August 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever seen a guy score from second base on a ground ball to first base,\u201d Robbie Ray said after the game.<\/p>\n
That is because he just joined the Padres at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Just a sampling: Tatis has in his career scored from second on a grounder to shortstop, scored from third on a grounder to the pitcher, tagged up and scored on a fly ball caught by a second baseman. He has several times gone first to third on a ball that never left the infield. He has scored on a passed ball that never got more than six feet from the catcher.<\/p>\n
It is imperative to the Padres\u2019 success that Tatis slugs.<\/p>\n
He is not being paid $340 million over 14 seasons to be fast or even fast and smart and fearless. But fast and smart and fearless never slump. And sometimes fast and smart and fearless combine to win games.<\/p>\n
Tatis has since his rookie season made a point to acknowledge the value of every aspect of his game. Partly because small ball doesn\u2019t get the love he feels it deserves and partly because he knows the number of players that can do all he does can be counted on one hand, Tatis might value what he does on the bases most of all.<\/p>\n
One day during spring training, after recounting some of his favorite moments on the bases and having others listed for him, he said, \u201cThose are head plays that really most players cannot do or they don\u2019t have their heads on a swivel in those moments. Those are my favorite plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marathon man<\/p>\n
Adrian Morej\u00f3n worked two innings for the seventh time this season, and it may have been the most arduous.<\/p>\n
The left-hander entered the game in the 10th inning and got through that facing just three batters despite allowing a single, because Luis Campusano threw out Brice Turang attempting to steal third base.<\/p>\n
Morej\u00f3n then got out of a mess in the 11th.<\/p>\n
Gary S\u00e1nchez led off the inning with a double down the left field line that gave the Brewers a 3-2 lead. S\u00e1nchez advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Morej\u00f3n walked the next batter before getting consecutive strikeouts sandwiched around David Hamilton\u2019s steal of second. And after an intentional walk to Jackson Chourio, Morej\u00f3n struck out Turang.<\/p>\n
There is no pitcher consistently used in the latter portions of games in higher-leverage situations who has thrown as many innings than Morej\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
And that his 65\u2153 innings have come in 56 appearances is practically unheard of for a back-end reliever in the modern game.<\/p>\n
K maker<\/p>\n
Padres catcher Freddy Fermin got three ball calls overturned yesterday, and all three became a third strike.<\/p>\n
Fermin, who for much of the season could not seem to get the hang of the new strike zone, has now been successful on nine of his past 11 challenges. The success follows a run of eight consecutive failed challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to learn,\u201d Fermin said. \u201cIt was new.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a possibility that Fermin\u2019s concussion and continued foul balls off his mask affected his ABS judgment as well. His improvement on challenges began shortly after his improvement at the plate.<\/p>\n
Fermin has maintained all season that his head is clear.<\/p>\n
Stammen noted how much Fermin seemed to try to be overzealous in trying to help his pitchers with some challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese catchers, like the first thing (is they) want to fight for a pitch,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cThey\u2019re used to framing pitches and fooling the umpire into calling a strike. And I think the ABS has changed that to where you can\u2019t fool the umpire anymore, you know. It\u2019s got to be a strike. And I think they\u2019re learning that you can\u2019t, you know, make a ball a strike anymore. It\u2019s got to be a strike, and I think they\u2019re taking advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray, rest of the day<\/p>\n
Ray was ahead 1-2 against Turang before surrendering an RBI single in the third inning and ahead 1-2 against both of the batters he walked in the fourth.<\/p>\n
He was able to get out of that inning but was at 84 pitches, and that was the end of his day.<\/p>\n
That sums up Ray\u2019s second start with the Padres.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it felt a lot better than the first one,\u201d Ray said. \u201cI felt back to normal. I felt like I was moving the fastball around. Felt like the changeup was really good. Getting a lot of good bad swings on it. Slider felt really good. It\u2019s just the pitch count got a little elevated there, with some deep counts and some walks. But overall, I felt really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stammen made the decision to chase the victory with his bullpen, and five relievers put together six scoreless innings before the Brewers scored in the 11th.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I had another one in me,\u201d Ray said. \u201cBut Craig made the decision that was enough. \u2026 \u00a0I mean, this is a great bullpen. They\u2019ve got great arms down there. They\u2019re able to cover multiple innings, so it\u2019s nice to have those guys down there, for sure, to pick you up when you do get an elevated pitch count earlier in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stammen said the work Ray had to do in his 28-pitch fourth inning made the decision for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we send him back out, we\u2019re going to have somebody getting loose anyway,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cSo I just felt like we had a rested bullpen. We could go to them. I wasn\u2019t expecting to go (as) deep in the game as we (did), but the off day is definitely going to help that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with the off days, the Padres are going to have to monitor their relievers. They are one of two teams (with Toronto) to have four pitchers work at least 51 innings out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n
The Padres have gotten 526 innings from their bullpen, third most in the majors. Their 3.54 bullpen ERA ranks fifth.<\/p>\n
May Day<\/p>\n
What Dustin May did Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park was more of a subtle domination than the last time he faced the Padres.<\/p>\n
The Padres got their first hit before their first out, which was much earlier than they did in either of May\u2019s two previous starts against them.<\/p>\n
On June 15, May took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ended up with a one-hit shutout, and on May 9 he allowed his first hit in the fifth inning before being charged with three runs (two earned) in six innings. Those starts were while May was pitching for the Cardinals before being acquired by the Brewers at the deadline.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the Padres had the leadoff runner on against May in four innings but hit into double plays in all of them. They did not score in any of the three such innings he finished.<\/p>\n
The Padres\u2019 lone run against May came on Xander Bogaerts\u2019 solo home run in the third inning, and he allowed just three other hits and walked two in seven innings. (He began the eighth with a walk to Gavin Sheets before reliever Chad Patrick got a double play.)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a pitcher that\u2019s getting better,\u201d Stammen said of May. \u201c\u2026 When he first came up, he was just a huge sinker and a big sweeper, and now he\u2019s adding a cutter in, and he\u2019s able to throw a four-seamer with that. He\u2019s got a bunch of pitches in his repertoire. And today he threw a bunch of strikes. I think the only time we can really get to him is when he\u2019s a little bit erratic \u2014 and in the strike zone. But he just wasn\u2019t that today. He pretty much mowed us down, and we just hung in there just enough to be able to have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
May has now allowed four runs (three earned) in 22 innings against the Padres this year, but they have come back to win the two games he did not finish.<\/p>\n
Tidbits<\/p>\n
When he walks to the plate for the first time tomorrow night, Jackson Merrill will ostensibly become $5 million richer. That will be his 500th plate appearance of the season, and a stipulation in his contract states that his reaching that mark adds $1 million to five different years of his contract. So the guarantee on his nine-year contract goes from $135 million to $140 million.
\nMerrill has hit in seven consecutive games and has an extra-base hit in six straight.
\nTy France was 2-for-4 yesterday. It was his 31st multi-hit game, one fewer than Merrill and two fewer than Tatis. France has started 37 fewer games than both Merrill and Tatis. France is batting .295, which ranks third among first basemen with more than 210 plate appearances. His .874 OPS ranks fifth.
\nCampusano, whose single drove in the winning run, has the highest batting average (.324) and OPS (.924) among all players whose primary position is catcher.
\nRookie Bradgley Rodriguez did not allow a run while working the fifth and sixth innings. He has not allowed a run in any of his five career appearances that have lasted two innings. Yesterday was his third two-inning appearance in seven days.
\nBogaerts\u2019 home run was his first since July 10, a span of 25 games and 105 plate appearances without one.
\nManny Machado was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position yesterday. Outside of his going 3-for-3 in that circumstance on Aug. 4, he has two hits in his other 20 such at-bats dating to July 17. Machado\u2019s .228 batting average with runners in scoring position this season is well off his career mark of .309 coming into 2026.
\nReliever Jason Adam began throwing weighted balls against a wall Monday and is expected to play catch next week. The Padres are hopeful that Adam, out since July 1 with a shoulder strain, will return in the first half of September.
\nJoe Musgrove threw his between-starts bullpen yesterday and is scheduled to make his third rehab start Friday for Triple-A El Paso. It could be Musgrove\u2019s final outing before returning to pitch for the Padres, though there were indications the team might opt for him to make another minor-league start.
\nYesterday\u2019s game (at three hours, 46 minutes) was the Padres\u2019 third-longest of the season. Only their 12-inning victory over the Rockies on April 9 (3:52) and a loss in 11 innings to the Reds on June 9 (3.48) were longer.<\/p>\n
All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n
No game today, so no newsletter tomorrow.<\/p>\n
I will have a story on our Padres page<\/a> today explaining how and why Steven Souza Jr. and the rest of the Padres hitting coaches evidently no longer stink at their job. (That was sarcasm, to be sure.)<\/p>\nThe next Padres Daily will arrive in your inbox Saturday.<\/p>\n
Talk to you then.<\/p>\n
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