\u2014 Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n He was unhappy about how his night had ended, a couple changeups ruining what he later acknowledged was a pretty nice outing.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest with you, I feel like I\u2019m closer than close,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, the first five innings are kind of what I\u2019m trying to do. \u2026 Just frustrating to not put the finishing touches on it, I guess. But, you know, all in all the two starts that I made here in the homestand, I\u2019ll be very happy with.\u201d<\/p>\n And that is the takeaway from last night\u2019s 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners \u2014 that Buehler might be the steal the Padres were hoping for when they signed him to a minor-league contract at the start of spring training.<\/p>\n The Padres offense has been reassuringly impressive during the team\u2019s eight-game winning streak, but it is stability in the pitching staff that remains uncertain as the Padres look down the long road of the remaining 143 games in this season.<\/p>\n The performance of their starting pitchers has been in some ways highly encouraging. Michael King appears to be inching closer to his 2024 excellence. Randy V\u00e1squez just had his first clunker on Wednesday after allowing two runs over his first three starts. Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez and Buehler, who will make a combined $9 million this season even if they earn every performance bonus by pitching as much and as well as possible, have been mostly adequate.<\/p>\n But among the three pitchers they expected to be atop their rotation, the Padres are down to King, as Nick Pivetta earlier this week joined Joe Musgrove on the sideline for an indeterminate period.<\/p>\n The Padres hope\/expect both will return at some point. They hope\/expect Griffin Canning will join the rotation in May and be as effective as he was for the Mets last season before tearing his Achilles. They hope\/expect Matt Waldron, who is taking Pivetta\u2019s spot in the rotation, will pitch like he did in 2024 and in spring training and throughout his rehab assignment. They hope\/expect the new owner (who will likely be in place in the coming weeks) will approve the additional funds that could be required to make improvements via trade.<\/p>\n But hoping and expecting in that manner is not the kind of uncertainty a World Series contender wants to be living with.<\/p>\n So the Padres need Buehler to be every bit as good as he has looked in his past two starts.<\/p>\n Before yielding three straight singles to start the sixth inning last night, he had run his scoreless streak to 11 innings. He was mixing his three-fastball combination with four other pitches to great effect. His velocity remained trending upward.<\/p>\n There was even a point that he resembled the guy who had a 2.75 ERA over 94 starts for the Dodgers from 2018 through 2021. After a pair of singles to start\u00a0 the fourth inning, Buehler set down the Mariners\u2019 3-4-5 hitters in order. His seven strikeouts were more than he had in any of his previous 17 starts and the most he had in a five-inning outing since 2021, before his second Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I used to have a little bit of kind of that, you know, everyone says it, a little bit of \u2018f\u2014k you\u2019 that I can get out of situations like that,\u201d Buehler said. \u201cAnd the (fourth) inning, I think was a little bit representative of that. And being able to punch some guys out. But we\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll keep kind of growing and evolving. But when I feel healthy and feel confident, I feel like good things are coming. So yeah, another good step.\u201d<\/p>\n What he did last night is arguably good enough.<\/p>\n As long as the bullpen is rested, a Padres starter getting into the sixth with a lead is a good foundation for victory.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our recipe for winning,\u201d manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a great bullpen, and we\u2019ve just got to get the ball to them somehow, some way with the lead, and then I feel good with us closing it out and figuring it out from there. I always compare it to a (football) team that\u2019s got a really good running game. You get the lead and they can just run the ball, run the clock out. \u2026 And that\u2019s kind of our strategy. Score early, get ahead and then hand the ball off to all the guys that throw 100 miles an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n Back on track<\/p>\n Yes, we will talk about Mason Miller continuing his streak of scoreless innings with stunning dominance.<\/p>\n But another significant component of the recipe Stammen referred to is back to normal.<\/p>\n Adrian Morej\u00f3n had his second Adrian Morej\u00f3n-like game last night after beginning the season with a half-dozen mostly un-Adrian Morej\u00f3n-like appearances.