Say what you will about the series finale on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the San Diego Padres showed some offensive fight. Despite not getting a hit until the sixth inning off of Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, the Padres managed to put up two runs in the seventh on a Manny Machado homer to make it a one-run game.
Unfortunately the bullpen (combined with Freddy Fermin’s poor defense) resulted in a three-run seventh inning for Philadelphia that pushed the score to 6-2. The Padres were close to a comeback in the ninth, with a Jackson Merrill homer making the score 6-4, Philly. But Phillies reliever José Alvarado recorded the final three outs.
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It’s been a majorly disappointing stretch for the Friars the last few weeks. That being said, this series against Philadelphia was better than it seems. The Padres showed they could score runs, but the bullpen picked the wrong time to get shaky, giving up all three games to the Phils. As San Diego returns home to Petco Park, the Friars will need to rebound while facing the New York Mets this weekend.
Taking the mound
Christian Scott (NYM) v. Michael King (SD)
Scott has had a solid sophomore campaign with the Mets, posting a 2.97 ERA through 30 1/3 innings pitched. He hasn’t worked very deep into games. That’s likely due to New York giving Scott a rather short leash after he had a 4.56 ERA in his 2025 rookie year (47.1 IP).
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After struggling at the beginning of May, Scott has turned things around. He’s surrendered just one run across his last 10 2/3 innings. He’s kept balls in the yard well, giving up just one home run this year. The Padres will need to get to Scott early.
King has been an ace for the Friars, though his stat line might not fully suggest it. He’s been saddled with a 3.18 ERA thanks to a few tough outings. For the most part, King has been a stalwart in the Padres’ rotation.
After one of the best starts of his career (7.0 IP, 0 ER), King has since given up nine runs across 9 2/3 innings of work. It’s been a rough go of it lately. King will be looking to rebound against a talented (but thus far unimpressive) Mets lineup.
Batter up!
Machado and Merrill both went yard in San Diego’s series finale on Thursday. Their breakouts (along with Tatis’ recent hot streak) would be incredible for the Friars’ offensive production.
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None of the Padres have had an opportunity to face Scott in the past, so they’ll have to figure him out on the fly. France has continued to prove his worth offensively, going 6-for-17 with three walks during this road trip.
Durán has turned into King’s personal catcher with Luis Campusano stuck on the injured list. After a short hot streak at the plate, Durán has cooled down lately. He’s been much better than his counterpart backstop, Freddy Fermin.
Relief corps
The bullpen was forced to pick up after Lucas Giolito’s shaky start. After giving up just one run across four innings, Giolito came back out for the fifth and surrendered a leadoff home run to Adolis García and a double to Justin Crawford. That forced manager Craig Stammen to turn to Yuki Matsui.
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Matsui didn’t do much to limit the damage, walking Kyle Schwarber before getting two outs. With runners on first and third, Matsui made a crucial throwing error attempting to pickoff Trea Turner at first base. The error allowed Crawford to score from third.
In the seventh, Ron Marinaccio worked around a leadoff single to Alec Bohm for a scoreless frame. He was replaced by Adrian Morejon in the eighth and couldn’t get out of the inning. Wandy Peralta emerged from the ‘pen and finished out the inning.
That leaves some options for today, though the Friars certainly will be banking on King to return to form. Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller and Bradgley Rodriguez are all available. They’ve all been high-leverage options for San Diego in the past.
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