Good morning,
A relief pitcher started. Another relief pitcher got the win. A starting pitcher got the save.
Last night was a fun diversion while we wait for the trade deadline.
You can read Jeff Sanders’ game story (here) for a synopsis of what went right for the Padres in a 7-0 victory over the Giants.
A lot went right.
This was the pitching all-staff approach at its best. This was the plan, as much as you can plan such a thing.
Bradgley Rodriguez pitched an inning at the start. He was the only Padres pitcher to enter the game without a lead.
Yuki Matsui took over in the second with the Padres up 2-0. They led 3-0 when Matsui threw his final pitch in the fourth, and then they scored three runs in the bottom of that inning before Germán Márquez took over and pitched the remaining five innings.
“We basically reversed the game, which is kind of an interesting concept,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “But you can’t plan it out. We don’t know we’re going to score seven runs in the first five, six innings. So we’ve just got to go day by day and figure it out.”
This helped make it easier for Stammen and the pitching coaches to figure out the coming days.
Their regular relievers should be good to go the next two games, as the Padres turn to the two pitchers they are using as traditional starters — Walker Buehler today and Michael King tomorrow.
Provided those games don’t get out of hand in some way, the Padres will have a full complement of their former starters/long relievers ready to go in Arizona on Monday.
Who they get at the trade deadline could determine the direction with their rotation after that.
Last night’s victory moved the Padres closer to the final National League playoff spot.
They are one game back, directly behind a new team.
The Phillies lost for the eighth time in nine games and hold the No.6 seed. The Diamondbacks, who won their third straight game and for the seventh time in 10 games are now alone in the second wild-card spot.
Matsui’s marathon
The first words out of Matsui’s mouth when speaking to reporters last night were in English.
“Last inning, last hitter, so tired,” he said.
At that moment, pitching coach Ruben Niebla walked by and yelled on his way out of the clubhouse, “Yuki! Two innings tomorrow.”
Matsui laughed wearily and shook his head.
The three innings and 49 pitches the left-hander threw last night were career highs.
He worked until he could not anymore, past what the Padres planned. The last batter he faced, Rafael Devers, finally flied out to right field on the ninth pitch of his at-bat.
“We had a pitch-count number in our heads, and … he exceeded that pitch count number,” Stammen said. “The last batter that he faced was going to be his last batter. And the hard question was can we bring Germán in in the middle of an inning with somebody on base, or do we want him to get a clean inning? Ideally, it would be a clean inning. So we were kind of sweating it out hoping Yuki could get out of that inning without anybody on base. Yuki did an outstanding job tonight. Him and Germán, players of the game.”
Matsui was the logical choice to pick up the middle innings. The Giants had six left-handed batters in their lineup, and Matsui entered the game allowing a .167 average and .593 OPS to left-handed batters. (Márquez, conversely, was allowing hitters who worked from the left side a .294 average and 1.006 OPS.)
“I was kind of expecting like maybe two innings, but also obviously with their lineup, there are a lot of lefty lanes,” Matsui said through interpreter Ike Ogata. “So that wasn’t a huge surprise. I’m glad that I pulled it off and was able to pitch well against them.”
Matsui, who had last pitched three innings in a game in Japan in 2020, allowed just a two-out single in the third inning last night.
It continued what has been something of a renaissance season for Matsui, who signed with the Padres in December 2023.
After beginning 2026 on the injured list while working back from an adductor (groin) strain, he made his season debut on May 8 and worked at least two innings in his first four outings. But with Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan having spent significant time on the injured list, Matsui has been called on to pitch in higher-leverage situations.
His 2.38 ERA (in 41⅔ innings) is down 1.49 points from his career mark entering this season.
“He’s been maybe the … unsung hero of our bullpen, being able to fit so many different roles,” Stammen said.
That is sort of the thing now for every Padres pitcher except Buehler, King, Mason Miller and Adrian Morejón while the team pieces together nine innings at a time.
“It’s not the specific roles that matter most,” Matsui said. “It’s more of how we can manage all the innings with the 13 guys we have. It’s helping out each other. We’ve got each other’s backs. So my mentality is to help everyone and do my job that’s given for the day and execute it well.”
The pitching plan
The all-staff stratagem has worked extremely well for the Padres. In the six games since July 23 they have patched together with the members of their 11-man bullpen — made up of seven pitchers who have been in the bullpen all season and four who were members of the rotation earlier in the season — they have gone 4-2 while allowing a total of 15 runs (2.34 ERA).
But the Padres don’t plan to cover too many more games with this pitching quilt.
Five of the six games so far have gone close enough to plan. But trying to get through game after game like this lends to a greater possibility things can go awry and set off a series of events that hinders a staff for days.
Once the Padres acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline — and if they don’t get at least one, something went terribly wrong — that will push them back toward a more traditional rotation.
By the latter part of August, the expectation is that Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta will be part of that rotation. Lucas Giolito could also return this month.
Before that, it would be King, Buehler, whoever they trade for and whoever is pitching best.
