Padres Week in Review: Blasting Off At The Right Time

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 4-3

Runs scored last week: 32

Runs allowed last week: 30 (season run differential: minus-10)

Scores

• Game 113 (Monday): Diamondbacks 5, Padres 1
• Game 114 (Tuesday): Padres 9, Diamondbacks 4
• Game 115 (Wednesday): Diamondbacks 10, Padres 4
• Game 116 (Thursday): Padres 5, Diamondbacks 1
• Game 118 (Friday): Astros 6, Padres 3
• Game 119 (Saturday): Padres 3, Astros 2
• Game 120 (Sunday): Padres 7, Astros 2

Week in Review and Highlights

Diamondbacks series

Game 1: They say momentum stands 60 feet, 6 inches away, meaning the starting pitcher for each day. After the Padres experienced the high of the trade deadline by acquiring two starting pitchers, left-hander Robbie Ray and right-hander Casey Mize, that momentum was squashed by Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed starter Brandon Pfaadt, who silenced the Friars for the second time since the start of July. The Padres managed just one unearned run off Pfaadt in 6⅔ innings in a 5-1 loss. It was the first of a big four-game series as the Padres are trying to overtake the Diamondbacks and/or the Philadelphia Phillies for an NL wild-card spot. The D'backs and Phillies entered the day a game ahead of the Padres.

Conversely, Padres right-handed starter Michael King wasn't bad, but wasn't as sharp as he was his last time out. He allowed three runs in five innings on five hits and four walks, while striking out five. Those three runs came on a homer by the unheralded Tim Tawa in the fourth inning. That Padres pushed their lone run across in the seventh on a Luis Campusano infield single on which third baseman Nolan Arenado made a spinning stop ranging far to his left and threw a bit off the mark to first, which allowed Ty France to score from second. Friars left-hander Wandy Peralta gave up two runs in the eighth to put this one away.

Game 2: With spots in the rotation suddenly down to a precious one, Randy Vasquez didn't want to still be standing in a game of musical chairs. The right-hander showed some emotional fire and dominated for six shutout innings and that rubbed off on the offense, which produced three-run bursts in the first two innings en route to a 9-4 victory over the Diamondbacks. Vasquez stole the show from an offense that knocked out 16 hits, all but four singles, by allowing just two hits and one walk while only striking out one. His role had been reduced to a bulk guy, whether it was in a start, following an opener or in true relief over the last month. But this was a start, not a three-inning opener. Vasquez was one of the key prospects acquired from the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto trade and while the outfielder didn't work out in San Diego, the Padres are hoping to make Vasquez the second piece that developed into a star along with King. Vasquez became the only starter other than King to go six innings in the last two months.

At the plate, it was dynamic yet not explosive. Superstar Manny Machado led that charge by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored, Jackson Merrill 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Jake Cronenworth 3-for-5 with an RBI and a spectacular defensive play. Xander Bogaerts and Freddy Fermin each had a pair of hits. Machado had one of the Padres' four doubles, driving in Fernando Tatis Jr. (who had a leadoff double), then Merrill and Bogaerts had run-scoring singles. The Padres were 8-for-22 with runners in scoring position. Machado drove in a pair in the second inning and Merrill added another RBI to make it 6-0 against standout D'backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. That was more than enough to keep Vasquez aggressive on the mound. The only glitch on the night was the relief appearance by right-hander German Marquez, who came back on short rest to see how he responded and coughed up four runs and two homers in the seventh. One thing to watch is Bogaerts, who fouled a ball off the top of his left foot in the seventh and left the game. But Vasquez pulled the Padres back within a game of the D'backs for the final NL wild-card spot as the Phillies won.

Game 3: There was every excuse sitting there for Mize after making his Padres debut and allowing the most runs of his career and the most hits this season. He hadn't pitched in 11 days and he was still getting to know everyone on the team that acquired him just two days earlier among them. But he didn't, instead holding himself accountable for his disastrous debut, which is about all you really need to know about Mize. "Frustrated and embarrassed," was among the phrases he used following the Padres' 10-4 setback against the D'backs in their second attempt this series to get into a postseason position with less than two months to go. The loss guaranteed that the D'backs would still be in the spot the Padres want to be, holding the third and final NL wild-card berth. The Padres trail the D'backs and the Phillies by two games, while leading the Miami Marlins by one and the St. Louis Cardinals by two.

There is no doubt having his start skipped Friday by the Detroit Tigers as the trade deadline approached made him a little rusty. Mize was torched for eight runs on nine hits, including a homer, with three walks and just one strikeout, in 3⅓ innings. This matched his second-lowest innings in a start this year and was his fewest strikeouts since Aug. 22 of last year, when he failed to punch anyone's ticket. Certainly that will fuel his fire for not only his next start (Monday vs. the Milwaukee Brewers), but the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, the Padres were completely baffled by D'backs left-handed starter Mitch Bratt, who was making his sixth MLB start. The Friars managed just France's second-inning leadoff single during Bratt's seven shutout innings as he struck out nine and walked three. The Padres didn't have another hit until Tatis led off the ninth with a towering 465-foot home run, his ninth of the year. While the deficit was steep, the Padres pushed across another three runs, with newcomer Gage Workman's two-run double capping the attempted rally.

