Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.
The San Diego Padres made it through much of the 2026 season with bubble gum and duct tape holding their starting pitching staff together. Michael King and Walker Buehler have been the only two constants in the rotation while other starters like Randy Vasquez, Griffin Canning and German Marquez, who is no longer with the team, have been used as starters and have worked out of the bullpen as a result of their struggles on the mound. The one constant for the San Diego rotation has been inconsistency.
Padres general manager and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller tried to address the rotation at the trade deadline. He went out and got arguably two of the top starters on the market in Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers and Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants. San Diego had to use some of what little capital it has left in the minor league system to make the additions, but the moves by Preller at the deadline were widely praised by MLB pundits and fans alike.
The additions of Mize and Ray could have been foreshadowing what was to come over the remaining months of the season. Starters Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta have each been working back from injury throughout the first half of the season. Musgrove has had a much slower rehab process recovering from Tommy John surgery following the 2024 season than was expected by much of the Friar Faithful. Pivetta went down early in the season and has slowly worked back to health and is pitching in various stages of the San Diego minor league system on rehab ****** ignments.
Musgrove and Pivetta have each had setbacks in their processes and it was revealed on Wednesday that Musgrove had another setback with arm soreness following his last rehab start at Triple-A when the El Paso Chihuahuas were in Oklahoma City. Pivetta pitched for El Paso as well and looked good considering the last time he was on the mound in Lake Elsinore he walked off the mound suddenly and did not return to the game. It was revealed later he felt some discomfort, but it turned out to be inconsequential and he threw additional pitches in a bullpen session that same day.

#diego #starters #Padres #much

Kevin Buehler
Aug 31, 2026, 8:11 am EDT
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#buehler #jones #reserved #intelligence

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.
In the end, it was not close. To be honest, that was to be expected.
Ty France was the overwhelming answer to the Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey poll question this week. "Who has been more impressive so far this season?" Respondents had the choices of France, Luis Campusano, Walker Buehler or Bradgley Rodriguez. Looking back, it would have been appropriate to add Yuki Matsui to the list of candidates as well, but France would probably remain the top choice.
The right-handed slugger has been stellar defensively for the Padres this season, despite a bobble on a play on Saturday night. The fielders, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth all seem to enjoy having a Gold Glove Award winner manning first base. It allows them to make throws without the pressure of having to make them perfect. France himself is not perfect, but more often than not, if he can get to a throw he does and that results in more outs and less traffic on the bases for San Diego pitchers.
France came into the 2026 season as a minor league invite, but he has taken full advantage of his second opportunity with the Padres. There is no reason to think he would not receive a multi-year contract offer that would start in 2027 if the season is not lost due to a lockout. France added to his season totals with a home run int the second game of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is currently hitting .287 after 355 at-bats. He has 19 home runs with 59 RBI and 47 runs scored. France has also walked 30 times. He has been entrenched as the No. 4 hitter in the San Diego lineup and there have been calls from some fans the the Padres to slide him up to the No. 3 spot in front of Machado who has been struggling as of the late.

#Padres #fans

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Diaz knocked in three runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning and Chandler Simpson followed with a tiebreaking RBI hit as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat San Diego 7-6 on Saturday in a game in which Padres second baseman Luis Rengifo was carted off with an apparent leg injury.
Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda homered as the Rays won their third straight and for the fifth time in six games.
Kevin Kelly (6-3) earned the win with 1 2/3 innings in relief. Bryan Baker recorded his league-leading 39th save by working a scoreless ninth. Starter Nick Martinez allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out four in six innings.
Bradgley Rodriguez (3-3) took the loss after failing to record an out while facing four batters in the seventh. Walker Buehler allowed seven hits and three runs while striking out three in five innings. Ty France hit a two-run home run for San Diego.
The Rays scored four times in the seventh inning. Diaz hit a bases-loaded single off the base of the wall in center. On the play, Rengifo was injured after taking a relay throw and while trying to cut down Cedric Mullins at the plate in a run down. When his throw sailed wide, Rengifo fell to the ground and two additional runners scored, tying the game at 6.

