Matt Waldron’s ramp-up got off to a solid start Friday evening.
The Padres’ knuckleballer struck out three over three shutout innings and fellow rehabber Sung-Mun Song drove in two runs in Triple-A El Paso’s 9-3 win in Sacramento in the season-opener for both teams.
Waldron scattered two hits, didn’t walk a batter and threw 25 of his 37 pitches for strikes.
Hemorrhoid surgery knocked Waldron out of the competition for the fifth starter’s spot in the Padres’ rotation. He’s out of options, so Friday’s start marks the start of a 30-day rehab window for Waldron to ramp up.
Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez are currently holding the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. They will make their Padres debuts on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The Padres also have Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning on the injured list.
Waldron made just one spot start last year for the Padres and has a 4.86 ERA in 192⅔ innings in the majors, although he did fashion a 2.76 ERA over a 14-start stretch in 2024 to help the Padres make the postseason that year.
As for Song, he played seven innings at second base and went 1-for-3 with a two-run single, a walk and a strikeout.
Center fielder Jase Bowen hit a 440-foot homer for his first of the year and left fielder Samad Taylor and first baseman Jose Miranda both had two hits.
Right-hander Sean Boyle allowed a run in three innings in the win.
Right-hander Logan Gillaspie walked four and allowed two runs in one-plus inning and right-hander Alek Jacob closed the game with two scoreless innings.