The month of July was awful to the San Diego Padres, who went 11-14, lost the last two games to the Colorado Rockies, and lost Fernando Tatis Jr. as his shoulder flared up again, San Diego fans were holding onto any hope they could get.
Just one day into August, the Padres are 1-0, and received plenty of good news from their plentiful injuries suffered in the past 30 days.
In the opening frame, pitcher Reiss Knehr opened the bullpen game with a 1-2-3 inning. The offense followed that up with a four-run inning, running the opposing pitcher’s pitch count up over 40 and chased him out of the game after just one inning.
San Diego scored a run in four straight innings from the fourth through the seventh, while the only run from Colorado’s offense was a two-out solo shot by Sam Hilliard in the second inning.
The Padres threw out everybody from the bullpen with the off day Monday, giving Craig Stammen, Tim Hill, Pierce Johnson, Drew Pomeranz, Emilio Pagan and Miguel Diaz each one inning following Knehr’s three-inning start. With the six shutout frames, the Padres bullpen ERA was reduced to a league-leading 2.89 (Rays own second-best with a 3.05 ERA).
Injury updates:
Fernando Tatis Jr. has felt “much better” in the last 24 hours, according to Jayce Tingler, after his shoulder was more sore than his previous shoulder dislocations. The young shortstop will not travel with the team on their two-game road trip to Oakland, and instead, will receive treatment in San Diego. Saturday night, Tingler told reporters that Tatis Jr. may require season-ending surgery if he does not improve in the next 10 days.
Matt Strahm, the Padres reliever who owned a 2.61 ERA in 19 appearances in 2020, will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list before Tuesday’s game in Oakland.
In three rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso, Strahm threw 3 ⅔ innings while allowing two unearned runs, and striking out seven hitters with no walks. Strahm will provide huge relief to the most used bullpen in baseball, which has shown signs of fatigue in recent weeks.
Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet, who has been on the injured list since June 27 with right forearm inflammation, has pitched in simulated games at Petco Park in recent days and will begin on his rehab assignment Wednesday in El Paso as the rest of the team heads north to face the Athletics. When Lamet does return, he will appear in short relief roles, pitching just one or two innings to keep his workload down as he tries to come back from his injury.
The most popular pitcher in the Padres organization looking to bounce back is former club top prospect MacKenzie Gore. The 2018 first-round pick had a 5.85 ERA in six starts in Triple-A while dealing with blister issues. Gore has spent the past month-plus at the club’s training facility in Peoria, Ariz. as he worked through control and command issues.
He is close to returning to the minor leagues, where the Padres hope he finds success this time around. The organization has expressed numerous times how they would like to see him in the big leagues some time in late-August or September this season.