Good morning from San Francisco,
It is tempting to contend that the Padres’ offense is not doing what it’s supposed to except when it has to.
Jake Cronenworth actually came close to saying that last night after another game in which the Padres did just enough to win.
And as perilous as this offense malaise seems, winning is sort of the end all.
The Padres are doing that again.
Last night was their seventh victory in nine games and they are back to 11 games over .500 for the first time since May 16.
You can read in my game story (here) how the Padres failed to score in three different innings when they had prime opportunities to do so, how Manny Machado tied the game with a two-run single in the ninth inning and Cronenworth drove in the winning run with a single in the 10th and how four pitchers made the comeback victory possible.
As noted in the game story, last night was the fifth time in the past nine games the Padres have come back to win after trailing by multiple runs.
That is as impressive as it is scary.
They were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position last night. Both hits were obviously at the end and obviously monumental.
And here’s the thing in a game that involves so much failure: The difference often lies in how many chance you get.
The Padres are 13-0 when they have at least 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
When a team is batting .210 (lowest in the major leagues) over its past 17 games might seem like an odd time to talk about the number of quality hitters in their lineup.
But the fact is sometimes length in the lineup is going to mean everyone gets big hits and sometimes it is going to mean someone gets a big hit.
“For sure,” Machado said, agreeing with something I said for maybe the third time in seven years.
While the Padres were unable to do much with their opportunities for most of the game, last night was a positive sign for an offense that has for much of the past three weeks been about as dangerous as a cardboard box.
Yes, they were shut out by Landen Roupp over 6⅓ innings, the 11th time in the past 16 games a pitcher has had a quality start against them. But this was the third time in Roupp’s past four starts that he has worked at least six scoreless innings. And Monday night, when Logan Webb threw eight scoreless innings, it was his fifth time this season going at least seven innings while not allowing more than one run. The Padres have been facing some good pitchers.
“These guys pitched really well these last two days,” Cronenworth said. “It’s cooler out, ton of wind. I feel like whenever the at-bats matter the most, they’ve been the best.”
That was more true Monday than last night, though the sentiment still seemed valid.
The Padres gave themselves chances last night. They just didn’t capitalize for a while.
They got 10 hits and walked six times. They had at least one runner on base in nine of 10 innings. They put two runners on in six of the final seven innings. Four of the first seven balls they put in play against Roupp had an exit velocity of 98 mph or higher, but all three were caught by Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee. Jackson Merrill hit one of those balls, singled in the eighth inning and struck out on the 10th pitch of his at-bat in the fourth.
“The thing I liked about tonight, there was a lot of consistent quality at-bats,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “And when you face tough pitching, you get in close games, there’s no guarantee, but the more quality at-bats you can string together, the better chances you have. And then somebody like Jake pops up and gets that proverbial big hit.”
And Machado, who has noticeably pressed at times recently, was perfect last night, walking his first time up and hitting a single in his next four at-bats.
His last one was a beauty.
He came up after Brandon Lockridge’s infield single with one out and two-out walks by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez loaded the bases. And after taking a slider in the dirt and swinging at one below the zone, Machado reached down just below the zone to top-spin another slider onto the grass in shallow left field.
HE'S THE MAN. pic.twitter.com/4nZnqN2Ap8
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 4, 2025
“Not trying to do too much,” Machado said. “A.J. (Preller) tells me all the time he doesn’t like when they start cheering my name, because then I’m trying to get too big and try to do too much. But just not trying to do too much. Know the situation, (what) the game calls for. That situation — bases loaded, fast runner on second base — I don’t got to hit a gap. (A single) gets the job done. So trying to be short and just trying to get something to the outfield or through the infield. Just try to keep it simple.”
I wrote the other day (here) about how the Padres have at times pressed beyond what the game calls for lately. It happens. But they seem to be trending back toward the team that moved the line so well and so often the first 6½ weeks of the season.
The Padres are averaging 2.9 runs over their past 17 games, second fewest in MLB (ahead of only the Giants’ 2.41). Five of their 50 runs in that stretch have been scored by the automatic runner placed on base in extra innings.
And while there have been promising signs from different spots recently, they are going to continue to struggle to be all they can be as long as the first two hitters in their lineup are struggling.
