Pivetta leaves start with right elbow stiffness after 3+ innings
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SAN DIEGO -- The Padres polished off a four-game sweep of the Rockies with a 7-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. But did the finale ever come with a cost.
Right-hander Nick Pivetta -- arguably the most crucial member of an already-thin rotation -- exited his start in the fourth inning alongside a team trainer. The Padres later announced that Pivetta had left the game with right elbow stiffness.
Pivetta began his day by working three perfect frames, but he appeared to be in some discomfort while facing Edouard Julien, leading off the fourth. Pivetta threw a 92.2 mph fastball with his final offering, a couple of ticks below his average velocity.
That prompted Padres manager Craig Stammen and a team trainer to visit a visibly frustrated Pivetta on the mound. After a very brief discussion, Pivetta walked off the field and into the clubhouse.
Pivetta is perhaps the Padres’ top starting pitcher. He was their Opening Day starter and their starter in Game 1 of the postseason last year. He posted a 2.87 ERA last season and finished sixth in voting for the National League Cy Young Award.
In Spring Training, Pivetta had a start skipped because of what the team termed “arm fatigue,” though he quickly returned to his regular throwing progression. It’s unclear if Sunday’s issue was related in any way.
If Pivetta were to miss time, the Padres have a handful of options to replace him -- most notably knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who is currently nearing the end of his rehab stint with Triple-A El Paso. Waldron underwent a medical procedure during Spring Training and wasn’t fully built up to make the Opening Day roster.
Nonetheless, the loss of Pivetta would be a major blow for a rotation with serious depth concerns.
On Sunday afternoon, the offense picked up the slack. The Padres’ bats came alive over the weekend, launching nine homers across the four-game sweep. They’d entered the series with just seven home runs through the first 12 games.
Ty France, Ramón Laureano and Jackson Merrill all went deep in Sunday’s finale.