HILL ACTIVATED; WILSON SENT DOWN
The Padres added left-handed reliever Tim Hill back to their bullpen after he rested a sore left shoulder for two weeks.
They still have just six true relievers on the 26-man roster, because they optioned Steven Wilson to Triple-A El Paso to make room for Hill.
Basically, Wilson was caught in a numbers game. Someone had to go.
“We have a lot of starters,” manager Bob Melvin said.
Wilson had not pitched in six days. He has options.
“He’ll definitely be back,” Melvin said.
The real question with the pitching staff is what the Padres will do with erstwhile starters MacKenzie Gore and Nick Martinez going forward.
Both were exceptional in “piggyback” games this week against the Phillies, with Gore throwing three scoreless innings Tuesday and Martinez four scoreless innings Wednesday.
After Sean Manaea started Friday and Joe Musgrove starts today against the Giants, it isn’t known yet how the Padres will proceed Sunday.
They could do the Mike Clevinger-Gore combination followed by Blake Snell and Martinez on Monday, same as they did against the Phillies. Or Gore could start Sunday and Clevinger Monday.
Even as he seemed to be giving all sides of the argument, it also seemed Melvin was leaning toward continuing the piggyback at least once more. The Padres are off Thursday before beginning a stretch of 13 games without a day off and a run of 31 games in 31 days (due to a June 11 doubleheader). They could go to a sixth starter for a period during that span.
“We’re getting into a stretch here where we’re gonna play a lot of games in a row,” Melvin said. “… Like we do anything around here, we’re trying to play for today’s game and we’ll see what we think (after that) what the obstacles (are) and what presents (to) us the next day. You always have to have an eye on what next week is going to look like. Sunday will have a lot to do with kind of where we’re going. But you see the starting pitching and how it’s been used here recently, too, with guys at the back end of a game. (Starting pitching) is the strength of the team. So we’re relying on our starters not only just in a starting role, but also in relief roles right now.”
Cano again
Robinson Cano, touted as primarily a left-handed bat off the bench when the Padres signed him,
started for the fourth time in the seven games since he joined the team.
“It’s about production and it’s about how things are going at the time,” Melvin explained of Cano being the designated hitter Friday while Luke Voit sat. “These guys have been great about it, too. They know. They want to win. Someone comes in and produces, they’re gonna get to play . ... It seems like the more at-bats (Cano) is getting right now, the better his timing is, and he’s had some impactful hits. You perform, you’re gonna find your way in the lineup.”
Cano was 1-for-4 with an RBI on Thursday and has three singles in his past seven at-bats. Melvin did indicate Voit, who is 1-for-15 with nine strikeouts over his past four games, would start the next two days against the Giants’ left-handed starters.
All over the place
The Padres on Friday played their seventh game on this trip, and not even accounting for time zone differences they played at a sixth different time.
“Games are different all over baseball now,” Musgrove said. “You never know when you’re starting.”
Friday’s 7:15 p.m. start was at least close to the 7:20 start (local time) in Atlanta to begin the trip. The second game against the Braves began at 4:05 p.m. and the next one at 11:35 a.m.
The Padres played at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Philadelphia and, then at 1:05 p.m. Thursday.
The next two days are 1:05 p.m. games.