The bats have come alive, as the San Diego Padres look to complete the three-game sweep against the Miami Marlins this morning. It is a feat that has occurred only three times in 2026.
The last was against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on June 22-24. The Padres’ other two sweeps came against the Seattle Mariners, once in San Diego on April 14-16 and the other in the Great Northwest on May 15-17.
Saturday’s results
For the Friars, it all came together, as the offense and pitching worked in unison for a 7-2 win over
the Marlins. The hitting star was Ty France, who drove in three runs, and JP Sears was the bulk pitcher yesterday afternoon. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings to earn his third win of the season.
The Padres began the scoring with France’s two-run single in the third inning. Later, he knocked in another run with an RBI single in the eighth. The Friars added a sacrifice fly from Gavin Sheets in the seventh, Jase Bowen drove in two runs in the eighth, and Jake Cronenworth closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth.
Jackson Merrill is swinging a hot bat. Saturday was his third multi-hit game over the last five starts.
The Marlins scored the first of their two runs on a sacrifice fly by Otto Lopez in the third inning. Kyle Stowers closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth inning. Starting pitcher Eury Perez had issues avoiding contact, as he surrendered three runs on seven hits in seven innings pitched. He could only muster two strikeouts on the afternoon.
Miami tied a franchise record with its 11th consecutive loss following the All-Star break.
Taking the mound: Walker Buehler (SD) vs Janson Junk (MIA)
The Padres will send out Walker Buehler to complete the sweep in South Beach. The veteran right-hander is making his 20th start this season. He enters with a 6-5 record and 5.23 ERA. Buehler has allowed 95 hits in 94.2 innings pitched.
The hope is for him to build some momentum from his last start, as Buehler gave up two runs over 5.2 innings against the Atlanta Braves. Historically, he has been successful against the Marlins with a 2-1 record and 3.86 ERA in seven career starts.
Buehler made his major league debut against Miami and tossed five shutout innings. Let’s fast-forward to last season with the Philadelphia Phillies; he threw five scoreless innings against the Fish.
The Marlins will send out Janson Junk (4-6, 5.09 ERA) to hopefully end their 11-game losing streak. He will be making his third start since coming off the injured list on July 9.
Junk has missed six weeks with right shin inflammation and returned to the starting rotation with an outstanding effort. The right-hander gave up one run in five innings of work against the Mariners. However, the Houston Astros hit Junk hard in his next start, as he gave up six runs in four innings.
