In the six-game homestand that began the season and his tenure, Stammen arguably stayed with a pitcher too long twice, leaving Jeremiah Estrada in a couple batters beyond his expiration and doing the same with Kyle Hart a few nights later. Some asserted there was a third time \u2014 when he had King go out to start the sixth inning in his first start.<\/p>\n
As yesterday illustrated, there is no guarantee regardless of what move a manager makes. He has to do what his available information tell him gives his team the best chance to succeed. The rest is up to other humans on the field.<\/p>\n
I spoke with Stammen before yesterday\u2019s game about this particular part of his learning on the job.<\/p>\n
He knew coming in that his in-game assessment of pitchers was going to be his biggest challenge, given that he was one of them for 12 seasons in the major leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow I personally feel is \u2018Leave me out there. Let me figure this out on my own. I got this. I can do it,\u2019\u201d he said yesterday morning. \u201cAnd as a manager, you\u2019ve just got to be, you know, the other side of the coin of \u2018No. I want you to have success. I think you\u2019ll have better success if I take you out of the game and have somebody else go in.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s my biggest learning curve is just wanting to root for the pitcher so hard that sometimes just leaving him in the game a little bit longer than maybe you should.\u201d<\/p>\n
It should be pointed out that Stammen stuck with Randy Randy V\u00e1squez on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants after he surrendered a single and walked a batter with two outs in the sixth inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe proved me right,\u201d Stammen said of V\u00e1squez, who retired the next batter to finish his scoreless outing. \u201cIt\u2019s a give and take. It\u2019s learning each pitcher too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stammen had spoken earlier this week about the learning process over his first half-dozen games. He said his bench coach, Randy Knorr, has repeatedly told him to not second-guess himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found some things that helped me move on from certain decisions that maybe could have went a different way,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can always play the second-guessing game. You know, I\u2019m second-guessing myself probably more than anybody. But I think that\u2019s healthy, and it helps me learn and then helps make us better as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained yesterday that in addition to talking with Knorr about decisions, he is spending time essentially journaling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that I haven\u2019t ever done in the past that I\u2019m doing now is I\u2019m writing down my thoughts a little bit more,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just like recapping games, recapping what I think we need to work on a little bit, what we need to be better at \u2014 certain plays, and then also my own internal thoughts of like, decision making, how I made those decisions, and what did I learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He writes these observations, recollections and self critiques in bullet-point form in a notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has helped me,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was a player, I could watch the video, and that flushed me. But it\u2019s hard to watch the entire game. I would just drive myself nuts. And I would spend four more hours. As a pitcher, I could watch an inning pretty quickly, and that flushed it for me. As soon as I watched the game, I was like, \u2018All right, I got it. I know what I need to do.\u2019 I\u2019d go do my workout, and then it was over with, go to sleep and be ready to go the next day. I just don\u2019t have that ability to do that now. So writing down has been that kind of like video watching for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Figuring out his comfort level in decision making, how to handle certain situations and even mistakes were to be expected for a guy who had not managed or even coached at any level.<\/p>\n
Stammen certainly expected it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did, but I didn\u2019t know how it was going to manifest itself,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kinda cool. \u2026 The biggest thing for me is realizing I don\u2019t have all the answers, and I will continue to not have all the answers, but I will to try to continue to figure them out. It\u2019s the same way it was when I was on the mound \u2014 \u2018I think I\u2019ve got a plan. Let\u2019s see if the plan works, and if it doesn\u2019t, figure out a new way to make that plan work.\u2019 \u2026 I hope I\u2019m saying that 15 years from now, where I can say I\u2019m still learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
So about the offense \u2026<\/p>\n
My game story focused largely on the lack of offensive production.<\/p>\n
The Padres had four hits, the fourth time in seven games they have managed five or fewer. They let a starter complete six innings while allowing three or fewer runs for the fifth time.<\/p>\n
Here is where they stand statistically on offense:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/offensethru7.png\")
<\/p>\n
The Padres maintain they have the right approach and are executing well far more often than not.<\/p>\n
It is true there have been an abundance of good at-bats with lousy results. That is baseball.<\/p>\n
My game story touched on some of the \u201cunlucky\u201d numbers like a batting average on balls in play that is second lowest in MLB and a batting average on hard-hit balls that is 200 points below the MLB average.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys are hitting the ball hard,\u201d Jake Cronenworth said. \u201cIt just seems like it\u2019s going right at guys right now, whether it\u2019s those one hop line drives on the infield or line drives right at the outfielders. Making really good swing decisions. Got a good plan. It\u2019s just not going for us right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is a look at some of the other underlying numbers, some of which support what the Padres contend:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/metrics0404.png\")
<\/p>\n
For whatever reason this is happening, Ram\u00f3n Laureano is the only player on the Padres with more than five hits. He is the only player with more than one home run, and Jackson Merrill is the only player with one. Lack of slug was a problem (the problem) last season, and it is so far in this one.<\/p>\n
The Padres went down in order in six innings yesterday and have sent just three batters to the plate in 24 of the 41 innings in which they have batted. (That total includes three innings in which a double play erased a baserunner.)<\/p>\n
Yesterday was the fourth time they have scored two runs. They have scored three twice.<\/p>\n
The four hits yesterday were their second fewest in a game this season. They have had more than five hits four times.<\/p>\n
This newsletter is a place where you\u2019re going to get perspective and context whether you want it or not. The Padres hit .192 or worse in two separate seven-game spans last season. They scored 21 runs or fewer in four separate spans. They won 90 games.<\/p>\n
Almost six<\/p>\n
It was apparent by looking at him when Stammen walked out to get him that King was not pleased his day was finished.<\/p>\n
But he knew what he needed to have done to stay in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI threw a couple bad pitches that I wish I executed a little better, and I \u2026 could have gone deeper in the game and (allowed) less runs.\u201d<\/p>\n
King\u2019s changeup was darting better and he located it better than in his first start. He threw some filthy sweepers.<\/p>\n
The Red Sox had two hard hits in the first four innings before four of the final seven batters King faced put the ball in play at 99 mph or harder, including the 109 mph home run that Willson Contreras hit over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street.<\/p>\n
King finished the day having allowed seven hits, walking one, striking out five and having been charged with four runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just threw a middle-middle pitch to Contreras,\u201d he said. \u201cBut (the outing) felt better than the line that it ended up being.\u201d<\/p>\n
AL King<\/p>\n
Yesterday was King\u2019s 21st start against an American League team since he joined the Padres in 2024. That is second most among National League pitchers in that span, behind Logan Webb\u2019s 22, despite King missing half of last season due to injuries.<\/p>\n
It was the most earned runs (four) and most hits (seven) he has allowed in any of those starts.<\/p>\n
Among the 23 NL starters who have made at least 15 starts vs. the AL since the start of \u201924, King\u2019s 2.47 ERA trails only Paul Skenes (1.64) and Andrew Abbott (2.47), and his .200 opponents\u2019 AVG trails only Skenes (.190) and Freddy Peralta (.193).<\/p>\n
Altered Crone Zone<\/p>\n
Cronenworth topped himself.<\/p>\n
We talked in Tuesday\u2019s newsletter<\/a> about his fantastic sliding play on a grounder, which might have been the finest of his career.<\/p>\n The double play he started yesterday might have been better, as he dove to his right and reached back to snare a one-hopper behind second base, raced to beat a runner to the bag and threw to first in time to end the fifth inning.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t they know they can\u2019t hit it to the Crone Zone? pic.twitter.com\/ft2BNtrWXK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it was just incredible,\u201d King said. \u201c\u2026 I thought it was for sure just a single up the middle. And then Jake came out of nowhere and made it a double play.\u201d<\/p>\n Cronenworth doesn\u2019t attribute his gems to coincidence. He instead credits an alteration in his ready position made by new infield coach Ryan Goins.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a lot of it is changes in my prep step on the infield and kind of my setup and just allowing me to have a little better of a first step,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve noticed it here in the first seven games.\u201d<\/p>\n A look at last season shows Cronenworth\u2019s ready position being a more traditional hunched over and on his toes. This year, he is standing up with his arms down before a quick crouch as the pitcher begins his delivery and a small hop into motion as the ball gets to the plate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt probably looks like I\u2019m in a much less athletic position, but I\u2019m in a much more athletic position,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201c\u2026 This has been comfortable, and I guess it keeps me more relaxed and not so, just like, tense.