Game 4: Facing a true must-win situation although not do-or-die, the Padres played a bit of a gritty game and came out with a 5-1 victory over the D'backs that earned the Friars a split of the key four-game set. The result keeps the Padres one game out of the final NL wild-card spot, where they were at the beginning of the season, just behind the D'backs and now two games in back of the Phillies. It also kept the season series with the D'backs tied 5-5, with the last series being the final three games of the season at Petco Park. This was a combo pitching effort as right-handed starter Walker Buehler gutted out four innings (76 pitches), allowing a run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. With the chaos pitching plan no longer truly in play and the Padres having gotten thumped the night before, the A bullpen was fresh and ready to take on a five-inning task. Right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez matched his season high with two innings, then Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller going an inning each. For Miller, it was his first outing since a minor cut on his right middle finger between innings Saturday when he tossed a cooler top.

At the plate, it was a scrappy effort. They pounded out 12 hits, the seventh time in 11 games reaching double digits, with Luis Rengifo getting three, France a pair of doubles and Merrill and Bogaerts also two hits. Tatis lit the candle with a game-opening double, Rengifo singled and Machado's double-play grounder brought in Tatis. In the third, Cronenworth was hit by a pitch, Tatis walked and Rengifo bunted both up a base. Another Machado grounder brought in a run and France had a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage. After the D'backs got a run back in the bottom of the third, the Padres added single runs in the sixth and seventh on RBI singles by Fermin and Merrill. However it came, getting the victory—and thus the split—was huge.

Astros series

Game 1: So much for first impressions. Like Mize, although not on the same level, Ray made his Padres debut and it could have gone a lot better. Ray allowed four runs for just the fourth time in 23 games this year as the Padres dropped the opener of a three-game home series against the Houston Astros 6-3. The left-hander gave up seven hits and walked five (he has had a few high-walk totals this season), but did stick it out through five innings, which is a key to his value the rest of the season—chewing up innings. He gave up the first of two homers to Astros slugger Cam Smith. As with Mize, Ray had a longer-than-usual layoff between starts and then had the experience of being traded and all the change that comes along with that.

Meanwhile, the Friars were held in check by Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco, who was making his fourth start since coming back from an internal brace surgery on his right elbow in June of last year. Blanco wasn't sharp, but his wildness was effective enough that the Padres couldn't do much against him. They were already down 4-0 in the fourth when Machado singled and Merrill tripled, then scored when Gavin Sheets hit into a double play. Tatis hit another big home run to finally reach double digits, a solo shot into the Western Metal Supply Building to pull within 4-3. But Smith homered again in the sixth, this time off left-hander Yuki Matsui and the Astros pushed across another in the eighth off Peralta.

Game 2: These are the types of games the Padres need to win if they are going to play in the postseason. Thanks to King's pitching, Merrill's bat and Miller's ... defense? Yes, defense ... the Padres pulled out a 3-2 victory over the Astros. With the D'backs and Phillies each losing, the Padres are one game behind both for an NL wild-card spot. King, perhaps pitching with a little more freedom knowing he now has help in the rotation, turned in a sterling six innings, giving up a solo homer among three hits, walking one and striking out six, including Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez twice.

Neither team produced much offense, each recording five hits. But the Padres made the better use of theirs. Tatis again got things going in the bottom of the first with a leadoff walk, Cronenworth singled to center and stole second with one out. After France walked to load the bases, Merrill hit a fly to right that hit in front of Smith, who threw out France at second as Tatis scored. Former Padres prospect Taylor Trammell homered in the top of the second to tie it, then Merrill drove a two-out full-count fastball and over the center-field wall for his 17th of the season and a 2-1 Friars advantage. Sheets reached on an infield tapper and advanced to third on two groundouts. Tatis hit a rather routine grounder to short that Jeremy Pena circled but could not corral, bringing in Sheets on what should have been an inning-ending play to put the Padres up 3-1.

King, meanwhile, was as effective as he has been all season. He retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, with the one walk he issued being erased on a double play. Estrada faced only four batters in the seventh, allowing a single and a walk before Morejon came on and danced out of trouble while getting four outs. That made it Miller time in the ninth. The All-Star closer hit Christian Walker and threw a wild pitch. Daulton Varsho hit a grounder to the right side that France made a diving stop to his right and threw to Miller covering first, with the pitcher having to get to the bag and then go down to a knee to catch the one-hop throw from the Gold Glover for the out as Walker took third. Miller struck out Smith, but yielded a soft liner to Yainer Diaz to bring in Walker to trim the Friars' edge to 3-2. Pinch-hitter Lamonte Wade Jr. hit a grounder to Machado, who was positioned defensively as a shortstop and threw to France to end the game.

RT @mlbbot.bsky.social: This focus by Mason Miller ? What a play by the @padres.mlbbsky.com closer!