#rengifo #seventh

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.
It has been a season of opportunity for some of the players on the San Diego Padres roster. Some of those players have taken full advantage of their opportunity and that could result in more playing time, higher expectations or in some cases more money.
France signed with the Padres in the offseason on a minor league deal. He was promised nothing but an opportunity to make the team and the Gold Glove Award winner did that out of Spring Training. There was a time where he and Gavin Sheets and Nick Castellanos were all expected to share time at first base and France was thought to possibly be the odd man out. His play turned not only allowed him to outlast Castellanos on the San Diego roster, but it also cemented him into the No. 4 hole in the lineup. France has performed on defense and has provided production at the plate. He has 344 at-bats with 99 hits, 18 of which were home runs, for a .288 average. France also has 56 RBI, 44 runs scored and has even stolen a base.
Campusano finally got some regular playing time under new Padres manager Craig Stammen. The catcher finally had a manager who was going to allow him to play free and play often without the fear of being sent back to the minors the first time he hit a slump or failed to block a ball in the dirt. Campusano has responded with a solid season in which he has amassed 143 at-bats with 41 hits, five home runs, 23 RBI and 18 runs scored. He holds a .287 average on the season and has been able to catch and serve as the designated hitter throughout the season.
Buehler, like France, was only promised an opportunity. He got more of a chance than he thought when Joe Musgrove was unable to be ready to return to the mound following Tommy John surgery and Nick PIvetta went down with arm issues early in the season. Randy Vasquez started the season strong but quickly faded. Buehler has had some duds this season, but overall, he has been a consistent starter for a team that was limited to Michael King in terms of pitchers who could take the mound and instill confidence in the team and the fanbase. Buehler has appeared in and started 26 games in 2026. He has a record of 8-6 with a 4.63 ERA. He has thrown 126.1 innings and has 108 strikeouts over that span. He is 3-1 in his last seven games with a 2.89 ERA and has only gotten better as the regular season winds down.

#season #time #Opportunity

The Mets started a three game series against the Padres on Monday night. The Padres were sitting in a playoff spot, just a game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot. Walker Buehler was getting the start for the Padres, while Nolan McLean was taking the mound for the Mets, hoping to add another entry to what was shaping up to be a fantastic first full season for the rookie pitcher.
The first inning was a challenge for McLean. It looked like it might be an easy inning after Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a line out right into McLean's glove for a first out on the first pitch of the game. But back-to-back singles put two runners on with one out. Two more singles followed immediately after, but each one was hit to Carson Benge, and each resulted on an out at the plate with Benge throwing both Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado out at the plate on consecutive plays.
The Mets led off the bottom of the first with an A.J. Ewing single and a Francisco Lindor walk, putting two runners on for the Mets with no outs. Bo Bichette then hit a single to drive in Ewing as the first run of the game on his bobblehead night. Luis Robert Jr. drove in the Mets second run of the game two batters later, hitting a sacrifice fly to bring Lindor in to score.
The second was another difficult endeavor for McLean. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases with no outs, spelling trouble for New York. Luis Rengifo hit a comebacker to McLean, who threw home for a force out to keep the Padres scoreless, but also kept the bases loaded with just one out. The Padres finally cashed in when Tatis, up for the second time in the game, hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Gavin Sheets and cut the Mets lead down to one run. Conenworth hit a single, but this time Ewing came through for McLean, throwing Xander Bogaerts out at the plate to end the inning.
McLean and Buehler traded scoreless innings for the next few frames. McLean came out of the game after six innings, having allowed just the one run. Keeping it to one run was impressive given that he gave up six hits and four walks while only striking out three, which helped illustrate the full team effort on defense alongside McLean.

#first #inning #plate

West coast games have not agreed with the Brewers this season. For the sixth time this season, the Brewers gave up double-digit runs in a game, and three of those have happened on the west coast. This time, it was an 11-2 loss to the Padres on Wednesday night in San Diego.
The game started off well enough for Kyle Harrison, who needed just ten pitches to get through the first inning despite allowing a single. However, it all started falling apart in the second. The inning started with back-to-back singles by Jackson Merrill and Austin Hays. Then, with runners at first and second, catcher Luis Campusano hit a ground ball directly to David Hamilton at third base. It was a tailor-made double play at minimum, and potentially even a chance at a triple play. Hamilton stepped on third and threw to Jihwan Bae at second, but Bae missed the catch. It should have been a error, but is not counted as one since by rule, you can't ****** ume a double play will be turned.
That loomed large as the inning continued. Xander Bogaerts popped out for the second out, but then Jake Cronenworth hit a double to left to score a run. After that, Fernando Tatis Jr. worked a full count, and then drew a walk after a challenge on a called strikeout. That brought up former Brewer Luis Rengifo. On the second pitch he saw, Harrison threw a fastball right down the middle, and Rengifo sent it far out over the left field fence. The Padres had a 5-0 lead.
From there, it might as well have been an insurmountable lead as the Brewers flailed against Walker Buehler. In his six inning start, he threw just 58 of his 98 pitches for strikes, and that was with the Brewers' hitters taking some bad swings. They did get a run off him in the third on a Jackson Chourio groundout with runners at second and third base, but that was all. That was the only run Buehler allowed, finishing his day with just one run, three hits, and two walks allowed while striking out five.
Meanwhile, Harrison had to keep pitching to not use up the bullpen, but his struggles were not done. He allowed a solo home run to Tatis Jr. on the first pitch of the fourth inning. The next inning, he allowed a two-run home run to Campusano. His day came to an end at 4 2/3 innings pitched, allowing eight runs on ten hits and three walks with just three strikeouts. His fastball velocity was notably down throughout the start, averaging between 92 and 94 mph, and topped out at 94.5 mph.