They could still go with the occasional bullpen game. But the 4⅔ scoreless innings Randy Vásquez threw on Thursday and the five shutout innings Márquez worked last night make them potential candidates to get back to their normal roles.
No one is going to deny that is what they want. But they have clearly dived into what they are being asked to do.
“It’s different,” Márquez said. “But I feel everybody has just one goal: going out there and giving the team a chance to win. … I feel like we stick together. It’s kind of weird for all of us. Because we’d like to be starters. But it is what it is. I feel like we’ve been doing the job.”
Unique feat
In his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2016, Márquez earned the first save of his career.
It was just the second time a Padres pitcher has ever pitched five innings for a save. The other occurred in the franchise’s inaugural season, when Tommie Sisk did it on Oct. 1, 1969, against the Giants at Candlestick Park.
Marquez is the 85th MLB pitcher since 1899 to record a save of five innings or more. Three others have come in the past two seasons. Before that, there had been just two since 1994.
All-around
Fernando Tatis Jr. stole his 150th career base last night, becoming the 14th active player with at least 150 home runs and 150 steals.
“Longevity, being able to stay healthy, being able to perform,” Tatis, who has 160 career home runs, said of what the milestone meant.
Longevity is a relative term for a 27-year-old who last night played in his 780th big-league game.
Tatis reached the 150-150 mark faster than all but four players ever — Ronald Acuña, Eric Davis, Alfonso Soriano and Darryl Strawberry.
Playing most of the first three months of the season with a stress reaction in his leg and then spending two months on the injured list, Tatis had just 11 steals in 2024. He stole 32 last season and has 26 in 2026.
“To be able to come back and figure it out in this area is definitely important,” he said.
Tatis has since his rookie season prided himself on being an all-around player. Certainly, the Padres would prefer a version of Tatis who is hitting 30 or more home runs. But this version is pretty dynamic.
In 59 games since May 24, Tatis is batting .322 with an .884 OPS and 146 wRC+.
Dream come true
Jase Bowen dreamt Thursday night that he hit a home run.
“Just pure elation,” he said of how it felt to homer in his sleep.
It was even better awake.
Bowen hit his first career home run in the fourth inning last night, launching a ball off the front of the second balcony on the Western Metal building.
“That’s the second-coolest moment in my life behind getting married this offseason,” he said. “You work your entire life for a moment like that, and it was just special.”
Jase Bowen with his first Major League home run! pic.twitter.com/fH8PeIXNjF
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 1, 2026
Bowen, who singled in the second inning, was starting just his 16th game since making his major league debut on June 2. He is batting .167 (10-for-60) with a .456 OPS.
“This is definitely new for me,” Bowen said of not playing all that frequently. “But I show up every day and get my work in. All these guys treat me just like I’m an everyday starter, so that definitely helps. Just continuing to learn from them and stay ready for when my number’s called.”
Bowen said “did not feel good” during batting practice and went to the batting cage afterward. There, he faced a simulated version of Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt on the Trajekt machine. He said he saw 105 pitches from Whisenhunt via the Trajekt, which is about 100 more than normal.
“There were some ups and downs in there, but just trying to start a little earlier and stay through the middle of the field,” Bowen said. “Yesterday I was just grinding. I felt like I needed to feel something, and I tried six different stances. It was a long day. I got kicked out of there.”
Tidbits
Ty France was 2-for-3 and drove in three runs last night. It was his team-leading seventh game with at least three RBIs.
Luis Campusano, serving as designated hitter while Freddy Fermin caught, was 3-for-4 last night. Campusano is batting .306/.409/.510 in 36 games this season.
Tatis doubled in the first inning last night. He has two doubles and two singles in the first inning over the past four games.
Luis Rengifo was 1-for-3 with two walks and scored three runs. Since his first start for the Padres on July 19, Rengifo leads the team with a .400 average (16-for-40) and a .489 on-base percentage and is tied with Manny Machado and Tatis for the team lead with 10 runs.
Machado was 1-for-4 with a double and a sacrifice fly last night. He was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and has two hits in his past 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position. His .217 average in that circumstance this season is 92 points lower than his career mark coming into 2026.
Rodriguez has allowed one hit in four scoreless innings in his four turns as an opener this season.
Last night was the Padres’ eighth shutout of the season and their second in which they allowed two hits. Just four teams have had more shutouts in which they have allowed two or fewer hits. The eight total shutouts ranks ninth in the majors.
One of my favorite things to do is pick the brains of third base coaches. They are the coach whose job is closest to that of a player. They are on the field, reading and in some cases dictating action. It is a fascinating and difficult job. The Padres have a new one this season in Bob Henley, and he sat down with Annie Heilbrunn for one of her insightful Q&A pieces (here).
Tom Krasovic is enamored with Morejón. For good reason. Tom’s column from yesterday (here) talked about the left-hander’s value.
All right, that’s it for me.
I will have a story on our Padres page this morning previewing the trade deadline, including the likelihood of Morejón being traded, some possible targets and whether the Padres have any money to spend.
Talk to you tomorrow.