Padres played some clear, clean, interesting baseballs on their first road trip of the season.
Tuesday night was not one of those games.
The brothers would like to forget how quickly they lost 8-4 to the pirates. Blake Snell played in the second shortest start of his career, leading the pitch to 38 in the first half. Wil Myers came out in the fourth half with a swollen right knee. Padres blocked 15 incomprehensible runners and also made a couple of mistakes.
But while the game was sloppy – and sometimes downright ugly – it presented its share of remarkable developments for the Padres. Here are some short commercials:
1) Snell must return quickly
His next start is what he was expecting – a rematch with the Dodgers on Sunday after his quick hook in Game 6 of the World Series last year. Snell has been largely sharp since arriving in San Diego, but has not been as effective as he would have liked. The beginning of Tuesday took this to the extreme. It lasted only two thirds of a half, the shortest outing since June 2019.
“There’s no reason for me to have the exit I had,” Snell said. “I have to learn from this, from the mistakes I made.”
Snell constantly woke up in two strikes, but failed to drive out the hitters. Later, he was visibly irritated to be removed so early, but later said he understood the logic – being a long season and all. Regarding this start against the Dodgers:
“I can’t wait,” he said.
2) The fathers miss Austin Nola
Victor Caratini has done an outstanding job as a top scorer for the team. But rookie Luis Campusano shows just as much of the raw defensive product you would expect from a 22-year-old who is just starting his 146th professional game behind the board, including minor leagues.
“He’s going to make mistakes,” Tingler said before the game. “It’s good. We understand that now it won’t be the best version of it. It could be in three, four, five years. But we want to make sure it keeps growing.”
The best place for this growth for Campusano could be the regular representatives at Minori. As for Nola, who is due back later this month, Tingler said: “It’s just a matter of keeping the inflation down and getting [him] very clear “.
3) Ryan Weathers has not released – which is noteworthy
If a game ever claimed Weathers as the long man in the Padres bullpen, it was him. Unless, of course, Weathers is no longer the long man in the San Diego bullpen.
Remember, there is a vacancy in the Padres rotation for Friday’s opening against the Dodgers. Weathers already seemed the most likely candidate to fill the gap. Tuesday night’s decision-making process could have provided the biggest clue in this direction.
4) Nabil Crismatt saved the bullpen
Snell’s output marked the second time in three games when a starter from Padres failed to get through the first half. This did not bode well for a besieged San Diego pen – until Crismatt intervened with five innings and 85 pitches, both career highs.
“If he’s not able to do that, our bullpen is really in a bad state,” Tingler said. “But we should be in decent shape tomorrow, just because of the way it has intensified.”
However, don’t be surprised if Padres calls for reinforcements soon, with right-hander Pierce Johnson approaching a comeback.
5) It’s a bad time for an injury
Not that it would ever be a good time. But the parents are in the early stages of a 17-game stretch in 17 days, and their depth will be tested if Myers loses extra time.
Myers is day in and day out, according to Tingler, and Jorge Mateo replaced him in the field on Tuesday night. Usually, Jurickson Profar would have slipped on the right field in Myers’ absence. But Profar was forced to enter the additional field service with Fernando Tatis Jr. on IL.
6) Are there fireworks in front?
Tuesday’s game featured seven hits – just the ninth time both teams have dropped three hits. Most of these were clearly unintentional. The pirate players were irregular all night, going 13 Padre – a San Diego record for a nine-inning game.
But a BPH stood out. Halfway through the second half after Mateo was caught on the wrist for the second time, Padres’ right-hander Taylor Williams punched Phillip Evans in the back with a quick ball with two outs and no one on board.
“Personally, I was not surprised,” pirate catcher Jacob Stallings said, although he added that he did not expect Tuesday’s proceedings to be resumed.
Good by parents. They wouldn’t mind forgetting Tuesday night as soon as possible.