The San Diego Padres have shown a resurgence lately. After enduring consecutive series losses to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers, the Friars swiftly clinched a series victory against the Atlanta Braves. However, each win was hard-fought, despite the series being decided in just two games.
San Diego secured a narrow 1-0 victory in the opener, thanks to a solo homer from Manny Machado and seven scoreless innings from Michael King. Last night, the team rallied from a four-run deficit in the second inning to emerge victorious with a 7-6 win in extra innings.
Advertisement
The Padres have visibly regained their competitive spirit after a rough patch over the past few weeks. To maintain this momentum, they need to aim for a sweep against Atlanta tonight before facing their rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers in their next series.
Taking the mound
Martín Pérez (ATL) vs. JP Sears (SD)
The former Padre was recently signed by the Braves on a minor league contract and was called up following injuries to their rotation. Pérez has excelled with Atlanta, holding a career-best 2.78 ERA over 68 innings.
However, Pérez has experienced some recent struggles. Although he maintains a solid 3.27 ERA over his last seven starts, he hasn’t displayed the same level of dominance as earlier in the season.
Advertisement
Conversely, Sears has struggled to establish a rhythm at the major league level. The lefty was called up from Triple-A following the injury to starter Lucas Giolito, who is on the 15-day IL due to right elbow inflammation.
Sears hasn’t put up impressive numbers in the minors this season (7.92 ERA, 63.2 IP), but it’s crucial to note that the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate competes in the Pacific Coast League, known for its hitter-friendly conditions. This has likely impacted Sears’ performance, leaving uncertainty about how he’ll perform against Atlanta.
Batter up!
After recent offensive struggles, the team has finally found its scoring touch, amassing 30 runs in their last six games. Their approach at the plate is notably more vibrant and effective.
Advertisement
Fermin was activated yesterday after completing concussion protocol. Blake Hunt was sent back down to Triple-A as a corresponding move and is likely to start in order to give Rodolfo Durán a day off.
Key players like Machado, Merrill, and Tatis are finally hitting well again. Their performance underscores that the Padres’ success will largely depend on this trio.
Relief corps
Starter Griffin Canning acted as an opener for Wandy Peralta in Tuesday night’s game. Peralta delivered a strong first inning, but unfortunately, Canning could only manage 2/3 of an inning before being replaced, allowing four runs to the Braves.
Advertisement
Consequently, it turned into an unexpected bullpen game. Thanks to King’s strong performance on Monday, the bullpen was up for the challenge. Kyle Hart and Yuki Matsui each pitched over two innings. David Morgan and Adrian Morejon contributed solid performances in the seventh and eighth innings. Mason Miller followed suit with two hitless innings, setting the stage for San Diego to secure a walk-off victory.
The downside is that this has now placed immense pressure on Sears today. The bullpen is fatigued, with only Jason Adam and Ron Marinaccio readily available. While Morejon and Morgan could lend a hand (each threw fewer than 15 pitches on Tuesday), the more probable scenario is that Marinaccio will need to cover multiple innings for the Friars.
