PHOENIX -- At this point, the Padres have more or less weathered the early season storm.
Their 9-0 loss to the D-backs on Friday night at Chase Field dropped them to 10-12 this season. So, no, they haven't exactly thrived. Questions abound about their underperforming offense.
But on the pitching side of things, the first three-plus weeks on the 2023 schedule did San Diego no favors. That schedule featured just one off-day through the first 24 games -- and most of those games have come against playoff contenders.
Injuries made things even more difficult. Joe Musgrove hasn’t pitched yet due to a fractured left big toe. The Padres' relief corps, meanwhile, has dealt with a flurry of injuries -- and setbacks with those injuries.
In short: The early season results aren’t ideal; the circumstances explain at least part of that.
But those circumstances are about to change. The Padres have an off-day Monday to end a stretch of games in 18 consecutive days. Drew Pomeranz worked another 1-2-3 inning in his second Minor League rehab outing on Friday night and could return soon. Most notably, Musgrove returns on Saturday.
“Leadership qualities that he brings, it’s always nice to have him around,” Melvin said of Musgrove. “But when he’s part of the mix, and he’s pitching, it takes it to another level. We knew that when we got [to Arizona] we were going to get two significant players back.”
The other, of course, is Fernando Tatis Jr., who went 1-for-4 in his second game since returning from his PED suspension. His sixth-inning single snapped an 0-for-7 start to the season, and Tatis let out an overdramatic exhale on first base while looking into the visitors’ dugout.
“That’s the one you need to get out of the way,” Tatis said. “From there, you just start rolling.”
With Musgrove joining Tatis in making a return this weekend, the Padres will have some decisions to make. They’re the types of decisions a good team likes to have -- but decisions nonetheless.
Musgrove's activation will prompt at least one move on Saturday. It also means Ryan Weathers is headed to the bullpen after his solid start to the season. Weathers was available in a pinch on Friday night, Melvin said, and he might be fully available in relief beginning Saturday.
“All of us in this room, the goal is to get deep in the postseason,” Weathers said after his start on Monday. “It just starts by winning the game that day, and whether that’s me starting or me in the bullpen, I’m just ready.”
The reshuffling won’t end there. With two off-days next week and five off-days in May, the Padres are planning to downsize from a six-man rotation to five. That’s crucial on several fronts, but mostly because it allows them to fortify a bullpen that’s been overburdened in April.
Padres starter Seth Lugo did his best to preserve that bullpen on Friday. He even asked manager Bob Melvin for an extra inning, and Melvin obliged, explaining that he wouldn’t push Lugo past 100 pitches. So Lugo finished his night with six strong frames in which he allowed two runs while striking out six – on precisely 100 pitches.
The Padres kept it close until things unraveled in the eighth. Luis García was hit hard, then exited after he was struck in the calf by a comebacker, though Melvin indicated García would likely be OK. Reiss Knehr couldn’t clean up García’s mess, and the D-backs poured it on with seven runs in the inning.
Reinforcements are on the way in the 'pen. Lugo is one option, but that seems unlikely. His transition to the rotation has gone smoothly. In four starts this season, Lugo has a 2.78 ERA.
The likelier scenario is that Nick Martinez fills that role. Martinez, like Lugo, has pitched in both capacities in the past. He returned to the Padres with a preference to start this season, and he has been solid in that role. But he has proven he can be solid in just about any role -- and open to any role.
Whatever the pitching staff looks like, it’s going to be fresher, it’s going to be deeper, and -- with Musgrove and potentially Pomeranz in the mix -- it’s going to be better.
Now about those bats. The Padres were held to two hits and struggled to do much of anything against a dominant Zac Gallen. Manny Machado and Juan Soto were held hitless again, and the Padres’ lineup was shut out for the third time in five games.
“We have some guys in the middle of the order that aren’t doing what they normally do,” Melvin said. “... They’re going to heat up. It’s just gone on a little bit longer than you would expect.”