Padres Week in Review: Rough Week Finishes With Good Win

[Steve Drumwright]

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 2-4 

Runs scored last week: 22

Runs allowed last week: 35

Standings

Scores

• Game 28 (Monday): Padres 9, Cubs 7
• Game 29 (Tuesday): Cubs 8, Padres 3
• Game 30 (Wednesday): Cubs 5, Padres 4
• Off (Thursday)
• Game 31 (Friday): White Sox 8, Padres 2
• Game 32 (Saturday): White Sox 4, Padres 0
• Game 33 (Sunday): Padres 4, White Sox 3

Series Breakdown/Highlights

Cubs series

Game 1: This will be known as the game that Mason Miller's scoreless streak came to an end under unusual circumstances, but it should also be remembered as Ty France continuing to be a key part of the offense. The Padres overcame an early 5-3 deficit and held on for a 9-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs (more on the ending in a minute) as France doubled, tripled, stole a base and drove in four runs. One reason the Friars have had the number of comebacks they have had is because of slow starts. That wasn't the case vs. the Cubs as the Padres scored three times in the first on a Jackson Merrill RBI single and a bases-loaded two-out two-run ground-rule double to make it 3-0. The Cubs moved ahead 5-3 on Seiya Suzuki's solo homer in the second and Moises Ballesteros' grand slam in the third off right-hander Randy Vasquez. Vasquez threw a season-high 106 pitches and managed to finish five innings despite allowing five runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

In the fifth, now trailing 5-4, Manny Machado had a leadoff double, France drew a two-out walk and stole second, then Nick Castellanos, in an 0-for-19 funk, grounded a single up the middle to put the Friars up 6-5. Xander Bogaers and Miguel Andujar singled to open the bottom of the seventh when France hit his triple down the left-field line with the help of Matt Shaw's misjudgment to put the Friars up 8-5. Gavin Sheets put an exclamation point on the comeback with a no-doubt solo homer, his fourth of the year, in the eighth inning. But then came the ninth. Miller was already warm when Sheets hit his two-out homer and still came in despite it not being a save situation. Shaw led off the ninth with a dribbler that hugged the third-base line until it appeared to trickle foul just shy of the bag when France, now playing third after Machado left in the sixth inning with discomfort in his left leg, delicately picked it up as it came to a stop. Replays showed a sliver of dirt between the ball and the line, but home plate umpire Dan Merzel ruled fair, which was upheld after consulting with the third base umpire. The play was not subject to replay review by rule. MLB would say the next day that the ball was foul. Two more singles followed, making it three hits in the inning and doubling Miller's hits allowed this season, to load the bases. Nico Hoerner hit a grounder to second that brought in the first run against Miller after 34⅔ innings, a club record and the eighth-longest streak in MLB since at least 1961. Miller uncorked a wild pitch to plate the second run before he got a groundout and a strikeout to complete the victory.

Game 2: The Padres' bullpen is usually rock solid, so it is kind of shocking when the relievers falter. That happened in the Friars' 8-3 loss to the Cubs in this rematch of last year's NL Wild Card Series won by Chicago. The loss snapped the Padres' nine-game Petco Park winning streak. It was 2-2 entering the top of the sixth with Padres left-hander Kyle Hart on the mound after getting the last out of the fifth for starter Walker Buehler. Hart gave up a single, a failed sacrifice bunt and a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. On came David Morgan, who had given up eight runs in his previous three outings. After a wild pitch and a strikeout, Morgan gave up a two-out two-run double to Hoerner for a 4-2 Cubs lead. Morgan came out for the seventh, but it was just to face one batter, walking Suzuki. Left-hander Wandy Peralta was brought in with switch-hitter Ian Happ and left-handed hitter Michael Busch up. Happ grounded back to Peralta and Busch was hit by a pitch. Carson Kelly grounded out to Bogaerts, who made a nice play up the middle to get the one out. But Bregman had an opposite-field RBI single and Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the death blow with a three-run homer.

Buehler was OK, giving up two runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 4⅔ innings. Machado, who left Monday's game due to cramping in his left calf, sat out. With Miguel Andujar dealing with hamstring tightness, that led manager Craig Stammen to put Jake Cronenworth at third base for just the second time in his MLB career and first since his rookie season of 2020. Stammen also missed the last few innings as he had a flight to catch in order to attend a funeral. Bench coach Randy Knorr took over and will be in charge for the series finale, with Stammen expected back for the weekend series vs. the Chicago White Sox.