\u201d<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t just Cronenworth who has made a noticeable change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I saw with all of the guys,\u201d Goins said. \u201cThey were just very stuck, I guess you would say. They were all, like, just super wide and just kind of bent down. I\u2019ve tried to get them more engaged, where they\u2019re walking around more. The biggest thing we talked about was we have to have downward momentum as the ball is being hit. You don\u2019t want it too early. Right when the ball is being hit, you should be in the air, so that once the ball is actually put into play and it\u2019s heading in your direction, you\u2019re springing off the ground. All the guys were kind of the same. They\u2019ve all added, like, the hop, just to be, you know, more ready, more explosive.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe (Cronenworth) is getting better jumps because of it. You\u2019re more engaged. If you just sit there and, it\u2019s just like, get ready, stand up, get ready, stand up, you just don\u2019t move. \u2026 That hop does get you more engagement. They\u2019re like, \u201cI know I hit the ground and I should be moving.\u2019 Once you hit the ground, you should be moving somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Goins introduced the new ready position to Cronenworth when visiting him for a few days of infield work inside a gym in Chicago this winter. But that was not the first time they met.<\/p>\n They played against each other in the International League, and here is a photo from the 2019 Triple-A All-Star game in El Paso with second baseman Ryan Goins of the Charlotte Knights catching a pop-up as shortstop Jake Cronenworth of the Durham Bulls watches:<\/p>\n Contreras hit one home run but had two bat flips yesterday.<\/p>\n The first came after he walked in the second inning.<\/p>\n Willson Contreras was so confident in his ABS challenge that he flipped his bat and started walking down to first base \ud83d\ude2d pic.twitter.com\/dW5khqeWrB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n And that wasn\u2019t even close to his biggest flex after the walk.<\/p>\n What turned out to be ball four was initially called strike three. Contreras had already taken a few steps toward first base and barely broke stride as he looked back at home plate umpire Chris Segal and tapped his helmet.<\/p>\n By the time he reached first, the ABS review had shown the pitch was 0.6 inches outside the strike zone. At that, Contreras flipped his elbow guard and forearm guard about 40 feet toward the Red Sox dugout.<\/p>\n Contreras had been riled up by the second-to-last pitch of the plate appearance, a 94 mph sinker up and in that buzzed in front of his face as he spun backward out of the box.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the challenge I was 100 percent sure it was a ball, for sure,\u201d Contreras said. \u201cThat was my reaction. I didn\u2019t try to show up the umpire or anything like that. But I took the homer personally because in the first at-bat, he threw one \u2014 I know it got away from him, because it was close to my face. I was like \u2018Hmmm, if I hit a homer on this one, it\u2019s going to be big vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n Back in Boston<\/p>\n Our notebook (here<\/a>) from yesterday\u2019s game was about Fernando Tatis Jr. almost catching Mayer\u2019s home run, Luis Campusano\u2019s first hit of the season and the reception Xander Bogaerts got in his return to Boston.<\/p>\n I wrote on the off day (here<\/a>) about Bogaerts playing at Fenway Park for the first time since leaving the Red Sox after the 2022 season. (Yes, it was his second time back but his first time playing.) In my off-day story, Bogaerts had some interesting things to say about expectations in San Diego, comparing them with those of Red Sox fans.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n The Padres are three games below .500 for the first time since being 37-40 on June 18, 2024. They went 56-29 the rest of the way to finish that season with 93 wins. All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n Early-ish game today (1:10 p.m. PT). Talk to you tomorrow.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"(Courtesy](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cronenworth-Goins.jpg\")
(Courtesy El Paso Chihuahuas)
\nWillson pimping<\/p>\n
\nJeff Sanders, who was kind enough to come on the road for this series, not only helped with the notebook but also wrote (here<\/a>) about the big game by Mayer, who graduated from Eastlake High.
\nGavin Sheets went 2-for-3 for the second straight game and is 5-for-7 since beginning the season 0-for-13. He also stole a base, which puts him halfway to matching his career high.
\nLaureano (0-for-4) did not reach base for the first time in his six games this season. He still leads the Padres with a .318 average (7-for-22).
\nMiguel Andujar\u2019s fly ball that center fielder Cedanne Rafaela lost in the sun was the Padres\u2019 first triple of the season.
\nInfielder Sung-Mun Song is eligible to return for the start of the series in Pittsburgh on Monday, but indications are that he will remain in Triple-A for a while to get more at-bats. Song missed the majority of spring training with an oblique strain.
\nReliever Jason Adam, in the final stages of his comeback from September\u2019s quad tendon surgery, might join the team on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. If not, the plan is for him to be activated Thursday at the start of the team\u2019s six-game homestand.
\nAt two hours, 19 minutes, yesterday\u2019s game was tied for shortest of the season.<\/p>\n