San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt said it would be a great September for his club.
If San Diego’s 4-3 win at Tampa Bay on Sunday is any indication, Shildt might be on to something. San Diego’s stacked bullpen fired four scoreless innings to enable the team to polish off a 4-3 road trip. The club is returning home still in control of one of the National League’s three wild-card spots.
The Padres look to keep their run toward a playoff spot going Monday when they start a three-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers.
San Diego (78-61) not only won on Sunday but further reinforced its roster with a series of moves. The Padres brought up 2023 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Elias Diaz from Triple-A El Paso and could use him at catcher in tandem with Kyle Higashioka, potentially limiting playing time for Luis Campusano.
Diaz was released by the Colorado Rockies last month with a .270 average and five homers in a season interrupted by injuries.
“I have a lot of experience,” he said. “I know I can catch. I know what I can do. I know I can definitely help out.”
The return of Opening Day starter Yu Darvish also appears imminent, as does the activation of All-Star outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. from the injured list. Darvish has been out since May 29 due to an elbow injury and then a personal matter. Tatis has been sidelined since June 21 with a stress reaction in his right leg.
The Padres are scheduled to start Joe Musgrove (4-4, 4.44 ERA) on Monday. He last pitched Wednesday night, giving up seven hits and three runs in six innings of a no-decision during his team’s 4-3 loss in St. Louis. In three career outings (two starts) against Detroit, he’s 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
As for the Tigers (70-68), they’ve put on a late surge for the final American League wild-card spot. Their 4-1 win Sunday over the Boston Red Sox was their 15th victory in 20 games, moving them within five games of the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins with 24 games left.
Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene each blasted two-run homers and the bullpen, tasked with handling the entire game, limited the Red Sox to six hits.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Torkelson said. “Winning is obviously fun, so it makes it a little easier. We know we’re going to find different ways to win and we did exactly that. Our pitching staff did an unbelievable job shutting them down and we got some timely hits. That’s what it’s all about.”
Detroit hasn’t named a starting pitcher for the series opener but one option could be veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda, who worked 4 1/3 innings of relief Wednesday and got the win in a 3-2 decision over the Los Angeles Angels. He followed opener Mason Englert to the mound.
Pitching has been the genesis of the Tigers’ recent surge. With AL Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal leading the charge, they have permitted more than four runs in a game just twice since Aug. 3.
–Field Level Media