BEING CAUTIOUS: CLEVINGER SENT TO IL
The Padres have suffered the first blow to their extensive starting pitching depth.
Right-hander Mike Clevinger was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a triceps strain, a move that was generally painted as being done out of an abundance of caution after Clevinger did not pitch in 2021 following his second Tommy John surgery.
“It’s a little spot in his triceps that’s not bad,” manager Bob Melvin said. “But we’ve come so far with him and he was so good last time out, we just don’t want any hiccups . ... He wants to pitch, but we just don’t want any setbacks with him. It’s too early in the season to try to push him at this point.”
Clevinger pitched five scoreless innings Tuesday in Philadelphia. He said he felt “tightness” in the area of his right triceps in the fourth inning. He said a bullpen session Saturday went well and he fought to remain active.
Nick Martinez will return to the rotation to take Clevinger’s place, beginning with today’s game against the Brewers at Petco Park.
The Padres recalled reliever Steven Wilson to take Clevinger’s place on the roster. Since Wilson was optioned to Triple-A on Friday, Clevinger’s IL stint can only be made retroactive to Saturday rather than Wednesday, which was the day after his last start.
Clevinger said he doesn’t need the full two weeks he
will be down but that he understands the decision.
“We’ve got the luxury of having a bunch of elite starters, so it was like why not take that load off in the beginning?” Clevinger said. “I mean, if it was going to be a bullpen day, I probably would be going out there (today) and it’d be fine. But it’s just while we have (the depth) and while I’m coming back from a second TJ, let’s just be smart. It’s not exactly what I wanted to do. But it was a smart decision.”
Melvin had alluded to an issue with Clevinger in his pregame meeting with the media. A short while later,
the Padres announced their rotation for the upcoming series against the Brewers, with Clevinger scheduled today, Snell on Tuesday and Yu Darvish on Wednesday. A little while after that came the news about Clevinger, whose season got started late due to a right knee sprain.
Melvin said after Sunday’s game that Clevinger will be shut down for a couple days before resuming throwing. Melvin said he anticipates Clevinger throwing a couple bullpens and probably a few simulated innings before returning.
The Padres moved Martinez
and MacKenzie Gore to the bullpen to make room for Clevinger and Snell, who made his first start Wednesday after working back from an adductor strain.
Back starting, Gore went six innings for the first time in Sunday’s 10-1 victory over the Giants. In allowing a run on three hits and two walks while striking out six, the rookie lowered his ERA to 2.06 over 35 innings.
Martinez has a 3.89 ERA in 342⁄3 innings. He shut out the Phillies for four innings in relief of Snell on Wednesday.
“We’re lucky to have these guys,” Melvin said of the extra starting pitchers. “Firstworld problem.”
Good to be home?
Ha-seong Kim says he loves hitting at Petco Park, even though it has not loved him back this season.
Kim is hitting .111/.245/.178 at home. After going 2-for-5 with a double on Sunday, he is batting .292/.358/.542 on the road.
“I feel the same,” Kim said earlier this week through interpreter Leo Bae. “My balls have been caught more at home, I guess. I don’t think there is any difference.”
Kim has put far more balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or greater on the road. But he is correct that his fortune at home has not been nearly as good. He is 2-for-7 with a home run at Petco.
“I think he is one of the unluckiest guys in the league,” Manny Machado said this weekend. “I think he should be up there hitting over .300. But that’s why I always say baseball is 90 percent luck, 10 percent skill. He’s just been unlucky this year, so the numbers don’t really show it.”
Kim’s luck is much better on the road, where he is 10for-17 with four doubles, a triple and three homers on balls he has hit 95 mph or harder.
Kim was actually better at home last year, though the difference was not quite as pronounced. He hit .219/.313/ .406 at Petco and .187/.228/ .302 on the road in 2021.