<\/p>\n After Bradgley Rodriguez inherited two runners from Buehler in the sixth and allowed one to score on a single, got an out and loaded the bases with walk, Morej\u00f3n came on and ended the inning by getting two outs in six pitches. He then worked a 1-2-3 seventh in 11 pitches.<\/p>\n That was reminiscent of the guy who ranked among the best relievers in the game<\/a> in virtually every category in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel really good right now,\u201d Morej\u00f3n said. \u201cMy confidence is in the sky right now.\u201d<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the case a little more than a week ago, even though much of the trouble Morej\u00f3n has had this season has been attributable to bad luck.<\/p>\n Through his first six appearances, he had a 10.80 ERA and had allowed a run or allowed an inherited runner to score every time he was on the mound. But underlying numbers strongly suggested he was highly unfortunate.<\/p>\n Two things that really showed how bad things had gone for him in terms of soft contact turning into hits was his 2.11 FIP (a metric like ERA that eliminates defense and luck) and the astonishing .500 batting average on balls in play he had yielded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just great to get Adrian in a game right there where he comes in and (it) could have went a lot of different ways, and he just kind of mows them down,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cHe\u2019s had a couple outings where it didn\u2019t go his way, but he just showed his mental toughness, his toughness overall, to go out there, believe in himself and really just dominate that sixth and seventh inning. Really probably the key to us getting the victory.\u201d<\/p>\n Honoring RJ<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s scoreless streak is up to 30\u2154 innings, second in Padres history behind Cla Meredith, who went 33\u2154 innings without allowing a run during the 2006 season.<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s second out last night moved him past Randy Jones, who put together a 30-inning scoreless streak in 1980.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more times his name is mentioned, that\u2019s part of remembering him and what he did,\u201d Miller said of Jones, whose number 35 is retired by the Padres. \u201cThe fact he was around still, I was here two months and I saw him five times maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n Unmatched<\/p>\n Miller has faced 104 batters in 29 regular season appearances dating back to Aug. 6.<\/p>\n Of those, 65 have struck out, 10 have walked, five have gotten hits and none have scored.<\/p>\n When including last year\u2019s National League Wild Card series, Miller has struck out 20 of the past 23 batters he has faced, 30 of the past 38 batters he has faced, 40 of the past 55 batters he has faced, 50 of the past 70 batters he has faced, 60 of the past 89 batters he has faced, 70 of the past 109 batters he has faced and 80 of the past 135 batters he has faced.<\/p>\n According to OptaStats, no pitcher has ever matched any of those stretches at any point in his career since at least 1976.<\/p>\n Last night, all three Mariners to face him struck out looking.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not a bad strategy, I guess,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n Maybe, since he is getting misses on an MLB-high 61.3% of the pitches batters swing at. That includes a 74.2% miss rate on pitches batters swing at outside the strike zone.<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t as many of those pitches as in the past. He is in the zone with 51% of his fastballs compared to 49% last year. Moreover, he has thrown a first-pitch strike to 22 of the 30 (73%) batters he has faced compared to a 50% first-pitch strike rate last year.<\/p>\n Miller said in spring training his primary goal this season was to cut down on his walks. He had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.71 last season. That ratio is 23 this year.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, when I get beat it\u2019s after a walk \u2014 self-inflicted damage, if you will,\u201d Miller said last night. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to come at guys and force them to make decisions and not put myself in bad counts. \u2026 That\u2019s part of setting a goal and having a plan and executing it. And seeing results trend afterward, it shows you you\u2019re on to something.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not over at two<\/p>\n My game story (here<\/a>) focused on the winning streak and mentioned how the offense has propelled the Padres by making two-out noise.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s expand on that now.<\/p>\n Getting on base with two outs played a significant role in five of the Padres\u2019 seven victories on the homestand that was completed last night.