Lamet dominates until start unravels in sixth

SAN DIEGO -- For five innings on Tuesday night, Dinelson Lamet did everything the Padres could've asked for. Sure, Lamet hung a slider that Willson Contreras deposited in the left-field seats in the top of the fourth inning. But he didn't allow another run, striking out six, and allowing that lone hit.

It's been a slow build for Lamet this year. His 2020 season came to an early end because of elbow trouble, and the Padres hadn't pushed him past four innings in any outing until Tuesday night -- when he was excellent over five.

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And then, to much surprise, Lamet reemerged for a sixth. He had thrown only 73 pitches, and based on the results, he had earned it. But Lamet’s presence on the mound was still particularly notable. It marked the first time this season that the Padres have truly pushed him. The decision would quickly backfire and spiral into a 7-1 loss to the Cubs at Petco Park.

“Everything was still looking sharp,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “We wanted to get him up for the sixth and see how we do.”

So the Padres experimented, and they were burned. The three batters Lamet faced all tallied hits. His night came to an end when Anthony Rizzo’s two-run double got past fill-in center fielder Jurickson Profar. (Profar has struggled there in Trent Grisham's absence.)

Rizzo would later score in the frame, and the Cubs would tack on another run, giving them a 5-0 lead. Lamet was saddled with four runs on four hits on the night. The way Zach Davies was pitching, that was plenty.

The former Padre carved up an overeager San Diego offense for six innings, allowing only Fernando Tatis Jr.'s broken-bat single in the fourth inning.

Davies, of course, went to Chicago in the deal that brought Yu Darvish (Wednesday's starting pitcher) to San Diego. As such, Tuesday's game marked a battle between the Padres' two best starting pitchers last season.

Just because Davies won that battle emphatically does not mean Lamet's progress should be overlooked. A year ago, Lamet was a certifiable Cy Young contender, authoring the lowest qualifying ERA in franchise history. His two starts against the Cubs over the past week have offered convincing evidence that he’s capable of reaching those heights again.

“I left the game healthy, and I felt good,” Lamet said. “I was able to come out all right. I wasn’t able to pitch the way I wanted to in regards to limiting runs and giving my team a chance to win, unfortunately. That’s the only thing that went wrong.”

Lamet, who hadn’t pitched into the sixth since last September, was a bit harsh on himself postgame. His slider was particularly sharp, as he induced 11 whiffs on 21 swings. His fastball velocity continued its upward trend as well.

It was the Padres’ offense that was lifeless, and aside from a nine-run outburst in Monday’s series opener, it’s been in a funk for the better part of two weeks.

Those are concerns that can be addressed externally on the trade market. Or they could be addressed internally -- with the return of Grisham and a more production from Wil Myers, Profar and Brian O’Grady.

“They’re going to work through it,” Tingler said, offering yet another vote of confidence in his current offense. “You want it to happen sooner rather than later. But it’s going to turn.”

Even though the pitching staff has carried the Padres for most of the season, it isn’t without its own question marks at the back end of the rotation.

Lamet -- no matter how his start ended on Tuesday night -- is so far offering some of the best answers the Padres could’ve hoped for.