“It’s gonna take everyone,” Machado said. “Even that ninth inning, I mean, those were hell of at-bats by everybody. You know, we made that guy throw some pitches and we put him in that situation to put ourselves in a good situation. That’s when we’re at our best. Obviously, it’s hard to do it every day and grind every day. But this group here is determined to do it. And, you know, once we get it going, it’s going to click and it’s going to be hard to stop us.”
Yeah. OK. Maybe last night unlocked something.
Clutch on the bump
On a night Jason Adam and Robert Suarez were not available and Adrián Morejón might have been in, say, the 16th inning, the Padres’ pitching provided a positive slant even before the comeback.
Ryan Bergert allowed two runs (both on Heliot Ramos’ homer) in five innings in his first major league start.
Sean Reynolds continued to push the boundaries of what can be expected of him with three scoreless innings.
Yuki Matsui breezed through a 1-2-3 ninth inning in five pitches.
Jeremiah Estrada worked in extra innings for the third time — and this time stranded the automatic runner on a sacrifice bunt and two groundouts after taking the loss in the first two games.
Come to think of it, I could have just let Reynolds sum up the night.
“It’s the job of the bullpen,” said Reynolds, who has turned in six scoreless innings over his past three appearances. “Wherever the game is at, we’re supposed to come in and put up zeros and give our offense a chance to make something happen late in the game. … So, fantastic team win. I mean, literally, everybody had a hand in it tonight. Bergert coming up. I think that was his first big league start, right? Going five, two runs, keeping us right in it, really just one swing. Pitched a fantastic game. I was able to keep it right there. Yuki coming in the bottom of the ninth, massive, nice, easy, get us back in the dugout with the momentum. And then Jeremiah. Third time’s a charm. … Didn’t go his way the first couple times. For him to dig deep right there and close out that win, especially with the guy starting on second — you know, it’s pretty much a free run. So that was huge.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on is keeping our team in the game. If we have the lead, keeping the lead. And if we don’t, then keeping it right where it’s at and then make something special happen.”
What’s next?
The past month has been a nearly constant cycle of protecting slim leads or chasing victories and then letting the higher-leverage relievers rest a day or two.
The close games — 10 of the past 12 have been decided by one or two runs — have put a lot of stress on a bullpen that has worked 14 of the past 15 days.
Reynolds will be down at least the next two days. The Padres’ four highest-leverage relievers have all worked two of the past three days. Adam, Estrada and Suarez have worked three of the past five. Wandy Peralta might be unavailable tonight after throwing 35 pitches Monday and 14 Sunday.
Whether Bergert gets another start might depend on how the next couple days go in of usage and whether the Padres need a fresh arm to cover innings before his turn comes up again Sunday.
But the 25-year-old right-hander probably earned a spot as the rotation’s fill-in while Michael King is sidelined for an indeterminate time with a pinched nerve in his shoulder area.
Bergert, whose five innings and 83 pitches were more than he had thrown since April, at least made a positive second impression.
“He was fantastic,” Shildt said. “Got stretched a little bit, not too much. But got through five, and that was huge. Outside the pitch to Ramos, clearly pitched very, very well.”
While Tuesday was his first big-league start, Bergert spent two weeks working out of the Padres’ bullpen from late April to early May. In that stint, his first in the major leagues, Bergert allowed one hit over four scoreless appearances of an inning apiece. He threw strikes at a 61% rate and did not walk a batter.
He then went back to being a starter at Triple-A before being called up to start for the Padres last night.
The sixth-round pick in 2021 retired the Giants in order in the first before getting in trouble by issuing the first two walks of his career to start the second.
His first walk was not drawn easily, as Matt Chapman fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before taking the eighth pitch he saw from Bergert outside. His second walk was simply a matter of Bergert yanking four pitches badly outside to the right-handed-hitting Willy Adames.
After a visit from pitching coach Ruben Niebla, Bergert escaped the inning in six pitches — getting a double-play grounder and a ground out, both hit to shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
In the third, Patrick Bailey’s leadoff double was followed by a strikeout of Casey Schmitt before Ramos drove a 1-2 slider at the knees and in the center of the plate 421 feet to straightaway center field to put the Giants up 2-0.
Bergert allowed a two-out single in a nine-pitch fourth inning and finished the fifth in 14 pitches after yielding a lead-off single.
