April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nPivetta was topping 95 mph in the first inning Sunday, but a drop to 92.2 mph on his four-seamer for two fastballs thrown to Eduoard Julian to start the fourth inning prompted manager Craig Stammen and head athletic trainer Mark Rogow to visit him on the mound.<\/p>\n
It was a brief conversation, with Pivetta biting his glove while speaking with Rogow before exiting the game.<\/p>\n
Pivetta struck out four over three no-hit innings to begin Sunday\u2019s game, as he\u2019s looked more and more like the 2025 version of him following an opening-day clunker (3 IP, 6 ER).<\/p>\n
A career year in 2025 saw Pivetta lead the Padres rotation with 13 wins, a 2.87 ERA, 190 strikeouts and 181\u2154 innings.<\/p>\n
For a team that lost Dylan Cease to free agency, re-signed Michael King after an injury-plagued year and was hoping for the continued maturation of Randy V\u00e1squez and Joe Musgrove\u2019s seamless return from Tommy John surgery, Pivetta began the 2026 season a something of at least a known commodity, although he\u2019d have to prove last year was not a one-off.<\/p>\n
That was at least something to build around while figuring out what Walker Buehler and Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez could offer to the back of the rotation.<\/p>\n
Now, if Pivetta is forced to miss time, the Padres will have to further dip into the depth pooling below the majors.<\/p>\n
Knuckleballer Matt Waldron could be first up, as he\u2019s thrown 12 shutout innings across three rehab starts for Triple-A El Paso, including 58 pitches over five shutout innings on Thursday. He is returning from a spring surgery on his lower half, which knocked him out of the competition for a spot in the back of the rotation.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Griffin Canning (Achilles) is also rehabbing at Triple-A El Paso. But he\u2019s just two starts into \u00a0that process and likely won\u2019t be an option before May, while Musgrove has yet to resume throwing bullpens following his spring setback.<\/p>\n
This story will be updated.<\/p>\n
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