PHOENIX — You understand the nervous hand-wringing and unease among Padres fans when the recent math reaffirms their growing concerns.
First-half closer Robert Suarez was an All-Star. The right arm the team has leaned on so often in the ninth inning also owns a bloated earned-run average of 9.00 since Sept. 5.
Call it Bryce Harper scar tissue.
Rewind to Game 5 of the 2022 NLCS, when the Phillies’ slugger re-directed a 98-mph sinker from Suarez for a two-run homer that capped a comeback and ended a series.
They see the ruination of it all, two seasons removed. The elite starting rotation. The deepened offensive lineup. The savvy trades. The clutch comebacks. The blistering second-half surge.
One pitch, one moment, could torpedo it all.
Can the Padres’ universe trust this Suarez, the one who suddenly seems hittable in ways no one saw coming? Should they be open to former Marlins closer and left-hander Tanner Scott getting the ball in the ninth more?
What about mixing and matching the pair, when the sides of the plate align? Can Jason Adam shake things up? Jeremiah Estrada? This is think and re-think time in a season as special as the one the Padres have assembled in 2024.
And it should be.
The Padres remained mostly on script Friday, though, as Suarez walked on in the ninth inning of a 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field for his 36th save that sealed hosting a Wild Card series.
Those making the decisions insist they’re more open to things than most realize.
“We’ve told all those guys, ‘Be ready in the seventh, eighth or ninth,’ ” Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla said. “Not, ‘Be ready in the eighth’ or ‘Be ready in the ninth.’ The beauty of it is, they’re all willing to do it.”
Mostly, though, the ball has been handed to Suarez.
His save total is fourth in baseball, both a reflection of his early success and the team building a 90-plus-win season. He also lingers just outside the top 10 in blown saves.
What’s changed?
In the mind of Suarez, it’s the dusty real-estate axiom … location, location, location.
“I feel good,” Suarez said through interpreter Danny Sanchez. “I’ve been in a few different situations compared to before the All-Star Game. But outside of that, I feel good.
“It’s a location thing. That’s one of the main reasons why opposing hitters have had more off me. It’s just been location.”
Niebla said the topic of role flexibility was discussed in a meeting with pitchers Friday.
“The competition of a pitcher with a hitter, it doesn’t change, whether it’s the beginning of the season, the ninth inning or whenever,” he said. “The moment is what you make it to be. If you put yourself in the (mental space) where my job is to get this guy out or to make this pitch, it doesn’t matter what inning you’re in.”
The coach nodded at the analogy of hitters adjusting to a starting pitcher after a few laps through the lineup.
“They’re following the trend of what Suarez did most of the year,” Niebla said. “And the trend was a good one because he was very successful with it. Now he’s in that third-time-through-the-lineup mode.
“So some of the attack he’s had with his three-pitch mix, that mix is what he has to continue to do.”
Broaden the lens beyond Suarez and the Padres maintain they’re receptive to swapping spots when it makes sense, without too much concern for potential disruptions and rhythms.
Scott has recorded four saves with the Padres, Adam had four with the Rays before the trade deadline and Estrada has recorded one.
“We’ve been open to it,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “The ‘lanes’ just haven’t worked out. We’re open, in a right-handed lane in the eighth, having Suarez pitch it. We haven’t had that opportunity.
“It’s worked out where the left-handed lanes have been in the eighth and the righties have been in the ninth.”
Suarez mentioned he operated in a set-up capacity while playing alongside one-time Padres closer Josh Hader.
“I’ve done it before,” he said. “It’s not really anything new to me.”
Scott, who closed for the Marlins and has settled into more eighth-inning assignments in San Diego, echoed the sentiment in reverse.
“We’re just trying to beat teams and see how far we can take this thing,” Scott said when asked about the comfort levels of late-inning guys. “Everyone’s ready when the phone rings and you just go for it. Whenever they want to put me in, I just roll with it.”
As the playoffs loom, the real test of the Padres’ open-mindedness begins.
This isn’t an all-or-nothing situation. Suarez should not exclusively be handed the ball in the ninth, especially after a recent run that begs serious and legitimate questions.
Someone who can touch 100 mph should not vanish from those spots when right-handed hitters flood an inning, either.
Time for nimbleness to start warming up in the bullpen.