“I think it was good overall,” Bergert said. “The name of the game up here is winning games. I was happy to be a part of it.”
Darvish’s big step
Tuesday seemed like a significant step forward for Yu Darvish, as he threw 19 pitches in an afternoon bullpen session at Oracle Park, reached 90 mph with his fastball and threw three different kinds of breaking pitches.
“Getting better every day,” he said afterward.
That he went as hard as he did in his second bullpen session and plans to do another one Friday is considered highly encouraging.
Darvish has not pitched this season after being shut down in mid-March with elbow inflammation.
Following a rehab start in Triple-A on May 14, which the Padres thought might be the only one he would need before returning to pitch for them, Darvish essentially sidelined himself again.
He experienced what was termed “tightness” in his elbow and was not comfortable returning. He did not want to put the Padres at risk when he was not sure he could do what it took to pitch in a major league game and recover to make consecutive starts.
I wrote the other day (here) about the search for a “new routine” as he goes forward, essentially learning how to be able to pitch effectively as he approaches 39.
There remains no definitive timeline for the right-hander’s return to a major league mound, but he is progressing without discomfort in his throwing elbow.
The fact he is pain free while continuing to increase the intensity and volume of his pitches is the best sign yet he is nearing a return.
“We can have our timeline and need to have them, but Darvish is an experienced guy and he’s going to create his own timeline with us,” Shildt said yesterday. “The good news is it’s more about the progression than the recovery. The more that happens, the more definitive timeline we will have.”
Leaving a mark
Long after last night’s game, Cronenworth’s left forearm was wrapped in ice on the spot where he was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning.
“That one hurt,” Cronenworth said of the 97 mph sinker from Erik Miller..
It wasn’t quite as painful as the 93 mph fastball that fractured a rib on April 6 and caused him to miss 24 games.
And, hey, sometimes you have to pay a price if you want to be the best.
It was the third time Cronenworth has been hit this season and the 52nd time he has been hit in his career, extending his team record to a point where he probably won’t ever be caught.
“I’ve always said I’m going to leave here with something,” he said. “Gotta have some all-time record.”
it
A run prevented by good defense has figured big the past two nights.
(Actually, in Monday’s 1-0 victory, Jose Iglesias prevented at least two runs from scoring.)
Last night, it was a well-executed relay in the third inning that kept the Padres from being down 3-0.
After getting the second out, Bergert surrendered a single to Wilmer Flores before Chapman lined a double to the corner in left field that Tyler Wade ran 91 feet to grab. Wade threw to Machado, who was just beyond the infield dirt when he got the ball and fired an 88 mph throw on one hop directly to catcher Martín Maldonado’s glove in front of the plate to get Flores.
Wade to Manny to Maldonado to get Wilmer Flores at the plate! pic.twitter.com/g6FgsdY4aE
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 4, 2025
Tidbits
- Last night was Machado’s first four-hit game of the season and the 12th time in his career he has reached base five times. That is tied with Juan Soto, Mike Trout and three others for eighth most since 2014 (the first time Machado achieved the feat).
- Tatis was 1-for-3 with two walks last night. It was the first time in 18 games and just the second time in 29 games that he reached base three times. He did so five times in his first 29 games this season.
- Tatis stole his 11th base, tied with Xander Bogaerts for the team lead.
- Bogaerts got his 14th infield hit last night. That is tied for most in the major leagues.
- Lockridge entered last night’s game in the bottom of the seventh inning to play left field. He ended up batting twice and having the first multi-hit game of his career.
- Last night was the 13th time catcher Elias Díaz has pinch-hit for Maldonado this season. It was the 12th time Díaz has made an out when doing so. Diaz is batting .213 (27-for-127). Maldonado’s .169 (13-for-77) batting average is second-lowest among the 42 catchers with at least 69 at-bats.
- Last night was just the second time in 21 games the Padres reached double digits in hits. That is something they did an MLB-high 20 times in the first 38 games.
- The Padres are 21-10 in one-run games, the most victories and the second-best winning percentage (.677) in the major leagues behind the Guardians (18-8, .692).
- The Padres have won three straight extra-inning games after losing in their first three tries this season.
All right, that’s it for me.
Talk to you tomorrow.
