Good morning from Pittsburgh,
The Padres stayed hot on a night in which there was more delay than game.
“Every win is important for us right now,” Donovan Solano said. “Everybody here wanted to play tonight. No matter what time we (went) to compete, we were going to try to get a win.”
Solano’s four RBIs and the eight scoreless innings turned in by five relievers lifted the Padres to a 6-0 victory over the Pirates.
The official length of the game was two hours, 37 minutes. That was 17 minutes for the first 1½ innings and 2:20 for the final 7½ innings wrapped around a 2:40 delay in between.
You can read in my game story (here) about the the decisions that went into when to start and resume the game and how the Padres achieved their victory.
Last night was the latest example of how players have bought into what Mike Shildt is selling.
The Padres manager repeatedly uses the term “elite adjusters” and the phrase “Winners find solutions.”
That is what last night was.
I wrote a story (here) coming out of the All-Star break about how the Padres believed they would do better in the second half in large part because they believe in Shildt’s teaching and have responded to his confidence in them.
Referenced in that story was Shildt’s .594 winning percentage after the All-Star break while managing the Cardinals.
The Padres are 12-3 since the break.
Ceased early
Dylan Cease was frustrated.
“It seems like we shouldn’t have even really started the game if we knew that something like that was coming,” he said of the storm that contributed to his night ending early. “But it’s above my pay grade.”
Cease, the major league leader in strikeouts and reigning National League Pitcher of the Month after posting a 1.04 ERA in his previous five starts, was finished after one inning last night.
Turning his attention forward, however, he saw the positive.
“It’s kind of like I got extra rest today,” he said.
Coming in his 24th start, with him having thrown 137⅔ innings, seventh most in the major leagues even after the truncated outing, it might do him good. He likely has time to make nine more starts.
“It’s not going to hurt,” Cease said. “I would have preferred to go deep in the game. But in the long run it will be fine.”
While Shildt said it was not set when Cease will make his next start, Cease anticipates taking his regular turn Sunday in Miami.
Joe ready to go
The Padres planned to have Joe Musgrove start one of their three games in Miami this weekend, which I wrote about (here) in yesterday’s pregame notebook.
They still might have him do so. But last night’s events could push that start to next week.
Musgrove will be limited to around 55 or 60 pitches in his first big-league start since May 26, which means the bullpen will likely have to cover at least five innings. It seemed plausible the Padres would start him Sunday, between Matt Waldron and Cease, who both have consistently gone at least six innings in their starts.
Pushing Musgrove to Monday would put him between Cease and King, who has generally also gone beyond five innings.
“We trust Joe,” Shildt said. “We don’t know what the bullpen will look like that particular day when he does start, but we will have Joe Musgrove back on the mound and be ready to go.”
The Padres expect Musgrove to be built up to 75 pitches/five innings by the time he makes his second start. That will come during a stretch of 18 games in 18 days, which could compel the Padres to use six starters for a time.
The other big guys
The Padres believe right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. will return this season, and they still hold out hope starting pitcher Yu Darvish will be back as well.
Imaging showed continued healing in Tatis’ right femur, but there remains no firm timetable for his return. Tatis, who has been out since last June, is hitting in the cage, playing catch and doing light running.
One source indicated recently that a September return is likely. The stress reaction in Tatis’ leg, a second source said, is not going to be fully healed when he returns. Similar to how second baseman Xander Bogaerts’ fractured left shoulder was not entirely healed when he came back last month, the decision on when Tatis returns will be determined by how he feels and the level of healing.
Darvish is on the restricted list as he tends to a personal matter involving his family. While the Padres have steadfastly protected Darvish’s privacy, one source said “there is a scenario” in which he returns this season.
Coming through, again
Solano was 4-for-5 last night and is batting .377 over his past 22 games.
“He’s clearly earning his keep,” Shildt said.
What is funny about that is the fact Solano, who had season highs in hits and RBIs last night, has started just six of the 18 games since Bogaerts returned.
In that span, he is 12-for-24.
“I just try every time I go to the plate to do well, try to help the team win,” said Solano, who has acknowledged it is difficult to sit so much. “And God blesses me every time I go to the plate.”
What a relief
After his bullpen had worked so hard, Shildt was not going to risk the game slipping away. So he was planning to go with Robert Suarez to protect a four-run lead in the ninth inning — even against the light-hitting Pirates.
It is something Shildt has done with his closer more than all but one other manager this season. Last night would have been Suarez’s ninth time entering a game in the ninth inning with the Padres up by at least four runs, second only to Oakland’s Mason Miller (10). But the Padres scoring twice in the top of the ninth inning allowed Shildt to pivot to Jeremiah Estrada.
“I was pleased about it,” Shildt said of being able to save Suarez. “… You go,’OK, 4-0, non-save (situation).’ But now it’s even a little bit bigger. We obviously trust Jeremiah, but we get a couple guys on and now we’ve got to use Suarez. Now we’ve used another guy that we prefer not to, relative to what happened earlier in the game.”
Tidbits
- With its eight scoreless innings, the Padres bullpen lowered its ERA over its past 13 games to 2.05 (12 earned runs in 52⅔ innings). That is lowest in the major leagues in a span that began July 20. Padres relievers’ collective ERA in the eight games before this stretch was an MLB-high 8.88 (24 ER in 24⅓ innings).
- The Padres’ four-run fifth inning was their 40th inning scoring at least that many runs. That is fifth most in a season in franchise history.
- Manny Machado grounded into his 21st and 22nd double plays, extending his MLB lead to five over Luis Arraez.
- Solano is batting .307 (35-for-114) with two strikes, the highest average in the majors among players with more than 21 at-bats that have gone to two strikes.
- Also in yesterday’s notebook was an explanation of why Tyler Wade was starting at shortstop for Ha-Seong Kim. Wade ended up driving in the game’s first run and finishing 2-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base.
- Luis Campusano was 2-for-4 last night and is batting .391 (9-for-23) over his past seven games. His .259 batting average is the highest it has been since he was hitting .261 on May 27.
- The Padres’ two catchers (Kyle Higashioka and Campusano) are batting .265 with an .886 OPS since June 11. That is the span in which Higashioka has been the Padres’ primary catcher, starting 27 of 44 games.
- Jurickson Profar was 2-for-4 last night and has multiple hits in eight of the past 16 games. His .302 batting average is third in the National League, and his .395 on-base percentage leads the NL.
- I wrote Monday (here) about the reasoning behind a relatively small increase in the price of Padres season tickets for 2025.
- Jeff Sanders wrote Monday (here) about today’s starting pitcher, King, and what the Padres are monitoring as he pitches well beyond the number of innings he had previously in the major leagues.
All right, that’s it for me.
Talk to you tomorrow.
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