I gave short shrift in that story to Xander Bogaerts, who drove in the game\u2019s first run and made a play in the sixth inning that kept Mike Trout from a leadoff single. That was significant since two Angels ended up walking in the inning before Ron Marinaccio got Jo Adell to hit a pop fly for the third out.<\/p>\n
Great job by Bogey and Sheets to get Trout at 1B! pic.twitter.com\/IYRanxMBfh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Padres\u2019 defense as a whole is not getting the kudos it deserves.<\/p>\n They have not committed an error in 11 games, their longest streak since going 16 games without an error at the start of the 2022 season. Merrill has robbed two home runs in the past week that proved to be game changers. Opponents have been successful on just 12 of 19 steal attempts, which makes the Padres one of the top five teams in the majors shutting down the running game.<\/p>\n There is no guarantee the players we expect to produce at a high level will produce at a high level. But it is safe to assume they will not continue to be the voids they have been for many of the season\u2019s first 22 games.<\/p>\n The Padres need to hope so. A 162-game season exposes mirages. And the Padres are much better when the Core Four (Bogaerts, Machado, Merrill and Tatis) comes up big as a group. And remember, it has generally been true the past six years that as Manny Machado goes so go the Padres.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t have to be an imperative if the Padres have as deep a lineup as it sometimes seems they do this year.<\/p>\n There is no law against Machado being who he has been and the rest of the team contributing. In fact, it probably has to happen for them to be what they hope to be.<\/p>\n But there is merit to the Padres being buoyed by their early success.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good sign,\u201d Merrill said, \u201cwhen two guys in the lineup are not producing as much and the rest of the team is taking care of business.\u201d Another one<\/p>\n Maybe you had not heard of Walbert Ure\u00f1a. You have now. And you will again.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old right-hander was throwing 101 mph sinkers and disappearing changeups all afternoon while he mostly dominated the Padres yesterday in his first major league start.<\/p>\n Ure\u00f1a allowed one run through six innings before walking two batters at the start of the seventh and having one of those runners score after he departed.<\/p>\n His outing was the 12th quality start against the Padres this season, most against any team.<\/p>\n The Padres are 6-6 in those games.<\/p>\n How remarkable is that? The other 29 MLB teams have\u00a0 a combined .294 winning percentage when an opposing pitcher turns in a quality start.<\/p>\n Give Padres pitchers credit for keeping the score close in those six games so the offense can do enough to win. But as we have talked about before, credit the offense for doing what it can to make some really good starting pitchers work.<\/p>\n And the Padres have faced really good pitchers.<\/p>\n Nine of the starters they have faced have an ERA of 3.30 or better.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go up against arms like this, you\u2019re not going to win 8-2 games,\u201d Gavin Sheets said. \u201cI mean, you\u2019re just not. This guy comes up from Triple-A, the stuff that he has is as good as anybody in the big leagues. \u2026 So what we\u2019re doing a really good job of is we\u2019re taking advantage of the opportunities we\u2019re getting, we\u2019re clawing at-bats out. We\u2019re making a pitch count go up. We\u2019re in a stretch of (facing) really good arms, and we\u2019re playing really good baseball. So it\u2019s a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n It does seem to be.<\/p>\n However, we should note that the Padres would do well to start producing more against these top-flight starters. For one thing, when the postseason comes around the best starters will be backed up by the best bullpens.<\/p>\n And as manager Craig Stammen said on Friday night, \u201cIf we want to be the best, we\u2019ve got to figure out a way to beat the best. When we get to a place where we want to be \u2014 what we\u2019re playing this season for \u2014 we\u2019re going to face a lot of pitchers like that. So hopefully this is part of the learning curve, and us facing these guys builds perseverance and determination and drive and gives us a better opportunity to tackle these guys when we get the chance when it really means something.\u201d<\/p>\n King makes it work<\/p>\n Michael King threw five fewer pitches yesterday than he did in his complete game shutout of the Rockies a little more than a year ago, on April 13, 2025.<\/p>\n He made it through five innings on the 105 pitches he threw yesterday.<\/p>\n King is still working to get right mechanically after a season in which he made just 15 starts and spent a good amount of time trying to pitch through knee pain.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely have not found that stride yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The best thing that can be said about a day in which King threw too many pitches was that he made good ones when he had to.<\/p>\n The Angels had runners at first and third with one out in the first inning and first and second with one out in the fourth inning. They had a runner on first base with one out in two other innings.<\/p>\n And they did not score against King, as he continued to be at his best when threatened.