The San Diego Padres have been slugging their way to victory lately. Yesterday afternoon was no different. After a three hour rain delay in Cleveland, the Friars faced the Guardians and outdueled them, 5-0, in the rubber match. The Friars slugged four home runs, with Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets going back-to-back for the first time this season.
If the club can accomplish a similar feat in their series opener against the New York Mets, they’ll continue on their march toward the postseason. The club shares the final Wild Card spot with the Philadelphia Phillies, but the Phils own the tiebreaker over San Diego. They’ll need to keep their feet on the gas in order to stay in the playoff hunt.
Taking the mound
Nolan McLean (NYM) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
Despite being on a struggling Mets club, McLean has been quite good in his rookie year. He owns a 3.42 ERA through 24 starts and has stabilized an awful New York rotation. He’s been even better lately, with a 2.41 ERA across his last 41 1/3 innings pitched.
McLean faced the Padres in June in a no-decision. He still owned the Friars’ lineup, pitched six innings and allowing just one run. Whether or not he’s still able to dominate against the new-look Padres’ offense remains to be seen, though McLean will seek to stymie San Diego for the second time this season.
Buehler has struggled a bit after what was an incredibly resurgent month of June. After giving up 20 runs in his first three starts of July (11.0 IP), he has since surrendered no more than three runs in a single outing. Buehler has given up a total of nine earned runs across his last 25 1/3 innings. It’s been a return to the breakout starter that the Padres had come to know at the beginning of the season.
The right-hander has done a good job limiting damage as of late and will need to continue it against New York. The Friars faced the Mets back in June and struggled against them. But this Padres team is much better than they were when they last faced them. If the offense looks anything like it has lately, Buehler won’t need to do much to earn the win.
Batter up!
The San Diego lineup has been downright dominant since coming back from the All-Star break. It’s surprisingly not an exaggeration to call this offense the best in MLB right now. That was on full display against Cleveland and should be against a Mets’ pitching staff that has consistently proven to be awful.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Rengifo, LF
- Gavin Sheets, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Luis Campusano, C
The stars have been out with Tatis and Merrill posting some of the best offensive numbers in baseball lately. France has also proven his value again and again alongside contributions from Rengifo and Campusano. The Friars have a massive opportunity to add ground in the playoff race over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phillies. If they can keep up that offensive success, that will go a long way.
Relief corps
Starter Casey Mize has rebounded well in his last two starts after a tough debut with the Padres. He pitched six shutout innings against Cleveland before the bullpen took over. That allowed the Padres to turn to just three of their relievers in Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Yuki Matsui. The three pitched the final three frames of the game, not allowing a single hit.
That leaves Griffin Canning, Kyle Hart, Mason Miller, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez working out of the ‘pen. If Buehler stumbles early, the Friars will likely turn to Canning or Hart first. Both have the ability to work deeper into the game if they have their stuff working for them. After a rough stretch in July, Buehler has rebounded and should perform well against New York.