Good morning from Phoenix,
The Padres did so much right.
They did the things they had not done.
And yet …
“We lost,” Manny Machado said. “Yeah, we had good at-bats. What did that do for us?”
Yes, with a seemingly impossibly fast turn of events yesterday, the Padres lost 8-7 to the Diamondbacks, who scored five runs in the ninth inning.
The quote above was Machado reacting in the moment to the moment.
He later said, “I wouldn’t change anything today. We just lost. It is what it is.”
The entirety of that quote was in my game story (here), which mostly details what happened to Robert Suarez in the ninth inning and what happened to Jackson Merrill in the seventh inning.
You know how the Padres talk about always believing they can come back? Sometimes the other team has the magic, too.
Yesterday was the Diamondbacks’ fourth victory in a game in which they trailed by four or more runs in the ninth inning. According to STATS, they are the only team in history to have even three such victories before the All-Star break.
Good with the bad
Judging by the emails that were popping up in my inbox before I even reached the clubhouse last night, it feels to many as if the season is slipping away.
The Padres are 38-31, and the National League’s final playoff spot is theirs to lose. But they have lost three straight and four of five and seven of 10.
Yet a Major League Baseball season is the very definition of playing the long game.
And, sure, the Dodgers’ flipping Wednesday’s game in the sixth inning and last night’s brutal ending may well end up being looked back on as turning points in the season.
But yesterday’s game also can be looked at as a reason to believe the Padres actually can be the team they appeared to be.
They put together a slew of good at-bats in three consecutive innings in the middle of the game.
The third time is when they did the harm.
Things are dire enough for the Padres offense that manager Mike Shildt spent a pinch-hitter — a right-handed pinch-hitter against a right-handed pitcher — with the Diamondbacks up 3-1 in the fifth inning.
That is when the Padres had their first runner on second base.
After Luis Campusano struck out with Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth on first and second base after drawing one-out walks, Shildt went to Jose Iglesias to bat for catcher Martín Maldonado.
Iglesias grounded out.
“I think, for me, it was not completely obvious, but at that point we’ve got one run and we’ve got some traffic out there,” Shildt said. “We’ve got a guy that’s had some history and some success against Gallen in Iglesias. And fifth inning is maybe a little early, but we also are carrying three catchers, so we can use the roster judiciously.”
A single by Luis Arraez and walk by Machado again gave the Padres runners at first and second with one out in the sixth inning. But Merrill struck out and Xander Bogaerts ended the inning with a fly ball caught on the warning track in center field.
Sheets began the seventh inning with a double, and Cronenworth followed with a single that gave the Padres runners at the corners with no outs. Campusano struck out again before Elias Díaz, who replaced Maldonado behind the plate, walked to load the bases.
That was the end of Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen’s outing.
Fernando Tatis Jr. tied the game against right-hander Ryan Thompson by grounding a full-count sinker through the left side to score Sheets and Cronenworth.
After Arraez flied out to left field, Machado hit the first pitch he saw from Thompson into the gap in left-center to bring around Díaz and Tatis.
A lead-off walk by Díaz, singles by Tatis and Brandon Lockridge, an error and Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly gave the Padres two more runs in the ninth.
“Everything we talked about last night happened,” Cronenworth said, referring to his comments after Friday’s loss, which I wrote about in yesterday’s newsletter (here).
Basically, they had a bunch of good at-bats. They moved the line. Almost everyone contributed.
The general lack of all that has been the Padres’ biggest problem.
So the positive from yesterday cannot be denied.
For starters
Now, there were further reasons to be concerned about the potential pitching crisis I have alluded to.
And Suarez allowing five runs in an inning for the second time this season was only part of the concern.
Besides the offense too often putting strain on the bullpen because of all the low-scoring games, the other issue plaguing the Padres has been starting pitchers not going deep enough in games.
Yesterday was the 10th time in the past 16 games a Padres starter has failed to pitch even part of the sixth inning. For the season, the Padres rank 22nd in the major leagues with 21 quality starts.
Let’s give some credit. Not much more could be asked of 25-year-old Ryan Bergert, who struck out eight batters in his third big-league start.
