Snell, Padres' bats, runners falter vs. Bucs

The Padres have played some crisp, clean, exciting baseball on their first road trip of the season.

Tuesday night was not one of those games.

The Friars would like to forget their 8-4 loss to the Pirates as quickly as possible. Blake Snell turned in the second-shortest start of his career, running his pitch count to 38 in the first inning. Wil Myers exited in the fourth inning with an inflamed right knee. The Padres stranded an unfathomable 15 runners, and also committed a pair of errors.

But although the game was sloppy -- and at times downright ugly -- it featured its share of noteworthy developments for the Padres. Here are a few brief takeaways:

1) Snell needs to bounce back quickly
His next start is the one he's been waiting for -- a rematch with the Dodgers on Sunday after his quick hook in Game 6 of the World Series last year. Snell has been mostly sharp since arriving in San Diego, but he hasn’t been nearly as efficient as he’d like. Tuesday’s start took that to the extreme. He lasted just two-thirds of an inning, his shortest outing since June 2019.

“There’s no reason for me to have the outing that I had,” Snell said. “I’ve got to learn from it, from the mistakes that I made.”

Snell consistently found himself in two-strike counts, but was unable to put hitters away. Afterward, he was visibly irked at being removed so early, but later said he understood the logic -- it being a long season and all. As for that start against the Dodgers:

“I can’t wait,” he said.

2) The Padres miss Austin Nola
Victor Caratini has done an outstanding job as the team’s primary catcher. But rookie Luis Campusano looks every bit the raw defensive product you’d expect out of a 22-year-old starting just his 146th professional game behind the plate, Minor Leagues included.

“He's going to make mistakes,” Tingler said before the game. “That's all right. We understand this isn't going to be the best version of him right now. It could be in three, four, five years. But we want to make sure he continues to grow.”

The best place for that growth for Campusano might be regular reps in the Minors. Regarding Nola, who should return later this month, Tingler said: “It's just a matter of keeping the swelling down and getting [him] game-sharp.”

3) Ryan Weathers didn't pitch -- which is noteworthy
If ever a game called for Weathers as the long man in the Padres' bullpen, it was this one. Unless, of course, Weathers is no longer the long man in San Diego's bullpen.

Remember, there's a vacancy in the Padres' rotation for Friday's opener against the Dodgers. Weathers already seemed like the likeliest candidate to fill that void. Tingler's decision-making on Tuesday night might have offered the biggest clue in that direction yet.

4) Nabil Crismatt saved the bullpen
Snell’s outing marked the second time in three games that a Padres starter didn’t make it through the first inning. That didn’t bode well for a beleaguered San Diego ‘pen -- until Crismatt stepped in with five innings and 85 pitches, both career highs.

“If he’s not able to do that, our bullpen’s really in bad shape,” Tingler said. “But we should be in decent shape tomorrow, just because of the way he stepped up.”

Still, don’t be surprised if the Padres call for reinforcements soon, with right-hander Pierce Johnson approaching a return.

5) It’s a bad time for an injury
Not that there’s ever a good time. But the Padres are in the early stages of a stretch with 17 games in 17 days, and their depth will be tested if Myers misses further time.

Myers is day to day, according to Tingler, and Jorge Mateo replaced him in right field on Tuesday night. Typically, Jurickson Profar would’ve slid to right field in Myers’ absence. But Profar has been forced into extra infield duty with Fernando Tatis Jr. on the IL.

6) Are there fireworks ahead?
Tuesday's game featured seven hit batters -- only the ninth time on record that both teams plunked three hitters. Most of those were clearly unintentional. Pirates pitchers were erratic all night, walking 13 Padres -- a San Diego record for a nine-inning game.

But one HBP stood out. A half-inning after Mateo was plunked on the wrist for the second time, Padres right-hander Taylor Williams drilled Phillip Evans in the back with a fastball with two outs and no one aboard.

“Personally, I was not surprised,” said Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings, though he added that he doesn't expect Tuesday’s proceedings to carry over.

Fine by the Padres. They wouldn’t mind forgetting Tuesday night as fast as possible.