His .227/.333/.429 batting line isn’t great, but he has three doubles and a home run to go with three walks and two RBI.
Samad Taylor, called up to replace Nick Castellanos, has been a revelation as the everyday left fielder. Since joining the team on June 3, he has hit .343/.410/.457 with a double, a home run, eight RBI, four stolen bases and eight runs scored. He has also played excellent defense. Over the past week, Taylor has hit .350/.381/.500 with a home run, three RBI, and two stolen bases.
The Padres’ bullpen has moved back up the rankings in MLB. After having a rough patch, the relievers’ ERA is 3.01, second in MLB and close to the Atlanta Braves’ 2.91 ERA.
The Padres used both Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez as openers this week; both pitched a scoreless first inning in their respective games (Peralta for Giolito and Rodriguez for Canning against the Orioles).
Some of the bad
Padres starting pitchers are not getting the job done. Inconsistency has been the issue for all of the starters. Overall, command of their pitches leaves a lot of room for improvement.
In his start against the Orioles, Griffin Canning allowed seven runs on six hits and five walks over five innings. Even with a good offense, that would be a hard game to win. He was better against the Cardinals but only went 4.1 innings with four hits and one run allowed after Bradgley Rodriguez pitched as the opener.
Lucas Giolito started the first game versus St. Louis, going five innings, allowing seven hits and three runs with three walks.
None of the starters turned in a quality start because none could make it into the sixth inning.
The offense was stifled for two against St. Louis with Cardinals pitcher Dustin May pitching a complete game, one-hit shutout and the next day the Padres didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning. They went 5-for-57 over those two games.
Overall, the Padres have had 35 quality starts thrown against them, including eight shutouts.
First baseman Ty France, who has given a great defensive performance so far, has gone cold at the plate. Over the past week, France hit .071 with a .204 OPS. He has one hit, one RBI and seven strikeouts. For June, his average is .132 and he has dropped his overall line to .245/.294/.434.
Outfielder Jase Bowen, who was leading the Triple-A Chihuahuas in many offensive categories, has had a difficult time adjusting to major league pitching. In 25 at-bats, he is hitting .120/.154/.274 with 11 strikeouts.
Roster moves and injury updates
Outfielder Bryce Johnson was designated for assignment when Xander Bogaerts returned from paternity leave and Will Wagner remained with the team. Johnson cleared waivers and was outrighted to El Paso.
DH Miguel Andujar went on the injured list with a left hamstring strain and utility player Nick Solak was promoted from Triple-A.
Catcher Blake Hunt was promoted from Triple-A and catcher Freddy Fermin was place on the injured list with a concussion.
RHP Ty Adcock was designated for assignment. Adcock cleared waivers and was outrighted to El Paso.
RHP Mason Miller was placed on family/bereavement leave and LHP Kyle Hart was called up from Triple-A.
RHP Ron Marinaccio began serving a two-game suspension (June 17-June 19) for intentionally hitting the Orioles’ Gunner Henderson.
Manager Craig Stammen also served a one-game suspension for the same offense.
Pitchers Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta have both advanced to long-toss in their throwing programs on rehab from arm injuries. Per a report from The Athletic’s Dennis Lin on 97.3 The Fan, Musgrove also has a bone spur in his right elbow. There is reportedly no issue with the bone spur at this time.
RHP Germán Márquez is progressing in his rehab with Triple-A El Paso. In four starts and 15.1 innings pitched, Márquez has a 1.76 ERA and just allowed his first runs in his fourth start. Per a report from MadFriars.com, he reached 95 mph on his four-seam fastball and reached 73 pitches on June 17.
Catcher Luis Campusano was seen with the team last week but is back in Arizona and ramping up his baseball activities. There is no rehab assignment yet (per manager Craig Stammen).
Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is also slowly ramping up baseball activities but is still experiencing some symptoms resulting from a concussion and there is no timeline for his return (per Stammen).
RHP Jhony Brito has completed his rehab and was optioned to El Paso. He has made two starts with a 2.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. He has reached the mid-90’s on his fastball and threw 71 pitches in his last start, per MadFriars.com reporting.
LHP Marco Gonzales, signed to a minor league contract before Spring Training began, was released by the Padres this past week. He had a 7.99 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched at Triple-A.
RHP Matt Waldron began his rehab from his right brachialis muscle injury with El Paso.
