Padres Week in Review: After Mason Miller Glitch, Padres Bounce Back But Miss Sweep

[Steve Drumwright]

 

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 3-3

Runs scored last week: 16

Runs allowed last week: 17

Standings

Scores

• Game 47 (Monday): Padres 1, Dodgers 0
• Game 48 (Tuesday): Dodgers 5, Padres 4
• Game 49 (Wednesday): Dodgers 4, Padres 0
• Off
• Game 50 (Friday): Padres 7, A's 3
• Game 51 (Saturday): Padres 2, A's 0
• Game 52 (Sunday): A's 5, Padres 2

Week in Review and Highlights

Dodgers series

Game 1: Catchers often don't get enough credit for helping pitchers navigate their way through a game, but when the pitcher and the manager make a point of singling out the catcher postgame, you know he did some heavy lifting. That was the case for backup catcher Rodolfo Duran, who not only threw out two basestealers, but helped right-handed starter Michael King make his way through seven shutout innings as the Padres opened a three-game series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers with a 1-0 triumph. The win moved the Padres half a game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West. King said he didn't have his best stuff, but relied on Duran to help him stifle the potent Dodgers lineup to just four hits, while striking out nine and walking two. Duran's defense helped King face the minimum through 5⅔ innings.

It also helped to be working with a lead. The notoriously slow-starting Padres got a first-inning bolt from the surging Miguel Anduar, who took Dodgers ace right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto deep with one out in the first inning. It was Andujar's fourth homer this year and that would stand up to be the game's lone run as the Friars managed just three more hits and the Dodgers finished with five. And as with any 1-0 game, there has to be some late-inning drama, only this came from an unexpected source. The normally nails Mason Miller, having one of the most dominant seasons by a reliever in MLB history, walked the first two hitters he faced in the ninth as Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker reached on a combined nine pitches. Miller's command eluded him on the first pitch to Will Smith, making it nine balls in 10 pitches. But thanks to Duran challenging a called ball and getting it flipped to a strike, Miller snapped back into The Reaper and his final 12 pitches of the game were strikes, which included one strikeout. That made Miller 15-for-15 in save opportunities. His 15 saves lead MLB.

Game 2: After a back-and-forth game, this one came down to the ninth inning with Miller on the mound. Only this time, Miller glitched. The only good thing is that it wasn't a pitching miscue. Miller's two-base error on a pickoff attempt set up a go-ahead sacrifice fly as the Padres fell to the Dodgers 5-4 as the NL West lead flipped back to L.A. With one out, Max Muncy drew a walk, with an ABS challenge flipping a strike three call to ball four. Alex Call pinch-ran for Muncy. With an 0-1 count to Andy Pages, Miller had Call easily picked off at first, but his throw was off the mark and unable to be snared by Gold Glove first baseman Ty France and went down along the right-field wall in foul territory. Call easily made it to third base on Miller's first career error. Pages dueled Miller for nine pitches, including fouling off four of five pitches before lofting a fly ball to right field. Tatis made the catch an unleashed a bullet toward home that was cut off by second baseman Sung-Mun Song, who threw a strike home, but Call made it under Freddy Fermin's tag to score the go-ahead run. It was Miller's first blown save of the season.

Before that, the two NL West rivals traded punches like the heavyweights they are. Freeman hit a two-run homer in the top of the first for a quick 2-0 Dodgers lead, then Machado countered with a two-run blast of his own, his seventh of the year, in the bottom of the first to tie it. In the third, Tatis reached on an infield single that needed a replay review to reverse an out call, then Andujar extended his hitting streak to eight games by homering for the second game in a row for a 4-2 Friars advantage. The Dodgers chipped away with runs in the fifth and sixth, including Freeman's second homer of the game and sixth of the season, to make it 4-4.

Padres right-hander Griffin Canning, in his fourth start since returning from an Achilles injury, matched his season high with five innings, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. While right-hander Jeremiah Estrada gave up Freeman's second homer, right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez and left-hander Adrian Morejon kept the Dodgers quiet, handing the ball to Miller in a tie game. After the decisive sacrifice fly, manager Craig Stammen pulled Miller following 22 pitches in favor of right-hander Ron Marinaccio. It was just the second time in 22 appearances this year that Miller didn't finish a game. The other came when Miller pitched the ninth inning of a 1-1 game April 9 vs. the Colorado Rockies that the Friars won in 12 innings on Xander Bogaerts' walk-off grand slam.

