San Diego Padres at Philadelphia Phillies
Game 1: 3:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV, TBS)
Game 2: 3:40 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)
Game 3: 10:05 a.m. Thursday (Padres.TV)
In the standings
San Diego Padres (32-26, 2nd in NL West)
The Padres have lost six of their last seven games and seven of 10 to slip five games behind the Dodgers in the division. They still hold the NL’s top wild-card spot, a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks, despite a minus-6 run differential. The Padres were swept by the Phillies last week in San Diego.
Philadelphia Phillies (30-29, T-2nd in NL East)
The Phillies, who are 21-10 under interim manager Don Mattingly, begin the week 1½ games out of a wild-card spot, a much more manageable hurdle than the Braves’ 9 ½-game lead in the NL East. Philadelphia ranks 21st with a minus-26 run differential, 28th in OPS (.673), 13th in rotation ERA (4.12) and 15th in bullpen ERA (3.94).
Trending
San Diego: The Padres’ OPS dropped from .693 in April to .615 in May, with only three hitters finishing above .675 for the month — 1B Gavin Sheets (.861), 1B Ty France (.806) and OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.713). Three key hitters finished below .575 in May: SS Xander Bogaerts (.574), 3B Manny Machado (.539) and OF Ramón Laureano (.524). In the bullpen, RHPs Jason Adam (12 IP, 0.00 ERA) and Jeremiah Estrada (12⅔ IP, 2.13 ERA) and LHP Adrián Morejón (14 IP, 1.93 ERA) led the team with 13 appearances in May.
Philadelphia: The Phillies went 18-10 in May, although their OPS dropped from .678 in April to .667 last month. At least their superstars did the heavy lifting, with DH Kyle Schwarber pairing 11 of his MLB-best 22 homers with an .896 OPS in May and 1B Bryce Harper swatting seven homers and posting an .893 OPS. Two other Phillies were also above .800 in May — OF Brandon Marsh (.833) and 3B Alec Bohm (.812) — while SS Trea Turner (.529 OPS) struggled last month. The pitching staff saw its ERA drop from 4.84 in April to 3.19 in May, with RHP Orion Kerkering (2.53 ERA) leading the team with 13 appearances, followed by 12 from RHP Brad Keller (3.00 ERA) and 11 each from RHP Jhoan Durán (1.64 ERA) and LHP Jose Alvarado (4.00 ERA).
Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park on May 26, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Pitching matchups
Tuesday
Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-3, 3.28 ERA) | He has a 6.30 ERA over his last two starts, which includes allowed four runs on three homers in 5⅔ innings in a loss to the Phillies in his last appearance. Vásquez has a 1.46 ERA in four road starts this season. He has just one quality start in his last six starts (4.55 ERA).
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.72 ERA) | The 32-year-old faced the Padres in his last start, earning the win with two runs allowed over six innings in which he struck out five without issuing a walk. It was just Nola’s fourth quality start in 11 tries. He is allowing opposing hitters an .821 OPS.
Wednesday
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.88 ERA) | He’s gone at least five innings in five straight starts (4.39 ERA), which includes allowing two runs in 5 ⅓ innings in a loss last week to the Phillies at Petco Park. Buehler has an 8.04 ERA over four starts on the road, compared to 3.50 in seven starts at Petco Park. Opposing hitters’ .680 OPS is more than 100 points better than last year’s (.795).
Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (6-2, 1.47 ERA) | He’s riding a franchise-record 44 ⅔-inning scoreless streak, which includes striking out nine over seven shutout innings in a win over the Padres in last week’s start at Petco Park. Sánchez allowed six hits and no walks. He leads the majors in bWAR (4.3), ERA, innings (78⅓), ERA+ (323) and FIP (1.82).
Thursday
Padres RHP Lucas Giolito (2-0, 4.97 ERA) | He won his first two starts before allowing four runs on five hits and four walks in 2 ⅔ innings. Giolito has walked (12) twice as many as he’s struck out (6) through 12⅔ innings. Giolito has a 5.74 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies, including allowing five runs and four homers in four innings last year.
Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (4-1, 2.27 ERA) | He started his season in late April following last year’s season-ending thoracic outlet syndrome procedure and he has quality starts in five of his seven starts. Wheeler allowed a season-high four runs in six innings over the weekend in a loss at Dodger Stadium. Wheeler has a 2.17 ERA in 11 games (70 ⅔ IP) in his career against the Padres and a 1.38 ERA in two postseason starts in the 2022 NLCS.
2026 qualifying leaders
OPS: Padres—1B Gavin Sheets (.807), SS Xander Bogaerts (.687), OF Ramón Laureano (.660); Phillies—DH Kyle Schwarber (.940), 1B Bryce Harper (.868), OF Brandon Marsh (.821).
HRs: Padres—3B Manny Machado (10), Sheets (9), Bogaerts (8); Phillies—Schwarber (22), Harper (13), SS Trea Turner (7).
RBIs: Padres—Machado (30), Bogaerts (26), Sheets (23); Phillies—Schwarber (39), Harper (34), 2B Bryson Stott (26).
Steals: Padres—OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (14), OF Jackson Merrill (10), Bogaerts (9); Phillies—Turner (11), Stott (10), OF Justin Crawford (7).
Saves: Padres—RHP Mason Miller (17-for-17, 0.72 ERA); Phillies—RHP Jhoan Durán (12-for-12, 1.53 ERA), RHP Brad Keller (3-for-4, 3.65 ERA).
Holds: Padres—RHP Jason Adam (12, 0.90 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (11, 3.90 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (6, 3.20 ERA); Phillies—Keller (8), LHP Jose Alvarado (7, 5.59 ERA), RHP Orion Kerkering (4, 2.53 ERA).
Training room
San Diego: RHP Germán Márquez (forearm nerve) threw live batting practice on Thursday at Lake Elsinore as he nears a rehab assignment. C Luis Campusano (toe) moved his rehab work to Arizona, while 2B Jake Cronenworth (concussion) is working in San Diego. RHP Jhony Brito (elbow) is rehabbing at Double-A San Antonio. RHP Matt Waldron (brachialis) has begun a throwing program, while RHPs Nick Pivetta (flexor) and Joe Musgrove (Tommy John) have yet to make significant progress.
Philadelphia: C J.T. Realmuto is day-to-day after exiting Sunday’s game after taking a pitch off his left wrist. The only other injury of note is to LHP Kyle Backhus (elbow), who is playing catch and could return in June.