MELVIN WARMING TO NUMBER SIX
It was supposed to be temporary. But Bob Melvin has leaned in.
“I think if you go back and look, I was probably the guy against a six-man rotation, let alone a seven-man rotation,” he said Wednesday. “But it has worked really well for us. And very few teams have the luxury to have as good as starters as we do. So we’re trying to find a way to get them all in there, because they’ve all been productive.”
With a doubleheader Saturday and 15 days without a break after that, the Padres will use all seven starters for a turn through the rotation.
Nick Martinez, who worked out of the bullpen this past Sunday, will start this coming Sunday after Mike Clevinger and MacKenzie Gore start in Saturday’s doubleheader against the Rockies.
Had the Padres not done that, Clevinger or Gore would have had to pitch on four days’ rest their next start. While that is the standard rest for a starter, it is not what the Padres are doing this season — at least not lately and for the time being.
Melvin has embraced having more starters to work with and allowing his starters to work deeper into games.
“It allows them to get a little extra rest,” he said. “We’re a third of the way into the season right now. It allows
us to use them all but also pitch them deeper in games. So with a shortened bullpen, it’s not only a strength of our team with the starters but allows us to use all of them and so far so good.”
The latest example of Melvin taking advantage of the situation was Tuesday. With three relievers unavailable due to workload limits and Yu Darvish pitching well, Melvin planned to send Darvish back out for the eighth inning until the Padres scored three runs to up their lead to 7-0. Then he felt comfortable turning the final two innings over to Adrian Morejon.
Padres pitchers are averaging a major league-high 92 pitches per start, but they pitch as seldom as any other team’s starters. Just the Angels and Astros have had
more starts on five or more days’ rest than the Padres.
Darvish had five days off before Tuesday’s start and will have six before his next one. Tuesday was his 11th start of the season, and he has gone on the traditional four days’ rest just twice. Joe Musgrove has made three starts on four days’ rest, Sean Manaea and Gore have each made two and Martinez one. Clevinger and Blake Snell have yet to pitch on four days’ rest.
Due in part to scheduled off-days and partially due to the Padres going with a sixman rotation, no Padres starter has gone on four days’ rest since Musgrove did so on May 1.
“I love it,” said Musgrove, who like most starters was initially leery of messing with the every-five-day routine. “We’ve done a good job of really buckling down on the recovery stuff and taking care of our body because, you know, regardless of how many days we rest, 100-plus pitches every time you’re going out, high-leverage pitches. It takes a toll on you. Credit to the guys here for putting in the work and doing a good job of recovering and staying healthy.”
Good return
Just less than 14 months after Tommy John surgery, Morejon was recalled Tuesday and threw two perfect innings at the end of that night’s game in his first major league action since April 11, 2021.
“I was super happy, super overjoyed when I got out there,” Morejon said through interpreter Danny Sanchez. “I was honestly a little bit more nervous than probably when I made my debut, just after having gone through all that.”
The 23-year-old Morejon, who many in the organization thought was on track for a breakout season in 2021 before he departed his second start with elbow pain, could be a significant factor in the bullpen. The lefthander, whose fastball was consistently at 97 and 98 mph Tuesday, was throwing two innings in the majority of his minor league outings this year.
“That could be a big role for him,” Melvin said. “… He can give you multiple innings and, if he pitches like that, you can give the bullpen a break.”
The Padres anticipate Morejon returning to the rotation in 2023 but working out of the bullpen the duration of this season.
“You may see him a couple of times a week and maybe one time around the lineup type thing,” Melvin said. “I think it’s good that he got his feet wet (Tuesday) night in that type of game. … At some point in time, he’s going to be put in the fire because he’s got quality stuff. He’s got obviously a great fastball. And this is a guy that this organization has always had high hopes and big expectations for. It’s probably just happening in a different role at this point.”
Tatis, Myers updates
Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. expected the next CT scan on his wrist would be this week, but Melvin said it will take place early next week. The Padres are taking a conservative approach with Tatis. The hope is the next scan will reveal enough healing in the bone to allow him to begin swinging. The target for his return always has been the latter part of June with July being a possibility.
Right fielder Wil Myers is awaiting a second opinion on how to proceed with the cartilage issue in his right knee. Myers, who was placed on the injured list Friday, said Tuesday he is leaning toward forgoing arthroscopic surgery.