It was a pretty standard night for the San Diego Padres. Starter Randy Vásquez pitched six shutout innings (and probably could have gone deeper), the high-leverage relievers covered the seventh and eighth innings before Mason Miller closed out the game for his MLB-leading 14th save. All signs pointed to a 2-0 win for the Friars.
It wasn’t nearly as simple as that. The bullpen made it a little more difficult than they needed to, allowing the tying and go-ahead run to reach the plate multiple times for the Seattle Mariners. It was an uncharacteristic night in that regard. But, each time, they worked themselves out of the jam.
Advertisement
The gem from Vásquez rested the majority of a somewhat beleaguered bullpen. That will certainly help to back up Walker Buehler in tonight’s game, as well as Lucas Giolito in his debut Sunday.
Taking the mound
Logan Gilbert (SEA) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
Since 2022, Gilbert has been one of Seattle’s aces, posting an ERA below 3.50 in all but one year. That ability to take the mound consistently and pitch to solid results has marked his career as a valuable pitcher for the club. He’s been off to a similarly good start this season, pitching to a 3.78 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 50 innings.
But he’s been even more dominant in his last seven starts, posting a 2.97 ERA and averaging 5 2/3 innings. The Padres will have to take advantage of the few mistakes that Gilbert makes if they hope to take Game 2.
Advertisement
Buehler has been a solid back end option for the Friars, but hasn’t impressed enough to ensure his roster spot. His performance has been the lesser of two evils more than its stood out from the rest. He owns a 5.20 ERA in 36 1/3 innings.
His last start against the St. Louis Cardinals was solid. He gave up two runs over six full innings against the Cards. Buehler has yet to find a consistent rhythm on the mound. If he can do that tonight it would be a major relief for any rotation concerns that popped up with starter Griffin Canning’s tough performance on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers (6 ER, 1.2 IP).
Batter up!
The majority of the Padres’ lineup doesn’t have an abundance of experience against Gilbert, but some have produced well in their careers against him. Xander Bogaerts, Nick Castellanos and Gavin Sheets each have a batting average over .270, with Castellanos batting .375 with a 1.125 OPS against the right-hander. Expect those three to be in tonight’s lineup.
Advertisement
It’s unlikely to be the offensive blowout the Friars need, but they should be able to scratch some runs across the board to back Buehler up. The Padres didn’t face Gilbert in their last series against Seattle, they’ll need to solve him to ensure a series win tonight.
Relief corps
It was somewhat of a surprise for Vásquez to exit after the sixth. He had been efficient, needing just 79 pitches to get through the first six frames. But a trio of left-handed batters were due up in Luke Raley, J.P. Crawford and Dominic Canzone.
Manager Craig Stammen decided to go with lefty Adrian Morejon for the more favorable matchup. The Mariners countered by pinch-hitting with righties Connor Joe and Rob Refsnyder, but Morejon made it out of the inning.
Advertisement
Setup man Jason Adam pitched a shaky eighth inning. After allowing two runners to reach base on a single and a walk, Adam was relieved for Miller who would pitch a four-out save.
Miller had to work to get out of the eighth, throwing 12 pitches to do so. He loaded the bases when Randy Arozarena singled on a broken-bat infield single. But he struck out Joe in a seven-pitch battle to end the threat. He gave up a walk and a single in the ninth but achieved all three outs via the strikeout to slam the door on Seattle.
Tonight, that means Miller will likely be unavailable since he threw 34 pitches. But Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob, Ron Mariaccio, Yuki Matsui, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez. The Friars have a nine-man bullpen until Giolito is activated to the roster Sunday, so Jacob will likely be used in tonight’s game before he is sent back to Triple-A.
Read the full article here