Game 3: For the first time since the first two series of the season, the Padres lost a set. That came with a 5-4 loss to the Cubs after the Friars had gone 6-0-1 since dropping the series to the San Francisco Giants. The Padres had won 17 of their 20 games in April before losing the final two to the Cubs. The Padres got a couple of unexpected offensive contributions as Andujar hit his first homer in a Padres uniform in the fifth to trim Chicago's lead to 3-1, then Castellanos had his second big hit of the series when a two-run blast, joining Andujar in the first-time-as-a-Padre club. But that was the real extent of the offense. The Padres had just three hits, with their fourth run of the game coming without the benefit of a hit. In the bottom of the eight and trailing 5-3, Castellanos, Campusano and Merrill each drew full-count walks to load the bases. Fernando Tatis Jr.' sacrifice fly to center plated the Friars' final run of the game as Machado followed by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play.

Andujar's homer, a tomahawk job, broke up a perfect game by Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon. Unfortunately, Padres right-hander Matt Waldron couldn't match that effort. After giving up an RBI single in the top of the second, Waldron was touched for a two-run homer by Crow-Armstrong in the fourth to put the Cubs up 3-0. While the Padres tied it with the fifth-inning homers, Crow-Armstrong's RBI groundout against left-hander Adrian Morejon restored the Cubs' lead and Matt Shaw made it a 5-3 game with his solo shot off right-hander Jason Adam. Waldron allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out one.

White Sox series

Game 1: While the calendar flipped to a new month, the Padres' fortunes remained the same as they were to end April. Right-hander German Marquez continued his Jekyll and Hyde season with a rough start in the Friars' 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, the Padres' season-worst third straight loss. Marquez had alternated good and bad outings in his first six starts this season, but turned in his worst game after a poor performance in his previous start. Marquez was torched for seven runs in five innings, allowing five hits (two homers) and five walks while striking out two. Marquez had walked seven in his previous five starts. Three of those five walks came in the second inning as the White Sox tagged Marquez for six runs, with two coming back-to-back with one out and preceding Munetaka Murakami's two-out three-run homer. The second inning included a defensive gaffe by Fernando Tatis Jr., who was playing second base for the sixth time this season. On a potential double-play grounder to Machado with runners on the corners, the third baseman threw to Tatis at second for one out and Tatis saw the runner breaking for home. A good throw would have gotten the out, but Tatis' toss wasn't even close, allowing the White Sox to go up 2-0. Murakami's MLB-leading 13th blast followed four hitters later.

Padres hitters didn't have much luck solving 6-foot-10 White Sox left-hander Noah Schultz, who limited the Friars to two hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts over six scoreless innings. The Padres had just two hits and were down 8-0 entering the bottom of the eighth. Bryce Johnson drew a one-out walk, then Tatis, Andujar and Machado had consecutive two-out singles to account for their two runs.

Game 2: Another day, another quality start turned in against the Padres. An offense that showed up at the right times in the first month of the season hasn't been able to come up with the hits at the right times recently, which resulted in a season-high fourth straight loss, a 4-0 decision to the White Sox. The Friars had just six hits, including four against right-hander Sean Burke, who turned in the second straight start of six scoreless innings against the Padres. Burke struck out eight and walked one. Still, the Padres, who have eight comeback wins this season, had a chance in the ninth. Merrill had a leadoff infield single, then Machado and Bogaerts walked to load the bases with nobody out. But Sheets struck out on an ABS challenge by the White Sox, Andujar flew out to shallow right and Luis Campusano struck out, securing the Padres' second shutout of the season.

Padres right-handed starter Michael King was overall pretty good, but he ran out of steam at the end of his outing. King matched Burke by taking a shutout into the sixth. He gave up a one-out walk and single and, after a groundout put runners on second and third, gave up a two-run single to Miguel Vargas. With an overworked bullpen, King went out for the seventh, but that move backfired. Two singles sandwiched around a double made it 3-0 and ended King's night. Bradgley Rodriguez came in gave up a one-out safety squeeze for the fourth run off King. King gave up seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts. One bright spot was the return of right-handed reliever Jeremiah Estrada, who was activated from the 15-day injured list the day before after a bout of tendinitis in his right elbow. Estrada was back to his old self, striking out the side in the ninth.