#inning #second #double #started

The Milwaukee Brewers continue a West Coast swing by taking on the San Diego Padres on Aug. 11 at Petco Park.
Follow along for live updates as Kyle Harrison (9-2, 2.84) opposes Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.07) in the starting pitching matchup.
Time: 7:40 p.m. CT.
Brewers.TV

#Padres #kyle

It's the first game of August! Rejoice, San Francisco Giants fans …. the season won't go on much longer. The Giants are in sunny SoCal for this contest, as they play the third of four games against the San Diego Padres.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle takes the mound for the Giants, in what could very possibly be his final start with the team. The veteran has made 17 starts this year, and is 3-9 with a 4.96 ERA, a 4.41 FIP, and 80 strikeouts to 35 walks in 89 innings. After a rough start to the year, Mahle has been much better lately, and he was excellent his last time out, when he tossed six shutout frames against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Giants are likely hoping that his recent hot stretch will make him a tradable **** et ahead of Monday's deadline.
For the Padres, it's old foe Walker Buehler, a right-hander. The two-time All-Star, who tormented the Giants for years while on the Los Angeles Dodgers, is trying to get his career back on track but is having a rough go of it. In 21 starts this year, the 32-year old is 6-5 with a 5.13 ERA, a 4.35 FIP, and 91 strikeouts to 42 walks in exactly 100 innings. In his last start, against the Miami Marlins, Buehler gave up three runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings.
Enjoy the game, everyone!
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#year #innings #mahle

The San Diego Padres are conducting an exercise in "pitching chaos," and it's something of a last ditch effort. It's the ultimate version of desperation, perhaps, but it's also all they have.
Their most recent predecessors in this are the Detroit Tigers, who did it back to 2024, and they used an two-man rotation along with an ****** ortment of pitching flotsam and jetsam to make the postseason.
"I think they showed it's possible to do," said manager Craig Stammen, who actually opened a handful of games for the Padres earlier this decade, in a piece written by Dennis Lin of The Athletic. "Will we try to replicate that? Maybe some version of that, on some nights."
The Padres' pair of starters is Michael King and Walker Buehler, and Buehler has had more than his share of shaky outings. Bullpen coach Ben Fritz basically pre-scripts most of the games together with pitching coach Ruben Niebla, and they're hunting matchups while trying to limit exposure.
"Looking at personnel, looking at who you have and how we maximize our chances, we'd be foolish to not try something different," Fritz said.

#pitching #looking #games #diego

The San Diego Padres staked starter Walker Buehler to a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. He immediately surrendered four runs and the Padres headed back to their dugout for their turn at the plate in the bottom of the inning, trailing the Blue Jays, 4-2. Both teams traded blows with the game being tied two times at 4-4 and 7-7 before Ty France hit a decisive solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead San Diego to an 8-7 win at Petco Park on Saturday night.
Buehler had his third consecutive disappointing outing. He allowed four runs on three hits with four walks and one strikeout over just two innings. Matt Waldron who just returned to the Padres, was forced into action and was effective over three innings. He did not allow a run and limited the Blue Jays to just two hits. San Diego held a 7-4 lead when Waldron left the game, but Bradgley Rodriguez came on to pitch for Yuki Matsui with two on in the top of the sixth inning and surrendered a three-run home run to Vladamir Guerrero Jr. which tied the game at 7-7.
France responded in the bottom of the sixth inning when he connected on a solo home run with two outs in the inning that put the Padres ahead by a run. Both teams failed to add to their run totals over the next two innings and Mason Miller came on to close the game and ensure the win for San Diego.
The Padres will look to win the series against the Blue Jays to head into the All-Star break with a .500 record today at 1:10 p.m.
Padres News:

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Max Kepler homered to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, his first home run since returning from an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Kepler hit a 94 mph four-seam fastball from Padres starter Walker Buehler 417-feet into the right field bleachers to give the Diamondbacks a 6-0 lead in the third inning. Kepler also had an RBI single in the first inning for a four-RBI night.
"I think it was just what we needed — one swing of the bat," Kepler said of his homer. "I'm ready to go, to swing, to hack."
Kepler was suspended in January for a positive test for Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of Trenbolone that's contained in some products used in body-building stores and has been used in products to promote cattle growth.
He was activated by the Diamondbacks on June 25.