But the fact is he threw 90 pitches in just five innings.
It’s the uncertainty with young pitchers that is so scary.
Bergert was sensational for 3⅓ innings. Then he made some bad pitches. Same as Stephen Kolek, another pitcher feeling his way through his first season as starter in the big leagues, did the night before and the way Randy Vásquez has several times.
That is not to say those guys won’t turn in multiple quality starts and give the Padres a chance to win more games than not.
But in their nine starts the past three times through the rotation, that trio of inexperienced pitchers has totaled 43⅔ innings. That is about 4⅔ innings per start.
That is going to wear down the bullpen.
The Padres do expect Yu Darvish back this month. And there is some brainstorming happening internally about the team leaning into its strength in the bullpen.
They should be helped soon by the return of Bryan Hoeing.
The long man could rejoin the Padres bullpen as soon as next week, depending on how he recovers after one or two more appearances on short rest.
The belief is they can get creative and be OK with some shorter starts, as long as they remain relatively healthy and are able to plan for those modified starts.
Darvish vs. batters
Darvish threw 18 pitches in a simulated inning yesterday morning at the team’s complex in Peoria, Ariz.
He reached 94 mph with his fastball while facing four batters, striking out one and walking one in his first time facing batters in a month.
It is likely Darvish does at least one more simulated game to get stretched out further before a rehab start. How he feels today will help determine the next step, but Shildt hinted at as close to a timeline as has been provided in the past month.
Asked if Darvish could return before the All-Star break (by July 13), Shildt said, “Where we’re trending now, it’s a little early (to predict). But it’s plus or minus on either side of it.”
Darvish was shut down with elbow discomfort in the middle of spring training. He worked back to make a rehab start on May 14 but felt “tightness” in his elbow afterward.
Left to it
Sheets had his fourth three-hit game of the season and his second game with a home run, double and single.
His single came against left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks and broke a streak of 13 hitless at-bats against lefties.
Sheets was talking Friday about the rough go in his first real extended stretch facing left-handed pitchers.
“I think with it being new to me being an everyday guy, you’re getting those nasty lefty relievers that you weren’t getting before,” he said. “You’re figuring out how you can attack these guys in late at-bats. I was really happy with the at-bat I had the other day, getting the sacrifice fly against (the Dodgers’ Jack Dreyer). It’s getting those and just learning from them — how guys attack me. It’s trying to get better from every at-bat.”
Sheets entered yesterday’s game batting .180 against lefties. He had two hits in his previous 23 at-bats against them.
Sheets earned his way into being an everyday player with a torrid start to May, which included some big hits against lefties. But there is also not a right-handed option that the Padres have confidence in to platoon at DH or pinch-hit against lefties.
“You just enjoy the competitive nature,” Sheets said. “You enjoy those big at-bats against the high-leverage lefties. Those are the at-bats you want. Obviously, it’s been tough so far, but it’s the only way you’re gonna get better.”
His numbers may have suffered with the abundance of plate appearances against lefties. But he still has a higher batting average and more home runs 66 games into this season than he ever has in any of the previous three seasons in which he appeared in at least that many games.
Campy’s chance
We may have seen the last of Campusano yesterday, at least for a while.
And yesterday, we were seeing him in a game for the first time in a while.
He served as the Padres’ designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game in the starting lineup since May 31.
I caught up with him before the game, and he had clearly worked to get to a place where he was being constructive regarding the situation in which he has found himself.
“As a competitor, you want to play every day,” he said. “If you had to choose, you would want to play every day. I love to be out there every day. … It’s definitely harder when you’re not playing. But I think that’s just kind of like part of processes and understanding we’re here now. Maybe then it felt long, but we kind of made it a little bit. So it’s just like little steps like that.”
He has come to take a philosophical stance.
“You have thoughts, and sometimes bad thoughts creep in,” he said. “And you’ve gotta be able to find little things that can help you know that things are gonna be all right. Easier said than done, but it’ll serve you in the long run, I believe. Just not overthinking the little things, just letting things be how they are. Moments are good, moments are bad. It always just circles. It’s really staying consistent on top of that. That’s harder than playing.”