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a reliever,\u201d he said in reference to his time with the Yankees before being acquired by the Padres before the 2024 season. \u201c\u2026 I took a lot of pride in that, in terms of when you got yourself in some bad situations, you\u2019ve got to put yourself out. I did it a lot (as a reliever), and so I kind of knew those situations and knew how to navigate it. It definitely leads to five innings and 105 pitches instead of being efficient. But I pride myself on going deep in games, but I also pride myself on putting up zeros. So it\u2019s kind of the give and take when you don\u2019t have your best stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Being a pitcher who doesn\u2019t allow damage is no small thing.<\/p>\n King has the 16th best ERA in the major leagues (2.28) because he is excellent at being good enough when he isn\u2019t at his best.<\/p>\n But to be elite, he can\u2019t do what he did yesterday. He threw a first-pitch strike to just eight of the 20 batters he faced and had three-ball counts against seven of the first 14 batters he faced.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a battle,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s been a game yet that I\u2019ve had my \u2018A\u2019 stuff. I\u2019m always missing one of the pitches, and the sinker has been lately. I think that\u2019s been making it a lot harder to breeze through lineups. I\u2019m 1-0 to a lot of guys, because I\u2019m missing the sinker, whereas when I\u2019m on, I feel like I can just get up 0-1 with heaters and then be able to expose the chase (with secondary pitches). So it hasn\u2019t been easy. But looking up, and I think I\u2019m 3-1 now with some kind of bad stuff. It\u2019s comforting to know that once I keep stacking these work days and figure it out, that it hopefully will get easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining the club<\/p>\n There is Mason Miller and Jason Adam and Adrian Morej\u00f3n. There is even Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan.<\/p>\n And maybe there is now Bradgley Rodriguez.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re looking at the rest of the bullpen, and I\u2019m the youngest one, the little one of the group,\u201d Rodriguez said yesterday through interpreter Jorge Merlos. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just like, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m just going to go out there and do my best and do my job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The potential of Rodriguez has been on display since he showed up late last season and began getting outs with a fastball that touched 100 mph and a plus changeup.<\/p>\n He has also been prone to command issues, like most young relievers, and the Padres have kept him mostly working in medium- and low-leverage situations.<\/p>\n Yesterday, they had no choice but to have him enter in place of Kyle Hart in the seventh inning, with runners on second and third and one out.<\/p>\n Rodriguez allowed one of those runners to score on a groundout that cut the Padres\u2019 lead to 2-1 before intentionally walking Mike Trout and finishing off the seventh. He then struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 eighth inning.<\/p>\n Pitching coach Ruben Niebla said Rodriguez is \u201cbuilding calluses\u201d with outings like yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cJust putting him in that situation is good for him,\u201d Niebla said. \u201cHim showing that no-back-down attitude, it\u2019s going to be big for him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres had to make do without Adam for the first two weeks of the season. They have been without Estrada for almost two weeks. Over the course of a long season, having an abundance of arms capable of stepping up is what sets apart the best bullpens.<\/p>\n \u201cWe trust Bradgley a lot,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cWe view him as an elite part of our bullpen and someone that\u2019s going to be a part of our bullpen for a long time and pitching kind of those important spots. He hasn\u2019t done it as much this year, just because we have so many other guys that can pitch in the back end. But he proved today what he can do. Coming in at the top of their lineup and kind of going through it and settling the game down in the seventh and eighth for us, that was big. That was huge. Without Bradgley today, we\u2019d have had a tough time winning that game.\u201d<\/p>\n Quest for better<\/p>\n The way Miller is pitching this season, what he did Saturday qualified as a hiccup.<\/p>\n While getting a save and extending his scoreless innig streak, Miller faced two batters above the minimum for the first time in his 10 appearances this season. He allowed a single and a walk in the same inning! He had allowed one of each in his previous 9\u2153 innings.<\/p>\n Well, he got back on track yesterday, striking out two of the three batters he faced and taking just 13 pitches to lock down his eighth save.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way I\u2019m looking at things is just outing to outing,\u201d Miller said. \u201cJust because I\u2019ve been having a lot of success doesn\u2019t mean there haven\u2019t been things that I want to work on or focus on or change outting to outing. Success is a scary place sometimes where you get complacent. So just staying up on everything and always focusing on getting a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller is now one inning away from tying Cla Meredith\u2019s franchise record of 33\u2154 scoreless innings set in 2006.<\/p>\n No one in baseball history has ever matched what Miller is doing. By striking out 27 of the 38 batters he has faced, he is the only pitcher since at least 1900 with 71.1% strikeout rate over his first 11 appearances in a season. And no pitcher has ever in any 11-game span struck out 27 batters and allowed no more than four baserunners while throwing no more than 11\u2153 innings.