The Diamondbacks jumped on Padres starter Walker Buehler early. They scored six runs in the first three innings, and despite this being a Brandon Pfaadt start, were just able to hold on for victory. The win put Arizona back in sole possession of second place in the NL West, and also brought them back to a .500 record for the fifteenth time this year. That stat is for ChefAZ.
The D-backs took the lead while, I suspect, a sizeable number of fans were watching Team USA's exit from the World Cup at the hands feet of Belgium. Yes, them again. Ketel Marte wasted little time, tripling on a misplayed ball off the wall in center at Petco. Geraldo Perdomo them wore the next pitch to put runners on the corner, and an errant pick off throw by Buehler allowed the D-backs to bypass the whole, tricky "hitting with RISP" thing. Two outs later, Max Kepler did the whole, tricky "hitting with RISP" thing, scoring Perdomo for a 2-0 Diamondbacks edge. But that was just an amuse bouche for the main course, delivered by Buehler in the fourth.
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It was the epitome of the "That escalated quickly" meme from every San Diegan's favorite movie, Anchorman. With one out, Corbin Carroll squirted one down the left-field line for a double. Five pitches later, it was 6-0 to Arizona. In short order, Gabriel Moreno singled, Lourdes Gurriel had an RBI knock and Max Kepler cranked his first home-run as a Diamondback, a three-run shot. It was a no-doubter, a 417 foot blast to right. Wasn't the end of the fireworks for Arizona, as Geraldo Perdomo went deep (home-run #6 for him) in the fourth, and Nolan Arenado reached double-digits with his tenth of the year. All three homers are above.
Arenado joins Marte and Carroll in that club. After a rough June (196/.255/.299 for a .554 OPS), it'd be nice to get Nolan back on track. Speaking on "back on track", Brandon Pfaadt delivered his best outing of the season. Indeed, the Game Score of 65 was his second-highest since July 18 last year. The only better was, of course, his incomplete game shutout against the Giants in September. Tonight, he pitched five scoreless, with no walks and six strikeouts. He did allow four hits, and just had a single clean inning. But all of the knocks were singles, and he didn't face a single batter with a runner in scoring position. He could have gone longer, but is still being stretched back out. He threw 66 in his first game back and reached 72 tonight.

After a week straight of losing games, the San Diego Padres finally put one back in the win column. With their win on Sunday afternoon, the club staved off the sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That, thankfully, put an end to the Friars’ eight-game losing streak. It has felt like much longer than that, but the club has started to look better. The last three games have felt especially healthy, despite San Diego being 1-2 in that span.
Starter JP Sears pitched four hitless innings against L.A. before giving up a single in the bottom of the fifth. Bench coach Randy Knorr, who replaced Craig Stammen after the latter was ejected in the first inning, decided to pull Sears for unknown reasons. San Diego’s starters have looked better lately. They’ll need to keep that up against the Arizona Diamondbacks heading into their final homestand before the All-Star break.
Pfaadt has been a solid back-end starter for Arizona, but he’s struggled lately. This season, the righty owns a 5.40 ERA through just 43 1/3 innings pitched. Pfaadt’s pitched better as of late, but he still owns a 4.50 ERA across his last 14 innings.
San Diego should have no problems tagging the righty for some runs. Jake Croneworth owns a lifetime .409 batting average against him (22 at-bats). Similarly, third baseman Manny Machado has a 1.061 OPS versus Pfaadt. Both will look to continue that success.
After completely turning his season around, Buehler had a setback in his last start. Buehler had given up just one run apiece in every start he made in June. Then came his last outing against the Chicago Cubs. Nine earned runs in just four innings of work. It was, by far, the righty’s roughest outing this season.