Game 3: Even with an offense that isn't firing on all cylinders, sometimes you just need to tip your cap to the opposing pitching. Facing Shohei Ohtani the pitcher for the first time at Petco Park since he became a Dodger at Petco Park, the Padres managed a couple threats, but couldn't put anything on the board in a 4-0 loss. The right-handed starter allowed just three hits over five shutout innings, walking a pair and striking out four while lowering his ERA to an immaculate 0.73.

The Padres did put up threats vs. Ohtani in the fourth and fifth innings. After Ohtani retired the first nine Friars and facing a 2-0 deficit, Tatis led off the fourth with a walk and was swapped out when Andujar hit a grounder to get the force out at second. Gavin Sheets, last week's NL Player of the Week, singled to left for the first hit off Ohtani, but Machado popped out to third and Bogaerts flew out to center. The next inning, now down 3-0, Bryce Johnson, who replaced an injured Jackson Merrill in center field, and Nick Castellanos singled to put runners on the corners. Ramon Laureano hit a comeback to Ohtani, who looked Johnson back at third and fired to second to get Castellanos, with Laureano reaching, then stealing second. Fermin drew a full-count walk to bring up Tatis, but the superstar's struggles continued as he hit into a first-pitch 6-4-3 double play, with Ohtani showing some rare emotion as he came off the mound.

There was one more scoring opportunity for the Padres, which came in the eighth. Facing right-handed reliever Kyle Hurt, Laureano had a leadoff single and Tatis hit a slow roller to third base that Max Muncy should have eaten but he lost the grip as he threw and it bounced toward where the second baseman plays and into short right, allowing Laureano to go to third. But the hot-hitting Andujar watched his eight-game hitting streak come to an end as he bounced into a double play himself to end the inning. The Dodgers' bullpen was fantastic again, extending its scoreless streak to 28 innings.

Padres right-handed starter Randy Vasquez wan't as sharp as he has been recently. Ohtani drilled the first pitch of the game out to center, just out of the reach of Merrill, who jumped against the wall. That was the play in which Merrill sustained his back injury. More testing was being done to see if Merrill would miss any time.

A's series

Game 1: The Padres' ability to mash doesn't always manifest itself, but when it does, it usually comes in bunches. Machado, Castellanos and Laureano all went deep as the Padres took care of the A's 7-3. In fact, those were the first three hits of the game recorded by the Padres, the first time that had happened since 2022. Machado hit a game-tying two-run blast in the first inning, his eighth of the season, Castellanos launched an equalizing solo shot in the fifth inning for his fourth of the year and Laureano put the Padres on top with his solo homer in the seventh, his sixth, for 4-3 lead. The Friars put together a rally in the eighth with four straight singles, including Sheets' two-run hit and then a Bogaerts sacrifice fly to make it 7-3.

Padres right-handed starter Walker Buehler wasn't great by any means, but battled his way through five innings. He walked four and allowed five hits and three runs, striking out four. Rodriguez could only get two outs in the sixth after two singles and a walk loaded the bases, but Morejon continued his excellent stretch by getting the next four outs, including three strikeouts. Adam had a scoreless eighth and Jeremiah Estrada pitched the ninth after the Padres eliminated the save opportunity with their three-run eighth.

Game 2: How do you win a game when you muster a mere two hits? It helps when you draw eight walks. That was the winning combination for the Padres, who came away with a 2-0 victory over the A's. All you have to know is that A's right-handed starter J.T. Ginn, who lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning of his start Monday vs. the Los Angeles Angels and then lost the game, didn't allow a hit to the Padres on Saturday. Only this time, Ginn only got one out in the third inning before the bullpen was called. That is because Ginn issued six walks and struck out four in his 73 pitches. The Padres drew three walks in the second inning, then Tatis got hit by a pitch with one out to drive in a run. Andujar hit into a double play to end the threat. In the third inning, Castellanos drew a one-out walk that ended Ginn's day. A scuffling Merrill, back in the lineup after missing Friday's game with a back issue, then lined a double to right for the Friars' first hit, with Castellanos trucking home to make it 2-0.

Padres right-handed starter Lucas Giolito was not immune to handing out free passes. In his second start with the team, Giolito walked five, but at least he lasted five innings. He also allowed four hits, including two in the opening inning. But the A's weren't able to dent Giolito thanks to three double plays behind him. France, the reigning AL Gold Glove first baseman, turned a pair of unassisted twin killings and started and finished a 3-6-3 double play. The latter of those helped Giolito escape a bases-loaded situation. The bullpen was nails again as the top four relievers, Estrada, Morejon, Adam and Miller, allowed one hit and a walk while striking out five over the final four innings. Adam had three K's and Miller, facing his old team for the first time since last year's trade, fanned a pair in earning his NL-leading 16th save in as many chances.