<\/p>\n In the first game, on April 9, Luis Campusano\u2019s two-out double tied the game in the 11th inning, giving Xander Bogaerts a chance to win it in the 12th with a walk-off grand slam.<\/p>\n Two nights later, on Saturday, a two-run homer by Manny Machado with two outs in the third inning cut the Rockies\u2019 lead to 4-3 and a three-run homer by Ram\u00f3n Laureano with two outs in the fourth inning gave the Padres a 6-4 lead they never relinquished.<\/p>\n Tuesday, Bogaerts\u2019 two-out, two-run single in the third inning broke a 1-1 tie in a game the Padres won 4-1.<\/p>\n Wednesday, Campusano and Laureano drove in runs with two-out singles before Jackson Merrill\u2019s two-run double walked off the Mariners.<\/p>\n Last night, it was Fernando Tatis Jr.\u2019s two-run single with two outs in the second inning that was the deciding hit, as it put the Padres up 4-0.<\/p>\n I would argue, too, that Bogaerts\u2019 two-out single in Wednesday\u2019s fourth inning and Jake Cronenworth\u2019s two-out walk in the fifth played pivotal roles even though the next batters made outs, as they forced Emerson Hancock to throw more pitches. That helped get him out of the game after six innings instead of seven.<\/p>\n Getting after it<\/p>\n The Padres have been one of the most productive teams in the league over the past 11 games.<\/p>\n Their six runs a game are tied for third most. Their 1.27 home runs per game are tied for sixth. Their .811 OPS is fourth. Their .274 average is third.<\/p>\n And during that time, they have seen the fewest pitches per plate appearance (3.73) of any team.<\/p>\n While getting deep in counts can be a trait of a good at-bat, it isn\u2019t necessarily a good aim when facing top-caliber pitchers like the Padres routinely have during the season\u2019s first few weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about executing the game plan,\u201d Machado said.<\/p>\n Against the Mariners, in particular, the Padres were aggressive. They averaged 3.64 pitches per plate appearance over the three games.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the No.1 team in the league at throwing strike one,\u201d hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. said yesterday. \u201cYou have to beat them. They\u2019re No.2 in the league in walk rate. They just don\u2019t walk guys. So our goal is we\u2019ve just got to beat them. Their starters all go deep in games. So if we\u2019re gonna go up there and try to work pitches, it\u2019s just not gonna work. We\u2019re gonna be 0-2 a lot of times.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s No.1<\/p>\n Laureano was 1-for-4 with a walk last night and is 9-for-23 with two doubles, a triple and a home run since moving into the leadoff spot permanently six games ago.<\/p>\n And it does appear to be permanent.<\/p>\n After searching for his No.1 hitter through spring training and the season\u2019s first two weeks, Stammen decided at the start of this homestand that Laureano was the man for the job.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we put somebody in the leadoff, they kind of (went) in a slump, and he just didn\u2019t go in a slump,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cI think that maybe the first home run that he hit from the leadoff spot (Saturday), within the course of the game, we just felt we saw a lot of good at-bats from him, and him being in that spot didn\u2019t affect his at-bats. He was taking them the same whether he was batting first, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, whatever, you know, when I was dumb putting him lower in the lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt really good with his attitude leading us off and setting the tone for our team. He does a great job of that, and the guys feed off of him too. He\u2019s got that personality.\u201d<\/p>\n Laureano has steadfastly maintained he is the same batter wherever he hits.<\/p>\n \u201cI can hit one through zero,\u201d he said a couple weeks ago. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s just the same. They have a ball and they are trying to throw strikes (over) this 17-inch home plate, and I just hunt for that area.\u201d<\/p>\n While he has especially thrived in the bottom half of the lineup, Laureano\u2019s career numbers support his contention that where he hits does not matter to him.\u00a0He has between 200 and 546 plate appearances at every spot in the order except ninth and has an OPS of .735 or higher at six of those spots.<\/p>\n For the season, Laureano leads the Padres with a .290 average and .902 OPS. His 155 wRC+ ranks 15th in the National League. The next-highest-ranked Padres players are Merrill (118) and Gavin Sheets (116).<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a baller,\u201d said Tatis, who hit first in five games this season and has settled into the No.2 spot. \u201cHe has been our best offensive player so far. It\u2019s been really fun to hit behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n Rising Core<\/p>\n Machado is still not firing at anywhere near optimal level, but the other members of the Core Four are surging.