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— San Diego Padres (@padres.mlbbsky.com) August 8, 2026 at 7:04 PM

Game 3: Home runs are fun. So is winning. And when the Padres hit home runs, they, you guessed it, win. The Padres hit four long balls, including one each from Merrill and Tatis (and surprising contributor), and Vasquez picked up where he left off Tuesday to spearhead a two-hit pitching performance in a 7-2 victory over the Astros. The Friars took two of three in the series against the AL West leaders to remain one game behind the D'backs and Phillies in the NL wild-card chase.

The power show stood out. Facing right-hander Cristian Javier, the Friars got homers from Merrill (solo shot in the second, his 18th), Tatis (three-run blast in the fourth, his 11th), Sheets (solo shot in the sixth, his 15th) and ... drumroll, please ... Austin Hays, a two-run tater in the eighth after being signed just hours before the game after being released by the Chicago White Sox on Friday. That was part of a 12-hit attack that saw Merrill, Rengifo and Fermin each notch a pair of hits. Tatis' blast, as usual, was the highlight. He rocketed a 2-1 changeup 421 feet into the third level of the Western Metal Supply Building, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Sheets' homer was also a welcome sight as that was his first since June 30. Hays joined the team to improve the right-handed bench power that has been missing with Miguel Andujar on the injured list. He pinch-hit for Sheets in the eighth and needed just four pitches to make the move look good.

Vasquez, meanwhile, was very efficient and focused in his five innings. He did allow a two-run homer to Varsho, an Astros newcomer, following a Trammell single, but those would be the only hits he and the Padres' bullpen would surrender. Hart (one inning), Rodriguez (two innings) and Estrada (one inning) were perfect over the final four innings, retiring all 12 hitters as the offense's production kept the big bullpen arms from being called upon.

Now another first-place team comes to Petco Park, the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, who bring MLB's best record to San Diego for three games.

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• Season stats: 4-1, 0.91 ERA, 47 games, 29 saves (30 chances), 49⅓ IP, 24 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 16 BB, 91 K, .142 opponent average
• His save Saturday was his career-high 29th, one more than he had in 2024 with the A's in their last year in Oakland. His 29 saves are the most in the NL
• Has given up just three extra-base hits all season.

Random Stats

• Of the Padres' 16 hits Tuesday, eight came in the first two innings, the first time that happened since May 24, 2015, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was also the third game this year with at least 16 hits, all three coming since the All-Star break.
• Fernando Tatis Jr.'s home run Sunday was the 163rd of his career and third of the week. After moving past Adrian Gonzalez for the third place in Padres history, Tatis is now tied with Nate Tolbert for second place. Manny Machado has the franchise record with 217.
• Tatis' double Thursday was the fourth time in nine games he led off a game with a two-bagger.
• The Padres are 15-23 in the first game of a series, including 9-10 at Petco Park.
• After three more steals Saturday, the Padres rank third in MLB with 119.
• The Padres have the highest batting average since the All-Star break at .280 and highest on-base percentage at .354.

Transactions

• Monday: Acquired LHP Robbie Ray from San Francisco Giants for RHP Miguel Mendez and SS Joniel Hernandez.
• Monday: Acquired RHP Casey Mize and 3B Gage Workman from Detroit Tigers for LHP Kash Mayfield and LHP Jackson Wolf.
• Monday: Acquired RHP Hunter Stratton from Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Andrew Moore and assigned him to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Tuesday: Optioned LHP JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Tuesday: Optioned C Rodolfo Duran to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Tuesday: Sent RHP Joe Musgrove on a rehab assignment to Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm.
• Tuesday: Sent RHP Nick Pivetta on a rehab assignment to Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm.
• Tuesday: Signed free-agent RHP J.P. France to a minor-league contract.
• Wednesday: Toronto Blue Jays claimed RHP Matt Waldron off waivers from San Diego Padres.
• Wednesday: Designated RHP German Marquez for assignment.
• Wednesday: Released LF Dustin Harris from Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Friday: Signed free-agent LF Dustin Harris to a minor-league contract.
• Saturday: Released RHP German Marquez.
• Sunday: Signed free-agent OF Austin Hays.
• Sunday: Optioned IF Gage Workman to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
• Sunday: Sent RHP Joe Musgrove on a rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas.

Website Highlights

• Padres' Preller won the trade deadline by being completely normal — Randy Holt
• Why going all-in at the trade deadline was the right decision for Padres — N.B. Lindberg
• Ray is walking a tightrope ahead of Padres debut — Yirsandy Rodriguez
• How Padres' Preller helped Dodgers land Skubal — Steve Drumwright
• Rehabbing Padres pitchers have quite different first outings — Steve Drumwright

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Brewers (Logan Henderson) at Padres (Casey Mize), 6:40 p.m.
• Tuesday: Brewers (Kyle Harrison) at Padres (Walker Buehler), 6:40 p.m.
• Wednesday: Brewers (Dustin May) at Padres (Robbie Ray), 1:10 p.m.
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Padres (Michael King) at Guardians (Gavin Williams), 4:10 p.m.
• Saturday: Padres (Randy Vasquez) at Guardians (Joey Cantillo), 4:10 p.m.
• Sunday: Padres (Casey Mize) at Guardians (Tanner Bibee), 10:40 a.m.