Padres Week in Review: All-Stars, A Walk-Off, & Everything In Between

Weekly Overlook:
Record: 3-3 (48-41 overall)
Runs Scored: 18 
Runs Allowed: 23

Standings: 2nd in NL West, 7.0 GB LAD
Game 84 (6/30) | PHI 4, SD 0 
Game 85 (7/2) | SD 6, PHI 4
Game 86 (7/2) | PHI 5, SD 1
Game 87 (7/4) | SD 3, TEX 2
Game 88 (7/5) | TEX 7, SD 4
Game 89 (7/6) | SD 4, TEX 1 

Transactions:
07/06/25 - Optioned RHP Stephen Kolek to AAA El Paso. 
07/06/25 - Recalled LHP Kyle Hart from AAA El Paso. 
07/03/25 - Optioned RHP Ron Marinaccio to AAA El Paso.
07/02/25 - Recalled RHP Ron Marinaccio from AAA El Paso.
07/02/25 - Optioned RHP Matt Waldron to AAA El Paso. 
07/02/25 - Selected the contract of RHP Eduarniel Nunez from AAA El Paso.
07/02/25 - Sent RHP Logan Gillaspie outright to AAA El Paso.
06/30/25 - Activated RHP Logan Gillaspie from the 15-day IL.
06/30/25 - Designated RHP Logan Gillaspie for assignment. 
06/30/25 - Recalled RHP Matt Waldron from AAA El Paso. 
06/30/25 - Optioned RHP Sean Reynolds to AAA El Paso. 

How it happened: 
The Padres started their week by heading out east to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the NL East-leading Phillies. 

Monday’s series opener featured the season debut for Matt Waldron, who was pitching in place of Ryan Bergert. Philadelphia went to work against Waldron, knocking six hits and scoring four runs in his 4 2/3 innings pitched. Despite San Diego’s bullpen not allowing any runs, the Friars failed to generate anything at the plate and fell to the Phillies 4-0. 

Tuesday’s game was postponed due to rain, setting the Padres and Phillies up for a Wednesday double-header on the 32nd anniversary of a double-header between the same two teams ending in the latest ending in MLB history. 

In the first leg of the double-header, things went well for the Padres. An offensive explosion in the second inning, backed by yet another solid outing from former Phillie Nick Pivetta, gave San Diego a 6-0 lead. Despite Philadelphia getting the better of the Padres’ bullpen late in the game, Robert Suarez escaped trouble, resulting in a 6-4 victory. 

In between Wednesday’s games, Manny Machado was announced as the NL’s starting third baseman for the MLB All-Star game. This marks Machado’s seventh career All-Star selection and fourth start amongst those. The nod came in a milestone week for Machado, as he inched closer to 2,000 career hits.

Later in the week, it was announced that Machado’s teammates Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jason Adam would be joining him in Atlanta. Although it’s been a rough go for Tatis Jr. lately, an MVP-caliber start to the season was enough to put him over the edge. For Adam, a resounding 1.65 ERA and 1.191 WHIP made this selection a no-brainer. As it turns out, leading a bullpen amongst the best in baseball typically earns a spot in the Midsummer Classic. 

Unfortunately, the excitement from Machado’s All-Star announcement did not carry over to the field for the latter half of the doubleheader. The second game hummed a similar tune to Monday’s loss, where the Padres could not generate anything. Dylan Cease had yet another start where he did not make it past the sixth inning. On top of that, run support from the Padres’ offense was yet again minimal, which resulted in a 5-1 loss and a series defeat. 

In a series of a few bright spots at the plate for San Diego, Xander Bogaerts extended his hit streak to five games, accumulating five hits in the series. In addition to a strong series in Cincinnati, this success at the plate is much needed for Bogaerts, who is yet to live up to his massive contract. His successful road trip is worth keeping an eye on, as it could potentially be the start of a much-needed turnaround. 

After a day off on Thursday, the Padres came home to host a weekend series against the Texas Rangers. 

The series started on the Fourth of July, which started off looking eerily similar to San Diego’s recent losses. Texas scored two early runs off of Randy Vasquez, who has struggled in recent outings. On top of that, the Padres' bats stayed cold the first time through the order. However, a fourth-inning home run by Machado turned the tide at Petco Park, and a clean sheet from the Friars’ bullpen helped carry a tie game into extra innings. 

With a tie game and bases loaded in the tenth, Jake Cronenworth got the Fourth of July fireworks off to an early start in San Diego. On a 2-1 count with two outs, Cronenworth popped a single to left field, which brought home Jackson Merrill, resulting in a walk-off win. 

The holiday magic was not present for the Padres on Saturday. A rough outing from Stephen Kolek put San Diego in a hole too deep to get out of. 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings put the Padres down 6-2 through six innings. Despite a late push to cut the lead in half and a 4-hit performance from Luis Arraez, Saturday wasn’t the Padres' night, ending in a 7-4 loss. 

On Sunday, the Padres finally produced quality performances at the plate and on the mound, making it their most complete game of the series. San Diego turned to its bullpen for the series finale, and it continued its lights-out pitching. 

David Morgan pitched through the first inning, allowing a run in the opening frame. After that, Kyle Hart, Jeremiah Estrada, Adam, Adrian Morejon, and Suarez combined to allow no runs in the final eight frames. Sunday’s bullpen performance was a showcase of what has been the club’s best and most consistent aspect as of late. 

On top of that, a near-perfect performance at the plate from Tatis Jr. and multi-hit nights from Bogaerts, Arraez, and Martin Maldonado gave the bullpen the run support that it’s lacked lately. 

Sunday’s all-around performance by the Padres won them the series against Texas and made it another week of .500 baseball. They will stay cozy at Petco Park next week, hosting NL West foe Arizona and taking on Philadelphia in the latter half.

San Diego remains right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, tied with San Francisco for the final postseason spot. 

Upcoming Schedule: 
July 7, 2025 - Diamondbacks @ Padres - 6:40 PM PDT
July 8, 2025 - Diamondbacks @ Padres - 6:40 PM PDT 
July 9, 2025 - Diamondbacks @ Padres - 6:40 PM PDT 
July 11, 2025 - Phillies @ Padres - 6:40 PM PDT 
July 12, 2025 - Phillies @ Padres - 4:35 PM PDT 
July 13, 2025 - Phillies @ Padres - 1:10 PM PDT