The Padres didn’t just win the 2026 Vedder Cup. They swept both of their series against Seattle this season and finished this one with a convincing 8-3 victory on Sunday night at T-Mobile Park.
That scoreline doesn’t really do it justice. The Mariners mustered just one hit against San Diego pitching, leading to this quirky bit of trivia: The Padres became the first team to win a game in which they allowed at least three runs while surrendering one hit or fewer since the Tigers did so on May 25, 1988. They’re the first team to do so -- win or lose -- since the 2016 Mariners.
An encouraging debut from Giolito
If Lucas Giolito pitches like this, there are going to be a lot of teams wondering why they didn’t sign him. Don’t be fooled by the line -- Giolito allowed three runs across five-plus innings. He was much better than those numbers would indicate.
Giolito pitched five scoreless innings, allowing the Mariners’ only hit. He was sent back out for the sixth after the Padres exploded for six runs in the top half of the frame. It’s forgivable that he wasn’t his sharpest, and walked three before giving way to the San Diego bullpen. This was his first start of the season, after all.
“One-run lead through those first five, and the offense just goes ballistic,” Giolito said. “I just think that I might have let off the gas pedal a little bit and lost a little bit of that edge and focus. Lost some mechanics there in the sixth inning, and it got a little out of control. Definitely a good one to learn from. But it feels good to be back out there.”
The Padres signed Giolito late last month, hoping to give their beleaguered rotation a boost. And this was precisely the boost it needed. After he made four Minor League starts building toward this one, Giolito was effective in limiting hard contact and struck out three.
It was a hugely encouraging first start, mostly because of what it means for the Padres’ rotation moving forward. While they’re waiting on Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta to get healthy, Giolito’s presence significantly raises the floor.
“It just feels good to be back on a big league team and contributing,” he said.
The Padres, meanwhile, would gladly sign up for five more months of this.
Sheets is mashing when the Padres need him to
The Padres’ biggest bats have struggled through the first quarter of the season, which has necessitated contributions from all corners of their roster to help make up for that production.
Gavin Sheets in particular.
After homering on Saturday, Sheets launched two more homers on Sunday, both of them no-doubters. He became just the second Padre with three homers in a series at T-Mobile Park, joining Rondell White, who did so in 2003. Then, he tacked on an RBI double in the seventh for good measure.
“Today was a really good day for Gavin,” said Padres manager Craig Stammen. “He’s had a good week. We really like where he’s at right now.”
Sheets’ .896 OPS leads all hitters on the active roster. He was moved to the No. 3 spot in the order on Sunday -- and he wasted no time rewarding the Stammen's faith. He might just stay there a while.
Another important aspect of Sheets’ production: He’s carrying the load for the Padres from the left side. Jake Cronenworth is hurt. Jackson Merrill is struggling. Sung-Mun Song isn’t playing regularly. The Padres haven’t gotten much production from their left-handed hitters. But Sheets is doing enough all by himself.
Next up: L.A.
You wouldn’t say the Padres are playing their absolute best baseball, heading into their first series of the season against the rival Dodgers. There are still some question marks on their roster -- particularly in the heart of the lineup. There’s more offense for them to tap into.
Then again, the Padres have won three straight and are 10 games above .500. They’re half a game back of the Dodgers. So, for all of the flaws on the offense right now, the Padres will at least head into that series feeling confident.
They’ll send Michael King, their best starter so far this season, to the mound on Monday night -- with their high-leverage relievers mostly fresh. Yoshinobu Yamamoto goes for L.A. Petco Park figures to be electric.
“It’s always exciting to play the Dodgers,” Stammen said. “They’re a great team. They’ve won the World Series the last two years. It’s always fun going up against the best. We’ll see where we’re at.”
Josh Kirshenbaum contributed reporting for this story.