Game 3: The Padres unfortunately get off to slow starts, but boy, do they know how to finish. Bogaerts provided the difference in this one as his excuse-me check-swing grounder to third base brought in Laureano from third with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, snapping a tie and giving the Padres a 4-3 victory, preventing a three-game sweep by the White Sox. The victory also halted a four-game losing streak. Right-handed starter Griffin Canning made his Padres debut as Marquez went on the injured list. The SoCal native looked right at home, allowing a solo homer as part of his three hits and three walks, while striking out seven over five innings.

An offense that has been scuffling all week came to life in the bottom of the fourth inning. Canning gave up the homer in the third inning, the fifth straight game the Friars fell behind. Then Andujar, batting second with Tatis getting a day off, led off the fourth by drilling a 1-2 sinker into the left-center field bleachers for his second homer of the season, both coming this week. Machado followed suit two batters later with a towering solo blast, his fifth homer of the year, to put the Padres up 2-1, their first lead since Monday. Bogaerts and France singled and moved to second and third on a groundout. Fermin followed with a walk, but the 3-2 pitch was wild and Bogaerts scampered home for a 3-1 lead. Morejon coughed up a two-run homer in the seventh to tie the game, setting up another dramatic finish. Laureano led off the eighth with a walk, stole second and scored on a Merrill infield single. Merrill stole second and, after an out, Bogaerts plated the go-ahead run with his soft chopper. Miller, in his first save chance of the week, nailed down his MLB-leading 11th with three strikeouts. Now the Padres have a quick road trip to San Francisco for three against the Giants before a short four-game homestand vs. the St. Louis Cardinals.

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• 1.10 ERA, 16 games, 16⅓ innings, 11 saves in 11 chances, seven hits, two runs (both earned), three walks, 32 strikeouts, .127 opponent batting average.
• Has retired the first batter in all 16 appearances.
• 71% of his 230 pitches this season have been strikes.
• Has recorded three strikeouts in seven of his saves.
• New scoreless streak is 1⅔ innings.

Random Stats

• Manny Machado's third-inning double Monday vs. the Cubs was the 400th of his career, the 10th-highest total among activate players. Teammate Nick Castellanos joined that club with his first double of the season.
• The two quality starts by the White Sox were the 14th and 15th by an opposing pitcher in the Padres' 33 games. Five of those have been six scoreless innings.
• The Padres are now 4-1 in the rubber game of series this year after losing the finale to the Cubs.
• Fernando Tatis Jr.'s homer-less streak is now at 139 plate appearances.
• The Friars have had an extra-base hit in 34 consecutive games dating back to last year, their longest since a 43-game run to end 2024.

Transactions

• Monday: Optioned IF Sung-Mun Song to El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Tuesday: Sent RHP Jeremiah Estrada on a rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Thursday: Optioned RHP David Morgan to El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Friday: Activated RHP Jeremiah Estrada from the 15-day injured list.
• Friday: Sent IF Will Wagner on a rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Sunday: Activated RHP Griffin Canning (ruptured left Achilles) from the 15-day injured list.
• Sunday: Placed RHP German Márquez on the 15-day injured list with forearm nerve inflammation retroactive to Saturday.

Website Highlights

• Morejon remains the quintessential setup man for Padres — Randy Holt
• The Crone Zone is a lonely place in San Diego these days — Tom Gatto
• France is suddenly the Padres' most important hitter — Steve Drumwright
• History says Marquez, King will be OK after pitching in Mexico City — Tom Gatto
• Seidler family announce sale agreement with Felicano, Jones — Steve Drumwright
• Padres Minor-League Pitcher of the Month: Winyer Chourio — Steve Drumwright

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Padres (Randy Vasquez) at Giants (TBA), 6:45 p.m.
• Tuesday: Padres (Walker Buehler) at Giants, 6:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: Padres (Matt Waldron) at Giants, 12:45 p.m.
• Thursday: Cardinals at Padres (Michael King), 7:10 p.m.
• Friday: Cardinals at Padres (Griffin Canning), 6:45 p.m.
• Saturday: Cardinals at Padres (Randy Vasquez), 4:15 p.m.
• Sunday: Cardinals at Padres (Walker Buehler), 1:10 p.m.

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