We’re almost to the MLB All-Star Break, which means it’s crunch time for our fantasy baseball teams. Some of the hitters that were recommendations to add and stream have turned into reliable players to keep on rosters in most leagues. That’s typically the goal of finding hitters to stream, where we want them to turn into regular pieces.
Last week, we were able to target Marlins, Athletics and Rockies hitters because of their hitter-friendly matchups and ballparks. Though we don’t have that type of boom week, the Dodgers face the Rockies and Diamondbacks — two of the worst pitching staffs. Not that we needed it, but stock up for Dodgers hitters in Week 16.
The Mets project to have mediocre matchups, though the best matchups come late in the week against Red Sox starters Ranger Suárez and Payton Tolle. Meanwhile, the Giants could have sneaky hitters to stream, since they face the Blue Jays and Rockies pitchers. We’ll dive into the Week 16 matchups to monitor before highlighting several hitters to add and stream in various league formats.
Diamondbacks (4 at SD, 3 at LAD
The Diamondbacks project to face seven right-handed starting pitchers in Week 16. It’s more favorable earlier in the week, facing Walker Buehler, Germán Márquez, Michael King and Griffin Canning. However, the Diamondbacks will face Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan in the latter part of the week. Max Kepler and Pavin Smith might be the biggest beneficiaries as the main strong-side platoon options, though Kepler recently came back from his suspension and Smith hasn’t been productive in a smaller sample.

One of the least-swept teams in baseball found themselves on the wrong end of history yesterday. The San Diego Padres were swept for just the third time this season after the Chicago Cubs scored 23 runs against the Friars. That total ties the Padres’ record for runs allowed in a game. It was a tough one to stomach for a team that has showed fight the last few games.
With starter Walker Buehler on the mound, it was the first pitcher that the Friar Faithful could feel confident about. Instead, Buehler disappointed and was tagged for nine runs in the blowout loss, seven coming via the long ball. It felt like the ball flew out of the yard for everybody but the Padres, who only put up three runs. They went a miserable 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
It’s been a part of a continuing trend toward mediocrity. The Friars need a win now more than ever and the schedule does not get easier from here. They’ll face the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for the second time this week, needing a turnaround to the slump San Diego has been mired in.
Sasaki started for L.A. in the only Padres’ win of last week’s series. All things considered, he pitched well apart from an 0-2 mistake to Ty France that ended up in the left field seats. The righty has been serviceable for the Dodgers this year, helping to bolster a rotation struggling with injuries.
He’s also looked better lately, with a 3.99 ERA across his last 38 1/3 innings compared to a 4.88 mark this season. Sasaki’s command has gotten better lately too (1.07 WHIP) despite walking five batters in last week’s contest against San Diego.

