Kyle Hart reed the clubhouse on Tuesday but was expecting to watch Game 2 against the Marlins from home as he awaited activation for Wednesday’s start (1:10 p.m. on Padres.TV).
It’s an enviable position to watch two different starting pitchers attack a lineup, but the 32-year-old left-hander had already done his homework ahead of his return to the big-league rotation.
Really, much of Hart’s time at Triple-A El Paso was spent attacking his deficiencies against right-handed hitters, who were hitting .333/.386/.698 against him in the majors compared to a .100/.100/.100 line in 20 plate appearances against lefties.
“I’ve already kind of gone over most of it, to be honest,” Hart said Tuesday afternoon. “Got a good athletic team. Probably going to see six, if not seven, right-handed hitters, so going to kind of be thrown into the fire right away in of adjusting and making good pitches to the righties.”
Hart had a 6.00 ERA in five big-league starts before he was sent to Triple-A El Paso. There, he posted a 2.29 ERA over 19⅔ innings despite walking (15) nearly as many as he struck out.
“I actually think I was getting a bit lucky, results wise,” Hart said. “Like wasn’t pitching up to my standards, but I was executing the plan in of what I went down there to work on. So that’s what mattered to me, and that’s kind of what I’m going to bring back up.”
Asked what he worked on, Hart said: “Just some usage decisions, where and when to throw certain pitches, without getting too specific, but that’s kind of what it was, more of a usage thing and making good decisions, specifically to right-handed hitters.”
It will be six right-handed hitters, to be exact:
Series finale in San Diego on deck.
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⏰: 4:10 PM ET #MarlinsBeisbol https://t.co/1LawDwmWqH pic.twitter.com/HDuSc9foDx— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 28, 2025
Hart (2-2, 6.00 ERA) is making his first start in the majors since April 23 as he’s returning to give right-hander Nick Pivetta two extra days off before his next start on Friday. Hart struck out 16 against six walks in 21 innings with the Padres.
To make room for Hart on the active roster, left-hander Omar Cruz was optioned back to Triple-A El Paso. The 26-year-old rookie was warming at the end of a rough first inning by right-hander Stephen Kolek on Tuesday, but Cruz was not needed and did not pitch in a game after ing the Padres over the weekend in Atlanta.
Cruz has allowed two runs in 3⅔ innings so far in the majors this year and has a 3.20 ERA in 19⅔ innings in the Pacific Coast League.
Tuesday’s come-from-behind win kept the Padres (31-22) within two games of the Dodgers in the NL West.
Fernando Tatis Jr. will get a half-day off his feet, serving as the DH for just the second time this season and the first time since April 23. Tatis is coming off his first multi-hit effort since May 10 in Colorado, the start of a 14-game stretch that saw him hit .158/.213/.351. The home run on Tuesday was his first since May 18.
A half-day off for Tatis will push Tyler Wade into his first start of the season in right field and the ninth start in his career in that corner of the outfield.
Gavin Sheets will man left field for the fifth time this season and the third time in the last four days.
Afternoon baseball is up next. pic.twitter.com/qbdriyaYW8
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 28, 2025
Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 8.04 ERA), the 2022 NL Cy Young winner, has an MLB-worst 42 earned runs allowed since returning this season from Tommy John surgery. Lefties (.854 OPS) have been especially tough on Alcantara, who has been especially bad on the road so far this season (12.64 ERA). Alcantara has a 2.84 ERA in five career starts against the Padres but he had a 5.54 ERA in two starts against them in 2023—after he’d won the Cy Young the previous season.
Here is how Alcantara has fared against current Padres:
