August 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arms watch<\/p>\n
After a day off from throwing, Casey Mize (right ankle) played catch on the field Monday. The off-day on Thursday allows the Padres an extra day to evaluate his progress ahead of his next scheduled start on Friday.<\/p>\n
Meantime, right-hander Nick Pivetta (flexor) threw a bullpen on Sunday and will resume a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday with low Single-A Lake Elsinore at Rancho Cucamonga.<\/p>\n
While PIvetta threw in the unofficial bridge league in Arizona on Thursday, he hasn\u2019t pitched in a game since walking off Lake Elsinore\u2019s mound on Aug. 4 with discomfort in his elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s feeling very good right now,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cFeeling a lot better. Very excited about his next opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Joe Musgrove\u2019s next opportunity, that will come Thursday for Triple-A El Paso for Oklahoma City. He was scheduled to throw over the weekend with El Paso but was held back after tweaking his back while working between starts.<\/p>\n
Musgrove threw 70 pitches (47 strikes) over 4\u2154 innings with El Paso on Aug. 14. A five-day schedule from Thursday could have Musgrove ready to return to the rotation as soon as Sept. 1, when rosters expand from 26 to 28.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m ready,\u201d Musgrove said. \u201cYou know, so it\u2019s kind of up to them what they want me to get. Obviously, the six innings, 85 pitches or so, which I\u2019m hoping to in this next one. So, I\u2019ve kind of known that I have one more outing at least ahead of me, regardless of what happened (with Mize). \u2026 Especially with the way we\u2019re playing, there\u2019s not like this urgent need to rush back right now. We\u2019re so close, so I think they really want to make sure we get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Notable<\/p>\n
Tatis was named the NL Player of the Week after hitting .480 with four homers via a pair of two-homer games, 11 RBIs and a 1.040 slugging percentage across six games. His grand-slam-robbing catch was also flagged by the league as the play of the week.<\/p>\n
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Monday\u2019s pitching matchup<\/p>\n
Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.68 ERA)<\/p>\n
The second-year starter has pushed his workload from 69\u2154 innings last year (2.71 ERA) to 149\u2153 innings with about a month left to the season. Ashcraft has allowed two runs over his last two starts (17 IP), fashioning a 14-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He struck out two in a scoreless inning as a reliever in his only appearance last year against the Padres.<\/p>\n
Ashcraft has history with two current Padres:<\/p>\n
2B Jake Cronenworth (0-for-1, K)
\nC Freddy Fermin (1-for-1, 2B)<\/p>\n
Padres LHP Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.20 ERA)<\/p>\n
He\u2019s coming off his first quality start as a Padre (6 IP, 1 ER), although he has walked 11 against 10 strikeouts across three starts (15 IP). Ray has a 4.09 ERA in eight starts in his career against the Pirates, including a win this year (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 BBs, 7 Ks) while with the Giants.<\/p>\n
Here is how Ray has fared against current Pirates:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ray-piratres.jpg\")
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