Take a flyball pitcher in JP Sears and put him on the mound in Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out you get a final score that looks like a bad football game. That was the case Tuesday night when the San Diego Padres suffered a 9-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Sears was staked to a lead thanks to a leadoff home run from Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the game, but the 1-0 advantage was short-lived because a Tatis throwing error in the bottom of the inning allowed Seiya Suzuki to reach safely and advance to second base with two outs. Sears allowed an RBI-single to Carson Kelly and the game was tied 1-1 after the first inning.
The trouble for the left-hander came in the bottom of the second inning. Sears allowed a one-out solo home run to Dansby Swanson to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. He then allowed a single and a walk before allowing a three-run home run to Alex Bregman to give the Cubs a 5-1 lead. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to make the score 5-3 in favor of the home team.
Both sides settled into the rhythm of the game until the bottom of the fifth inning when Sears allowed a solo blast to Michael Busch before allowing a two-out single to Ian Happ. Ron Marinaccio took over for Sears and allowed a two-run home run on a 2-2 pitch to the first batter he faced in Swanson who pushed the Cubs ahead, 8-3. Marinaccio was tagged for another home run to open the bottom of the sixth inning when he faced Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Padres found themselves trailing 9-3.
San Diego did mount a comeback in the top of the eighth inning when Gavin Sheets hit a three-run home run after a walk by Ty France and a one-out single by Xander Bogaerts. Tatis stepped to the plate later in the inning with two outs and connected on his second solo home run of the game and the second home run in the inning for San Diego, but that was where the scoring ended for the Padres and now, they find themselves looking to Walker Buehler to avoid a three-game sweep today at 11:20 a.m.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a brutal loss to the San Diego Padres, where they failed to get anything going offensively.
The Dodgers, on Friday Night, got support from their bullpen to keep them in the game score-wise, with only three runs coming off Roki Sasaki and the **** anese starter getting bailed out by the relievers.
However, the Dodgers only put up one run, which came on a Mookie Betts home run. It was a positive sign for a hitter whose season is still not up to snuff, but LA failed to score any additional runs despite loading the bases.
Old friend Walker Buehler got one over on the Dodgers with a strong performance, just one run over 5.1 innings.
The Dodgers can still win the series if they take the next two games and increase their lead in the National League West.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
San Diego Padres fans came into Spring Training knowing the pitching rotation was going to be without the services of Yu Darvish due to offseason surgery. There were questions about Randy Vasquez and his ability to perform consistently on the major league level, but the combination of Michael King and Nick Pivetta along with the return of Joe Musgrove was a promising top of the rotation.
Fast forward to this point in the season and not only have the Padres been without Darvish, but they have also not seen Pivetta due to injury, Musgrove has yet to even step on the mound in the regular season and Vasquez, who started hot, has looked like the Vasquez of a year ago with short outings, hard hit ****** and questionable command. San Diego general manager and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller tried to address the pitching depth issues, known and anticipated, while working with a restricted budget, but only Walker Buehler has performed well on a consistent basis. German Marquez made his way to the injured list but was not overly impressive before his IL stint and Matt Waldron never really threatened to take and hold a spot in the rotation.
Griffin Canning was signed in the offseason but was coming back from an Achilles injury. He performed well for the New York Mets a season ago before his injury and the hope was, he would return to form as a member of the San Diego rotation. That has not been the case. Canning has appeared in 10 games, has started eight and holds a 1-5 record with a 7.38 ERA. He has allowed 45 hits with 26 walks and eight home runs. Canning lasted just 0.2 innings against the Atlanta Braves after allowing four runs. Padres manager Craig Stammen has elected to use an opener the last two times out for Canning and the first rendition was successful with Canning throwing four-plus innings and allowing one run to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Lucas Giolito was signed after Spring Training and was expected to be a much-needed boost to the rotation. He has not been anything close to what was expected. His velocity is down, which makes his devastating changeup less effective and his command has been poor throughout his seven appearances with San Diego. Giolito currently holds a 2-3 record and a 5.16 ERA. He has allowed 33 hits and 23 walks with one home run allowed and has now landed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.

Texas Rangers lineup for June 20, 2026 against the San Diego Padres: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Walker Buehler for the Padres.
Texas will look to build on last night’s win against San Diego. They will be doing so with MacKenzie Gore making the start instead of Nathan Eovaldi, who has been scratched due to knee soreness. Jarred Kelenic gets his first start as a Ranger.
The lineup:
Pederson — DH
Jung — 3B

The San Diego Padres continued their freefall toward mediocrity with their fifth straight loss to the Philadelphia Phillies this time by the score of 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The Padres were finding ways to win despite their inconsistent offense through the first 50 games of the season but have not had that same luck over their last 10 games. San Diego is 2-8 over that span and is in danger of being swept by Philadelphia for the second time as they enter the final game of the series today at 10:05 a.m.
The Padres had their chances, yet again, to win a game against the Phillies, who had Christopher Sanchez on the mound, but like the day before, they failed to come up with a clutch hit with one out and runners on the corners in the top of the eighth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on a one-out single and was followed by Miguel Anduja, who singled to put runners on the corners. Manny Machado struck out for the second out of the inning, but then Gavin Sheets walked to load the bases and Xander Bogaerts was hit by a pitch to force in a run to make the score 3-2. With the bases loaded Ty France hit a ground ball to Philadelphia second baseman Bryson Stott who forced out Bogaerts at second base to end the threat and the inning.
Phillies closer Jhoan Duran got his second save of the series facing just three Padres in the ninth inning. He got Jackson Merrill to lineout and then struck out Bryce Johnson and Samad Taylor to close out the contest. Merrill provided the lone highlight for San Diego with an RBI-single off Sanchez in the top of the seventh inning. He followed France who hit a two-out double and came into score with Merrill’s hit. It was the first run allowed by Sanchez in 50.2 innings.
Walker Buehler started for the Padres and pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Jason Adam, who has not been the same dominant reliever since returning from his ruptured quadriceps tendon, allowed home runs to J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the seventh inning, which proved to be the difference in the game. San Diego will try to salvage the series with a win today.
Padres News:

PHILADELPHIA --The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres, 3-2, on June 3, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park. TST Photographer Robert Sloter was on the field to capture the action and following images.
Robert Sloter - The Sporting Tribune
Cristopher Sanchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park on June 3, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Robert Sloter - The Sporting Tribune
Walker Buehler #10 of the San Diego Padres throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 3, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.