With one last day off before the playing 17 straight games heading into the All-Star break and Randy Vásquez in a significant slump, the Padres inserted left-hander JP Sears for Wednesday’s 5:40 p.m. start on Padres.TV.

Sears’ first start in the majors this year is as much about timing as anything.

The 30-year-old has a 7.92 ERA in 63⅔ innings at Triple-A El Paso, has walked 28 batters and is allowing hitters a .326 batting average. None of that is as promising as what Jhony Brito has done in a small sample at the same level — 1.32 ERA, 13 IP, 7 BBs, .208 opponent average — but Sears was set to start Wednesday for El Paso, Brito is listed for Saturday and Brito is still ramping up as he returns from an elbow reconstruction.

Sears posted a 5.47 ERA across five starts (24⅔ IP) after his inclusion in last year’s Mason Miller trade.

He has a 4.53 ERA over 558⅔ innings across parts of four years in the majors.

Here is how Sears has fared against current Braves:

The Padres (41-37, 2nd in NL West) have won the first two games of this series to remain a half-game out of a wild-card spot. They haven’t won three games in a row in more than a month (May 15-18).

A day after activation from the concussion list, Freddy Fermin (.505 OPS) is back in the starting lineup and behind the plate for Sears. He’ll bat eighth, between first baseman Ty France (.748 OPS) and right fielder Jace Bowen (.245 OPS).

Series finale. pic.twitter.com/2V2yymBNgw

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 24, 2026

Fernando Tatis Jr. (.718 OPS) will lead off and play second base, left fielder Samad Taylor (.877 OPS) is in the two-hole and center fielder Jackson Merrill (.633 OPS) is down to fifth against Braves left-hander Martín Pérez.

Miguel Andujar (.695 OPS) will serve as the DH and bat sixth.

Pérez (6-3, 2.78 ERA), the one-time Padre, is thriving in Atlanta after an injury-shortened 2025 with the White Sox (3.54 ERA, 56 IP). He has a 3.38 ERA over his last six starts and a 2.91 ERA as a starter this year (58⅔ IP) vs. a 1.93 ERA as a reliever (9⅓ IP). Pérez has a 3.86 ERA in 14 career innings against the Padres. He last faced them in 2023 (5⅔ IP, 4 ER)

Only five Padres have history with Pérez:

3B Manny Machado (7-for-20, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs, 5 BBS, K)
SS Xander Bogaerts (3-for-20, 3 BBs, 3 Ks)
1B Ty France (3-for-17, 2B, BB, 5 Ks)
DH Miguel Andujar (1-for-7, RBI, K)
OF/2B Fernando Tatis Jr. (0-for-3)

And here is how the Braves (48-30, 1st in NL East) will line up for the series finale:

Wednesday work#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/BbHHnmkMCE

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 24, 2026