Padres Week in Review: Mason Miller Nears Team Scoreless Streak Record

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 5-1

Runs scored last week: 22

Runs allowed last week: 19

Standings

Scores

• Game 17 (Tuesday): Padres 4, Mariners 1
• Game 18 (Wednesday): Padres 7, Mariners 6
• Game 19 (Thursday): Padres 5, Mariners 2
• Game 20 (Friday): Angels 8, Padres 0
• Game 21 (Saturday): Padres 4, Angels 1
• Game 22 (Sunday): Padres 2, Angels 1

Series Breakdown/Highlights

Mariners series

Game 1: Following a day off and after receiving the bad news before the game that Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta was going on the injured list, the Mariners came to town for the season opener of the Vedder Cup. And right-handed starter Michael King was certainly rocking, even if he didn't hit all the notes correctly. King allowed one run over six innings as the Padres won their sixth straight, beating the Mariners 4-1. King allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five, but his control was off as only 49 of his 85 pitches were strikes. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, the Padres took control of the game. Ramon Laureano had a one-out triple and scored on a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. Xander Bogaerts snapped the 1-1 tie with a two-run single to center, the second of his three hits. Jackson Merrill also had three hits and scored twice, including doubling and scoring an insurance run on Bogaerts' final hit in the eighth inning. That set the stage for closer Mason Miller, who struck out one of the three batters he faced for his fifth save in as many chances. Miller has struck out 20 of the 27 batters he has faced this season while extending his scoreless streak to 29⅔ innings, third-longest in team history and one-third of an inning shy of tying the late Randy Jones for second place.

Game 2: If you left the stadium or turned to a different channel early, sorry. You missed a terrific comeback by the Friars, who extended their winning streak to seven games. For the third time in six games, the Padres won in walk-off fashion, with Merrill's double down the left-field line scoring Laureano and Luis Campusano with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to finish off a five-run rally for a 7-6 victory. It was the third career walk-off hit for Merrill, who was already going to be a star of the game. That was because of his third-inning home run robbery of a drive by Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez in the left-center field cap. Merrill's theft denied J-Rod of a two-run homer and kept the Padres' deficit at 2-0. Merrill called it the best catch of his young career.

Still, the Padres did trail 6-0 in the fifth inning before starting their comeback. Bogaerts got things started with his third homer of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that was his third in his last seven games. For Bogaerts, it was his 200th career homer. That was the lone damage off Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock, who good for six innings. Mariners closer Anthony Munoz, a former Friar, came on in a non-save situation in the ninth and couldn't finish the job. There were plenty of good trips to the plate in the ninth and it started with Manny Machado drawing a seven-pitch walk. Tatis had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, Campusano with another big hit in the form of an RBI single and Laureano's own run-scoring single to pull the Padres within 6-5. That chased Munoz in favor of Jose Ferrer, who inherited runners on first and second with two outs. Ferrer got the count to 2-2 on Merrill, who then laced a double down the left-field line that Randy Arozarena bobbled, allowing Campusano to score from second and Laureano from first without a play. The only two dings on the Padres were Randy Vasquez's first bad start of the season. The right-hander gave up four runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts in four innings. Also, catcher Freddy Fermin left the game in the top of the third inning after taking another foul ball off the mask.

Game 3: How about an undefeated homestand? Tatis capped a four-run second inning with a two-run single as the Padres won their eighth straight, a 5-2 win over the Mariners. That gave the Friars a three-game sweep of the Mariners and a 7-0 record on this homestand before heading to Anaheim. The Friars' first homestand of the season resulted in a 2-4 mark. The eight wins in a row are the most by a team this young season. Right-hander Walker Buehler earned his first win as a Padre, pitching into the sixth inning and Miller surpassed Jones for the second-longest scoreless streak in franchise history at 30⅔. Only Cla Meredith has a longer run at 33⅔ innings. Miller is 6-for-6 in save opportunities after striking out the side, giving him a spectacular 23 K's in 30 batters faced this season. He has allowed just one hit.

The Friars put up all the offense they would need in the second inning against right-hander Luis Castillo. Gavin Sheets doubled with one out, took third on Miguel Andujar's single and scored on Campusano's single to left. Cronenworth's comebacker led to a throwing error by Castillo to load the bases and Laureano grounded to first to plate Andujar. Still looking for a big moment this year, Tatis lined a single to center to drive in two more runs and stake Buehler to a 4-0 lead. Buehler took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning, but yielded singles to the first three hitters to load the bases, ending his night. Right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez came in and gave up a two-run single to Julio Rodriguez. A groundout and a walk reloaded the bases and manager Craig Stammen had the quick hook, turning to Morejon to again escape a jam. A strikeout and a groundout did the trick, preserving the 4-2 lead. Jason Adam allowed one hit in the eighth and Miller slammed the door in the ninth.

Angels series

Game 1: Every winning streak must come to an end, but there might have been some other forces at work as the Friars' eight-game winning streak was halted. On a day the Angels announced the death of former outfielder Garret Anderson at the age of 53, Los Angeles sent the starting pitcher off to the best beginning of the season to the mound. It added up to an 8-0 loss for the Padres. Right-hander Jose Soriano allowed just two hits in 5⅔ shutout innings, striking out eight, walking four and lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.28 after five starts. The Angels jumped on Padres right-hander Matt Waldron, making his season debut as Pivetta's rotation replacement, for six runs in 3⅔ innings. Waldron allowed eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts. The Padres managed just three hits off four Angels pitchers in being shut out for the first time this season. The only real threat by the Friars came in the sixth inning as, with two outs, Machado singled and Bogaerts walked, ending Soriano's day. Sheets flew out to the warning track in right on the first pitch from right-hander Chase Silseth to end the threat.

