With his four-seam velocity back to touch 98 mph in his last rehab start with Triple-A El Paso, right-hander Jeremiah Estrada has been activated for the start of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. To make room, right-hander David Morgan was optioned to El Paso.

Friday’s first pitch is at 6:40 p.m. on Padres.TV.

Estrada’s fastball had dipped as low as 92 mph when he went on the injured list last month with elbow tendinitis. He had a 5.14 ERA, eight strikeouts and a 1.43 WHIP across seven innings.

Estrada turned in scoreless rehab appearances at low Single-A Lake Elsinore and Triple-A El Paso ahead of Friday’s activation.

While he certainly went under the hood, so to speak during his down time, Estrada estimates he put on about eight or nine pounds in 10 days. Getting in better shape was an emphasis this offseason, but he believes that cost him some precious ticks on the radar gun. Estrada estimates he had as many as 12 tamales one day.

“You can’t tell Mexican, all right, go home, go eat,” Estrada said Friday afternoon with a laugh. “Like I might enjoy that.”

He added: “It’s so crazy to see how much like all of like the computer analytics stuff can tell you what’s wrong with your pitching nowadays. … Whether my stride was there or a little bit too quick, more explosive or a little bit too light. … There’s just so (many) little things. But just kind of just being stronger was mainly the main thing. You know, I felt strong. But there’s always more improvement for anything, no matter what it is. … (So) my fiancé hit the kitchen a lot more and she was excited. She loves to cook. I love her cooking. You know, had a tremendous amount of food. I was happy.”

Morgan had a 6.08 ERA, 15 strikeouts and a 2.10 WHIP in 13⅓ innings so far in the Padres bullpen, although all nine of his earned runs scored over his last four appearances (3 IP).

Morgan debuted last year and posted a 2.66 ERA over 47⅓ innings.

“Sometimes you just need a little recalibration to get back to who you are and what you’re great at,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “I think that’s all David needs, is just a little bit of a breather, get back to being the strike-thrower that he was when we first called him up last year. I remember going through the minor leagues and being like, this guy doesn’t not throw strikes. You know, wanted to see him throw more balls to be a little bit more effective. And now it’s kind of gone the opposite way, where he’s pitching away from contact instead of inviting contact and letting his good stuff play.

“So he’s gonna be just fine. Got great stuff, and he’s gonna be a big part of our organization this year.”

Facing the first of two lefties this weekend, Jackson Merrill is out of the lineup amid an 11-game stretch in which he is hitting .095/.191/.095.

City Connect Friday. pic.twitter.com/7MfyN12Jv8

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 1, 2026

That will push designated hitter Miguel Andujar into the three-hole and Bryce Johnson into center field an din the nine-hole. The right-handed-hitting Nick Castellanos will also get the start, in right field, as Fernando Tatis Jr. starts at second base.

Here is how the White Sox will line up:

Friday night baseball pic.twitter.com/PlR0tyCivm

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 1, 2026

 

 

Friday’s pitching matchup

White Sox LHP Noah Schultz (1-1, 3.52 ERA)

The 22-year-old rookie, the 26th overall pick in 2022, is making his fourth start. He has struck out 18 against nine walks over 15⅓ innings to start his career. He is allowing lefties a .200 OPS so far and righties a .639 OPS. Schultz sits 95 with both a four-seamer and sinker and mixes in a cutter, sweeper and changeup.

The Padres don’t have anyone with big-league history with Schultz.

Padres RHP Germán Márquez (3-1, 4.38 ERA)   

The Padres have won each of his last four starts, as Márquez has a 3.32 ERA over 21⅔ innings and a 16-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in those games. Márquez has a 4.74 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox, the last in a loss last year (6 IP, 6 ER).

Only four White Sox hitters have history with Márquez:

OF Andrew Benintendi (2-for-5, 3B, BB)
OF Austin Hays (0-for-3, 2 Ks)
OF Jarred Kelenic (0-for-3, 2 Ks)
SS Colson Montgomery (2-for-3, 3B, RBI)