The San Diego Padres were down three everyday players for their series finale against the Athletics on Wednesday.
However, their lockdown bullpen was intact, allowing them to earn a 2-1 win with a patchwork lineup and take a series to return home with the major leagues’ best record at 10-3.
San Diego starts a six-game homestand Friday night with a game against the Colorado Rockies, hoping to get Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth back in the lineup. But if the Padres have to play without one or both again, they can be secure knowing their relief corps is not only rested but highly effective.
The frontline guys out of the San Diego bullpen — Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez — closed out all three wins on the just-concluded 3-3 road trip. They allowed just one hit in four scoreless innings on Wednesday, lowering the bullpen’s ERA to a big-league-best 1.65.
“This bullpen, it just feels like back to the good old days when you and your homies are just out there playing baseball on the same team and you’re all wanting the best for each other,” Estrada said.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt the Padres’ feelings one bit if Tatis (sore shoulder) and Cronenworth (side contusion) were able to return. Both were hurt Tuesday night in a 10-4 loss to the A’s, and the team played with what amounted to a two-man bench on Wednesday.
With All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill (hamstring) on the injured list for another week, San Diego’s depth is being tested. Another concern might be starting pitching, particularly the back end of the rotation after last weekend.
Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta (1-1, 2.70 ERA) will try to rebound from a poor start Saturday in a 7-1 loss at the Chicago Cubs. He lasted only three innings, allowing six hits and three runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Pivetta has been hammered in five career appearances (four starts) against Colorado, losing all five while compiling a 15.51 ERA.
While the Padres have started the season well, the same can’t be said for the Rockies. Despite a 7-2 win Thursday over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado has already found its accustomed place in the NL West cellar at 3-9.
A five-run eighth inning Thursday constituted a rare offensive explosion for a team that gets to play half its games a mile above sea level. Colorado is averaging just 3.3 runs per game and isn’t compensating with pitching, allowing opponents to hit a major-league-worst .290.
Brenton Doyle led the charge Thursday with a homer and a three-run double, finishing with three hits and five RBIs.
“That was a big momentum shift for us,” Doyle said. “We want to build on it.”
Colorado’s German Marquez (0-1, 2.45 ERA) will get the ball to start the weekend series. The right-hander last worked on Saturday in a 7-4 loss against the Athletics, allowing five hits and four runs, three earned, in five-plus innings. Marquez walked six and fanned three.
In 18 career outings, 16 of them starts, against San Diego, Marquez is 10-3 with a 4.38 ERA.
The Rockies won eight of 13 meetings between the teams last year, going 4-2 in San Diego.
–Field Level Media