Game 2: A terrific start by German Marquez and another dose of late offense got the Padres back in the win column. Marquez pitched 5⅔ shutout innings, while Laureano and Tatis drove in all the runs in the eighth and ninth innings as the Friars won 4-1. It was their 12th win in 14 games and came a day after their eight-game winning streak was halted. The story early was Marquez, who allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five. It was his second scoreless outing in his last three starts. He was backed by Merrill's third homer-robbing catch of the season, this time in the right-center gap in the second inning on a drive by Yoan Moncada.

The Padres likewise were held in check by left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, which left the game 0-0 entering the eighth inning. Fermin, back in the lineup after sitting out two games after taking a foul ball of the mask, and Cronenworth drew leadoff walks. Laureano grounded a single up the middle to score Fermin from second and extend hit hitting streak to seven games. Tatis, shaking off an early slump despite plenty of hard-hit balls, dribbled a grounder to the right side of the infield that barely trickled onto the outfield grass to bring in Cronenworth from third. After mustering two hits in the first seven innings, the Angels got three hits in the eighth off Adam, making it 2-1. In the ninth, Bryce Johnson, who came on as a pinch-runner earlier, singled in his first at-bat, then Fermin and Cronenworth walked again to load the bases. Laureano's sacrifice fly to center made it 3-1 and Tatis made it a three-run cushion on a line drive to right-center. That brought in Miller, who was tagged for just his second hit of the season by Moncada. After a strikeout, Miller issued his second walk of the season before retiring the final two batters. That was the first time an opponent had multiple runners on vs. the closer, who earned his seventh save. Miller's scoreless streak is now at 31⅔ innings, two shy of Meredith's club record.

Game 3: Sustainable winning means getting contributions from every part of the roster. Johnson hasn't had a lot of playing time this season, but he made sure to chip in when given the chance. Johnson's opposite-field single in the top of the seventh helped the Friars to a 2-1 win in the series finale. It was the Padres' 13th win in 15 games. Johnson's hit drove in Bogaerts from second for a 2-0 lead. Bogaerts had singled home Tatis in the fourth for the first run of the game.

That was enough for King to work with. The right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out six in five innings, although he did walk four. In the bottom of the seventh, facing left-hander Kyle Hart, Oswald Peraza got the Angels' second and only other hit with a leadoff double. A hit by pitch and sacrifice bunt forced a move to Bradgley Rodriguez, who gave up RBI grounder to make it 2-1. That left it up to Miller to finish another one off. The closer struck out two of the three batters he faced for his eighth save. That also boosted his scoreless streak to 31 games and 32⅔ innings, one inning shy of Meredith's club record. The Friars have two days off in the coming week, one due to the travel day to Mexico City for the two-game series vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• In 11 games this season, Miller is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing two hits and two walks with 27 strikeouts in 11⅓ innings. Opponents are hitting .056 and he has a 0.35 WHIP.
• Has struck out 27 of the 38 batters he has faced (71.1% strikeout rate).
• Struck out the side in Thursday's game, increasing his strikeout rate over his last nine appearances to 78.1%. It is the third time Miller has struck out 75% of the batters in a nine-game stretch in MLB history. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to accomplish that.
• Struck out all three batters faced in a game for the fifth time in his last seven appearances, two more times than any other pitcher in his team's first 19 games since at least 1900.
• Opponents are 0-for-25 with 21 strikeouts against Miller's slider this season, including 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Sunday. His slider has the highest whiff rate of any pitch by any pitcher this season at 77.8%.

Random Stats

• Wednesday's five-run ninth inning resulted in the Padres' first win when trailing by four or more runs in the ninth since June 14, 2019, a game they beat the Colorado Rockies 16-12 in 12 innings. In that game, the Friars scored six runs in the ninth.
• The Padres had five consecutive games with 10 or more hits during their winning streak, the longest stretch in club history since a six-game run June 4-9, 2013.
• Since snapping his 0-for-35 stretch that dated to the 2024 season, Luis Campusano had an eight-game hitting streak that came to an end Friday. Five of his nine hits in that run were for extra bases.
• The Padres have faced opposing starting pitchers who have turned in quality starts in 10 of the Friars' first 18 games.

Transactions

• Tuesday: Placed RHP Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Monday with right elbow inflammation.
• Tuesday: Recalled RHP Alek Jacob from Triple-A El Paso.
• Thursday: Activated IF Sung-Mun Song from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A El Paso.
• Friday: Activated RHP Matt Waldron from the 15-day injured list (hemorrhoid surgery).
• Friday: Optioned RHP Alek Jacob to Triple-A El Paso.

Website Highlights

• Padres' sale reaching final steps for record $3.9 billion — Brandon Glick
• Feliciano ushers in LinkedIn-ification of the Padres — Brendan Dentino
• Who is to blame for Musgrove's setback, Padres, pitcher or no one? — Steve Drumwright
• Waldron can't replace Pivetta, but he can save his Padres career — Randy Holt
• Cronenworth might be playing his way onto Padres' bench — Andy Johnson
• Sheets' grip on Padres' first base job is loosening — Randy Holt

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: Padres (Randy Vasquez) at Rockies, 5:40 p.m.
• Wednesday: Padres (Walker Buehler) at Rockies, 5:40 p.m.
• Thursday: Padres (Matt Waldron) at Rockies, 12:10 p.m.
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Padres (German Marquez) at Diamondbacks (Mexico City), 3:05 p.m.
• Sunday: Padres (Michael King) at Diamondbacks (Mexico City), 1:05 p.m.