This was a tough one to watch. The San Diego Padres gave up nine runs in their series opener versus the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s a crucial stretch for the Friars, where every win matters as the Arizona Diamondbacks attempt to claw their way into the postseason. The Padres own the final Wild Card spot for the time being, but several teams are knocking on the door.
San Diego will need to, at bare minimum, force the rubber match in today’s game if they hope to stay a step ahead of the remaining National League contenders. The Friars knew that Tampa Bay would be a tough opponent, but last night’s series opener was an indication of just how difficult the Rays are to beat.
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Taking the mound
Nick Martinez (TB) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
The former Padre has been putting up ridiculous numbers this season. Through 25 games, Martinez has a 13-4 record and a 2.93 ERA. That has been an unprecedented level of success for the veteran pitcher. Martinez went to Tampa Bay on a throwaway, one-year contract. That has turned out quite well for the Rays.
Martinez spent two seasons in San Diego (2022-23). At the time, they were the two best seasons in his career with a combined 3.30 ERA. Martinez left the Friars for the Cincinnati Reds before turning in one of the best seasons of his career in Tampa Bay this year.
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On the other side of the mound, Buehler has been one of the most valuable pitchers in baseball for San Diego. That’s not inherently due to an otherworldly performance, but his availability with the Friars has been an anchor in their injury-plagued rotation.
That being said, the numbers aren’t awful. Buehler owns a 4.63 ERA through 126 1/3 innings pitched. Those are incredibly modest numbers for the valuable season that Buehler has had. Earlier this year, Buehler gave up a whopping 20 runs across just 11 innings. Without that blip, his ERA goes down to a much more respectable 3.51 mark.
Batter up!
The lineup was surprisingly potent, scoring four runs against Tampa Bay’s pitching staff. All of those runs came in the fifth and sixth innings, with the Friars scoring in a bases-loaded opportunity alongside of a Jackson Merrill home run. The San Diego pitching staff was the reason for this loss, though four runs isn’t exactly something to write home about either.
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Merrill continued his torrid streak in the second half, hitting his 22nd home run of the season in last night’s contest. It’s been a bit of a two-faced performance from the center fielder, but he’s been better as of late, going 4-for-6 in his last two games.
Relief corps
Casey Mize, despite struggling to pitch through five innings, performed better than it seems. Yes, Mize gave up seven runs, but only two of them were earned. The Padres were throwing the ball all over the field for the entirety of the Rays’ five-run fourth inning. That forced Mize to work around the errors (though he himself was the cause of one).
Mize making it through five allowed the Padres’ bullpen to be somewhat untarnished. Only recent returner David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Griffin Canning were used. Canning was the only one to pitch a scoreless outing of the trio. That will leave Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez available for tonight’s game.
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