Campusano went nine games without a single trip to the plate before an at-bat Tuesday night against Dodgers position player Enrique Hernandez.
That is hardly a real at-bat. And it is somewhat unfair to expect he would perform with such infrequent use. But this is also the big leagues.
For as unique as this period of time has been, Campusano has experience not playing.
He went from the primary catcher at the start of last season to the backup to Triple-A. He was with the team from the end of August through the postseason in 2022 and played in just 12 games in that span. Since making his MLB debut in 2020, injuries and various struggles at and behind the plate have limited Campusano to 176 big-league games.
“I’ve already experienced it,” he said. “It’s your job to stay ready. Easier said than done, but just staying ready. As hard as it sounds, that’s just how it is.”
While not playing the past two weeks, Campusano has stayed busy before games, catching in the bullpen and working at first base. He faced pitchers in a live batting practice last week at Petco Park, and he focuses when he is in the batting cage on trying to make swings against the velocity machine matter.
“I really try to focus on getting one pitch, playing counts in my head, making everything as game-like as possible,” he said. “I don’t think (not playing) is much of an excuse. You get one pitch to hit. You swing at strikes, good things happen. You don’t, bad things happen.”
Campusano’s 1.043 OPS in Triple-A is second highest in the Pacific Coast League. But he entered yesterday 0-for-14 with six walks in the major leagues.
More astonishing than his not having a hit is the paltry number of plate appearances in a total of 24 days with the major league team. This, even as the Padres are desperate for a right-handed hitter to contribute to their struggling offense.
“It’s been less about Campy and more about the moving parts of the group,” Shildt said. “… There just really hasn’t been as many opportunities.”
The need to rest and/or limit the activity of a couple position players and have them serve as DH was among the factors that kept Campusano on the bench most of this month. Primarily, however, the team chose to give everyday playing time to Sheets, who has started the the team’s past nine games against opposing left-handers and also stayed in to hit against lefty relievers.
But even though the Padres were facing a right-hander in Gallen yesterday, it had reached a point where Campusano needed to play.
“You want to use your whole roster,” Shildt said. “I don’t like anybody to sit. It’s also a league where you’re putting your best foot forward with what you have.”
Heyward plan
Jason Heyward, on the injured list since May 24 with an oblique strain, was 0-for-4 in his first rehab game in Triple-A Friday and 1-for-4 yesterday. He served as DH both days and is scheduled to have today off. His first start in left field is expected to come Tuesday.
The Padres remain hopeful Heyward, who is batting .176 (15-for-85) with a .494 OPS can provide some offense. But the leash will not be long. If his bat does not show life in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he might not make it back to the majors with the club.
The Padres continue to search the trade market for a right-handed hitter who can help them, preferably one that can play left field.
Tidbits
Yesterday was the MLB-leading 45th time the Padres have scored first in a game this season. Their 26-19 record in those games, however, is sixth-worst in the league.
Bogaerts’ out on a 395-foot fly ball in the sixth inning was the furthest he has hit a ball this season.
Tatis’ single in the seventh inning ended a streak of 17 hitless at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Tatis was 2-for-5 yesterday and is 6-for-16 with five walks over his past five games. He was also hit by a pitch in that span. He has gone 14 games without a home run and has just two doubles in that stretch. But he does have a .364 on-base percentage in those 14 games, which is far better than the .245 OBP he had in the 21 games before that.
Cronenworth was 1-for-3 with a walk yesterday to extend his on-base streak to 12 games. He is reaching base at a .354 clip during the streak, which is 22 points lower than the .376 rate at which he was reaching base before the streak began.
Sheets’ home run was the first in 15 games by a Padres player other than Machado (four) or Maldonado (one). The Padres’ 58 home runs are fourth fewest in the major leagues. They ranked 13th with 68 homers through 69 games last season and finished the season tied for 10th with 190 homers.
All right, that’s it for me. Early game (1:10 p.m. PT) and then a flight to Los Angeles.
Talk to you tomorrow.