<\/p>\n Even after going 0-for-4 last night, Bogaerts is 15-for-39 (.385) with a double and three homers over his past 10 games. Merrill is 10-for-24 (.417) with four doubles and a home run during a six-game hitting streak. Tatis is 7-for-15 (.467) over his past five games.<\/p>\n Machado did go 2-for-4 last night to raise his batting average to .206 for the season.<\/p>\n The four stars have driven in 37 of the Padres\u2019 69 runs during the team\u2019s 11-1 stretch.<\/p>\n Finally<\/p>\n Cronenworth hit a grounder to the left side in last night\u2019s eighth inning, crossed first base before the throw and raised his hands in a sort of hit hallelujah.<\/p>\n He had gone 17 at-bats without a hit, and his average had dropped to .133 (8-for-60).<\/p>\n Cronenworth\u2019s .163 batting average on balls in play going into last night\u2019s game was sixth lowest among the 189 qualifying major league hitters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of the at-bat has been there,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201cThe frustration is the result hasn\u2019t been there. It\u2019s been one of the most difficult stretches of my career, because I\u2019m doing everything right and the result isn\u2019t there. I\u2019m looking for the things that are wrong and nothing is wrong. It\u2019s just the result, which sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldron dropped in<\/p>\n Waldron starting tonight\u2019s series opener against the Angels means he is being slotted in front of M\u00e1rquez, whose turn would normally have him pitching tonight.<\/p>\n The move was made because Waldron has not pitched since April 9.<\/p>\n \u201cJust give him that one less day off,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cWe were able to manipulate the starting rotation in a way that made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres will be able to manipulate it again next week, should they choose, because they are off Monday before three games against the Rockies in Denver and Friday before two games against the Diamondbacks in Mexico City.<\/p>\n They could have M\u00e1rquez, who will start tomorrow, go against his former team again in the mile-high park where has made 96 starts. But that might be more tempting if their next series was not also at (even higher) elevation.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n Campusano is batting .375 (9-for-24) during his career-best eight-game hitting streak. He has an RBI in six of those eight games. Fernando Tatis Jr. makes an inning-ending sliding catch to end the top of the 2nd inning#MLB<\/a> #ForTheFaithful<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lYdXhHNZg9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n Talk to you tomorrow from Anaheim.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/walkervelo.png\")
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\nSheets hit his eighth double of the season, which is one off the National League lead shared by the Giants\u2019 Willy Adames and Braves\u2019 Matt Olson. Sheets has five doubles and two home runs over his past seven games, his most extra-base hits in a seven-game span in his career.
\nIn his first game since Saturday, Miguel Andujar went 2-for-4. He is batting .317 with an .803 OPS.
\nThe Padres\u2019 eight straight home victories are tied for the third-longest streak in a single season in franchise history. The 11 in a row they won to start last season is the team record.
\nThe Padres finally repeated a lineup they had used before. Jeff Sanders wrote (here<\/a>) in his game preview about that and catcher Freddy Fermin being cleared to play after taking another hard foul tip to the facemask.
\nAs expected, the Padres kept infielder Sung-Mun Song in Triple-A after his rehab assignment ended. You can read about that in Sanders\u2019 notebook (here<\/a>) from yesterday.
\nAfter committing 11 errors in the first 11 games, the Padres have not committed an error in their past eight games.The last time they had a longer errorless streak was over nine games from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10, 2024.
\nWhile Padres pitchers have allowed just five unearned runs, the Padres have capitalized on their opponents\u2019 errors by scoring 12 unearned runs. That included three in last night\u2019s four-run second inning.
\nAfter seeing four left-handed starting pitchers in the first nine games, the Padres will see their 11th consecutive right-handed starter tonight in Anaheim (Jose Soriano). That is their longest such stretch since September 2024.
\nArguably the most impressive part about Tatis as a right fielder is the amount of times his speed and athleticism allow him to make a play despite some sort of misstep or circuitous route. On this play for the third out in the second inning, Tatis was battling the shadows and took a step back before running up and making a sliding catch.<\/p>\n