<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s final two strikes yesterday came on Logan O\u2019Hoppe\u2019s swings at a 102 mph fastball and an 89 mph slider. And they illustrated why Miller is virtually impossible to hit when he is on.<\/p>\n Here is video of the pitches:<\/p>\n Mason Miller, 102mph Fastball and 89mph Slider, Individual Pitches + Overlay pic.twitter.com\/gMn8S0U7lB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Like it happens every day<\/p>\n Since getting just four hits in his first 32 at-bats with the Padres in 2024, Johnson has hit .317\/.364\/.398 in 137 plate appearances.<\/p>\n After getting two of the Padres\u2019 five hits yesterday, Johnson is 4-for-16 with three steals this season. His RBI single in the seventh inning, which served as the deciding RBI, was followed by his stealing his third base of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a grinder,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cHe could be in there every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson started in right field yesterday, as Tatis started at second base in place of Jake Cronenworth. It was Johnson\u2019s fourth start of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cI come to the field every day like I\u2019m starting,\u201d he said. \u201cI have to. That\u2019s just the way I\u2019m built. \u2026 I mean, you always want to contribute any way you can. Two-out RBIs like that boost your confidence and stuff like that. So it feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n Leave it be<\/p>\n Tatis singled to right field, stole second and scored on Bogaerts\u2019 two-out single in the fourth inning.<\/p>\n It was the latest example of how Tatis has been able to contribute this season while waiting for his power to kick in.<\/p>\n He has far more hits to center and right field than he does to left.<\/p>\n I have wondered to Tatis and others repeatedly and in many different forms about why he isn\u2019t leaning more into his pull-side power. When he led the National League in home runs in 2021, his fly ball pull rate was the highest of his career by far.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need to pull the ball more,\u201d Tatis said tersely at one point. \u201cIt\u2019s more about really driving the ball to right-center field. And when I\u2019m doing that the right way, everything just just takes off. In \u201821 when I had all those homers, half of my homers were to center to right field. The balls I pulled were mistakes the pitchers were making.\u201d<\/p>\n It is true, 19 of those 42 homers were to center field or right field.<\/p>\n And here are the mostly meaty pitches he crushed to left field in 2021:<\/p>\n \u201cHis ability to rotate his hips and stay inside the ball is great,\u201d hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. said. \u201cSo it\u2019s just about getting him in consistent positions that he\u2019s able to unleash the swing over and over again. He has the ability to leave any ballpark in any part of the field. And I think we can get pigeonholed into, \u2018My only power is pull side.\u2019 For him, that\u2019s not the case. He\u2019s a special talent. So it\u2019s being able to say, \u2018Hey, I can do what Ohtani does. I can do what Aaron Judge does, I can go anywhere.\u2019 When you\u2019re able to lead that ball to right-center field on the heater, it\u2019s just a difficult thing for pitchers to kind of game plan against you. And I think when he\u2019s not panicking against that stuff, it\u2019ll come out naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not that pulling the ball is not an important tool to have in the bag. Tatis\u2019 blasts to left field are generally majestic. It\u2019s that he needs to let them come. When he tries to pull is when he starts to chase and when his body flies open and everyone watching can tell he is not in a good place.<\/p>\n How often can you say that this season about the guy who is leading the major leagues in hard hits<\/a>? Not very often.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get the ball in the air, pull side,\u201d Souza said. \u201cHow we do that is super important. As long as he\u2019s inside the ball and what he\u2019s pulling in the air, that\u2019s the most important thing. \u2026 And pitchers are careful with him. Some of these hits that he\u2019s getting, they\u2019re balls, they\u2019re balls on the black, and he\u2019s hitting lasers all over.\u201d<\/p>\n Canning planning<\/p>\n Starting pitcher Griffin Canning threw a between-starts bullpen session yesterday at Angel Stadium and will make his fourth rehab start Wednesday for Triple-A El Paso.<\/p>\n Canning, who suffered an Achilles injury pitching for the Mets in June, could be inserted in the rotation as soon as the first week of May.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely think sooner rather than later,\u201d Canning said.<\/p>\n After allowing two runs over 5\u2154 innings in his first two starts for El Paso, he threw 67 pitches in his last start while allowing six runs (two earned) and walking four in 2\u2154 innings.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a little rusty,\u201d Canning said. \u201cThis is my spring training. Trying to sharpen up. Health-wise, I feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n He was working on the best of his six big-league seasons when he went down in his 16th start of 2025. He had a 3.77 ERA at the time. He had gone at least five innings while allowing two or fewer runs in half his starts.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/core4.png\")
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