Game 3: The Padres had a chance to finally notch their first sweep of the month, but it was not to be. Even with a ninth-inning rally, the Padres couldn't overcome a shaky start by right-hander Michael King in dropping a 5-2 decision. Coming off three strong starts, including Monday vs. the Dodgers, King lasted just 3⅔ innings on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts. It was the fourth time this year King walked a season-high four. Perhaps his poor performance was due to giving up a homer to the first batter of the game, Carlos Cortes, on an 0-2 pitch. He gave up two more in the second inning and another in the fourth after a double, two walks and a wild pitch. His third walk of the inning forced a call to the bullpen.

The Padres, however, were unable to do much against A's left-hander Jacob Lopez, who followed right-handed opener Luis Medina, who got four outs. Lopez chewed up 4⅔ innings, allowing a run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. That sixth-inning run came as Andujar hit his 12th double, Sheets grounded out and Machado a one-out sacrifice fly. France used his bat to make a difference in this game, hitting his fifth homer, a solo shot, to pulled the Friars within 4-2. The Padres put together a threat in the ninth. Now trailing 5-2, Merrill and Laureano drew leadoff walks before France struck out. Castellanos came on to pinch-hit and faced former Friars right-hander Scott Barlow, who had just entered the game, but Castellanos struck out. Tatis had the final shot to keep the rally going, but he flew out to medium right field to end the game.

Marinaccio came up huge for the bullpen, following King by pitching three scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. Now the Padres continue their nine-game homestand by facing the Philadelphia Phillies for the final three games before hitting the road.

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• Season stats: 1-1, 0.76 ERA, 23 games, 16 saves (16 chances), 23⅔ IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 9 BB, 47 K, .125 opponent batting average
• His 16 saves are second in MLB behind Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians (17).
• Of the 71 outs Miller has recorded this year, 47 have come via strikeouts (66.2%).
• Has not allowed an extra-base hit this year or since his second appearance in a Padres uniform Aug. 5, covering 43 appearances, the longest active stretch in MLB.
• Has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 innings.

Random Stats

• Manny Machado hit his 25th career homer against the Dodgers, his most against any team and the fourth-most by any active player against L.A.
• Miguel Andujar had a .344/.364/.750 slash line during his recent eight-game hitting streak, including seven of his 11 hits going for extra bases.
• Rodolfo Duran has thrown out five base stealers in his first six MLB games.
• The last time the Padres won a game with two hits or less was June 23, 2017, vs. the Detroit Tigers. They were 0-19 otherwise.
• The Padres had their 23rd sellout in 29 games at Petco Park on Sunday.
• Fernando Tatis Jr.'s has not hit a homer in 219 plate appearances this season.

Transactions

• Monday: Signed free agent OF Jhostin Fuentes to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent RHP Valentin Perez to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent Diego Alfonzo to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent RHP Aneury Sosa to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent RHP Yohn Melendez to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent LHP Jhoiner Mayora to a minor-league contract.
• Monday: Signed free agent RHP Jederson Paez to a minor-league contract.

Website Highlights

• Sheets is elevating his contact and performance — Randy Holt
• Canning's command issues are real, though Padres shouldn't lose faith — Gottie Chavez
• Padres have intriguing catching depth behind Salas — Steve Drumwright
• Padres are somehow surviving the failures of their Big 3 — Brendan Dentino
• Merrill's early struggles have multiple root causes — Randy Holt
• Three Padres who should be first-time All-Stars — Brendan Dentino

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Phillies (Jesus Luzardo) at Padres (Griffin Canning), 3:40 p.m.
• Tuesday: Phillies (Aaron Nola) at Padres (Randy Vasquez), 6:40 p.m.
• Wednesday: Phillies (Cristopher Sanchez) at Padres (Walker Buehler), 1:10 p.m.
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Padres (Lucas Giolito) at Nationals (TBA), 3:45 p.m.
• Saturday: Padres (Michael King) at Nationals (Foster Griffin), 1:05 p.m.
• Sunday: Padres (Griffin Canning) at Nationals (Zach Littell), 10:35 a.m.

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