Padres Say Enough Is Enough

A lot of the news is bad. The Padres played to a 2-5 record over the past seven days and currently stand at 40-35. They are in third place in the NL West, six games behind the Dodgers and 1.5 games behind the Giants.

Their last seven games versus division rivals didn’t go very well. Although the offense has improved over the last week, the pitching had some significant glitches and the offense couldn’t answer back in key situations.

Pitching struggles

Starter Dylan Cease continues his inconsistent season with another start that contained a bad inning and he allowed 6 ER in 5 IP. Rookie Ryan Bergert had two starts for a total of 9.2 IP and allowed only 3 ER. Nick Pivetta pitched seven innings in his start and allowed two earned runs while Stephen Kolek pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 3 ER in his start.

Unfortunately, the bullpen has had its issues. Closer Robert Suarez threw 0.1 innings in each of three games (1 IP total) and allowed 7 ER in that span. Jeremiah Estrada is having his first significant command problems this season and it has resulted in allowing 5 ER in 2 IP over three games for the week. The bullpen has a 7.13 ERA over the week, the second worst in baseball. Rookie David Morgan has quietly excelled with 4 IP and no runs allowed.

Offensive improvement

While Manny Machado has cooled off (.208 and a .661 OPS with a HR and 6 RBI), others have started to get back to who they are supposed to be. Entering Friday, Fernando Tatis Jr. has a .333 average and a .821 OPS for the past seven games with three RBI. DH/LF Gavin Sheets has a .429 average and a 1.167 OPS with a HR and 4 RBI. Luis Arraez is beginning to get back to form with a double and a triple in his 10 hits to average .357 with a .821 OPS. Jake Cronenworth has battled back to a .333 average and .946 OPS with 4 RBI for the week.

All told, the offense has a .275 average (7th in MLB) and a .776 OPS (11th in MLB) for the week.

Rivalry blows up

The Padres and Dodgers played four games in LA to end the week and the fireworks throughout the series lead to a confrontation on Thursday night. There were eight hit by pitches combined for the four games, with multiple ejections and a manager confrontation on the field in the top of the ninth.

Tatis Jr. gets a lot of pitches up and in during his at-bats. It is consistent through the league that he gets pitched that way. But the Dodgers continue to hit him and in the last 17 games between them he has been hit five times—three times in the last six games. The last hit was in a vulnerable spot for any player, the back of the hand and close to the wrist. His initial x-ray was clean but will be followed up with an MRI when the swelling is improved.

Tatis Jr. was in the lineup for the series opener vs. Kansas City.

Whether any of the HBP were intentional or not, that is too much for any player to be hit and more care has to be taken to protect the careers of players. In their on-field confrontation, the video shows Padres manager Mike Shildt walking out to check on Tatis as he lay on the ground while shouting at the Dodger dugout. Dodger manager Dave Roberts charges out shouting in return. When he reached Shildt he reached out and shoved him then backed up, as if to avoid any retaliation. Both managers were ejected and warnings were issued. A side note is that the Dodger fans could be heard cheering when Tatis was hit and went down.

A rivalry is a good thing for baseball. It’s a good thing for the teams and the fans involved. But injuring opposing players, intentional or not, has to be avoided. Dave Roberts was suspended one game, Mike Shildt one game and Robert Suarez three (but he’s appealing). Shildt served his suspension tonight.

Another side note, both Ohtani and Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez showed class and cool headedness during this incident. Both talking with Padres players and Shildt, defusing the heightened emotion and calming the environment. It’s unfortunate their manager and some of their teammates don’t have their maturity.

Manny’s milestone

Manny Machado sits at 1989 hits for his career. He is 11 hits from the 2000 mark and will be only the 12th player in baseball history to reach 350 home runs and 2000 hits before his 33rd birthday if he achieves it before July 6. That will almost certainly put him on a Hall of Fame track.

Injury and Roster Updates

Jackson Merrill went on the concussion protocol on June 15 after being tagged on the helmet while sliding into a base. He has been cleared for on-field work and is eligible to return June 22, if he is ready.

Trenton Brooks was brought up from El Paso to replace Merrill. He can play first base and has worked in the outfield as well.

DH Luis Campusano was sent down to Triple-A and OF Bryce Johnson was called up. Campusano, on his third stint with the Padres, was 0-for-18 with 6 walks and 9 K’s total.

Starter Yu Darvish was transferred to the 60-day IL in order to add Bryce Johnson to the roster. It is retroactive to when he went on the IL on March 24. Darvish is progressing in his work to come back to the team. He has thrown multiple bullpens and has thrown to hitters in a simulated inning. He repeats that June 21 with the plan to throw more pitches.

Manager Mike Shildt told the media in his presser on June 18 that the team does not expect Michael King to be back until after the All-Star break.

OF Jason Heyward continues his rehab with El Paso. He has been the DH in four games and played left field in one game. Entering tonight, he was 2-for-21 with a single and a double (.095/.174/.143 slash line).

Starter Matt Waldron has completed his rehab and is stretched out in El Paso ready to go when needed. He has a 3.66 ERA in 19.2 IP with 20 K and 7 BB.