DENVER — Starting pitching has been a bane for the Padres over the past two weeks. Entering their weekend series against the Rockies, San Diego starters were sporting a 7.52 ERA over their previous nine games (the worst mark in baseball in that span), averaging fewer than 3 2/3 innings per appearance.
If the Padres expect to make a deep run this October, the rotation is going to have to be better than that. This weekend, it was.
Following quality starts from Nick Pivetta on Friday and Randy Vásquez on Saturday, Dylan Cease delivered five-plus solid innings in the Padres’ 8-1 win over the Rockies to take the series on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.
“As starters we know we need to step it up and we did it, which is great,” Cease said. “We got to keep it going. We know we can, and we know we have to.”
Cease struck out five and allowed just one run on four hits and two walks, working into the sixth for the second time in his past four starts. All told, Padres starters allowed five earned runs over 17 frames at the hitter-friendly environs of Coors.
“We talk about what the recipes are to win games, and that’s it,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Nick got us through six, Randy got us through six, Dylan got us into the sixth today. That’s how you keep your bullpen fresh and use the guys appropriately, and offense gives us the lead, that’s really how this is designed.”
After snapping a streak of three consecutive series losses, the Padres head back to San Diego one game back of the Dodgers in the National League West and three games behind the Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot.
Cease was the beneficiary of early and frequent run support, starting with Manny Machado, who launched the Padres’ longest home run of the season (a Statcast-projected 452-foot two-run shot to left-center field) to give the right-hander a first-inning lead and set the tone for what ended up being a four-homer day for San Diego.
It’s an encouraging sign for a struggling Machado, who entered the series finale sporting a .551 OPS in 140 plate appearances since the start of August.
“It sucks when you’re losing,” Machado said of his lackluster performance recently. “That’s the only thing that matters at the end of the day. When we win games — we had an offensive outbreak yesterday as a whole group — it doesn’t matter what I did. We won and we did the job, I think that’s all that matters. Just continue to take good at-bats and try to help the team any way I can.”
The top three hitters in the Padres’ order (Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez and Machado) have all been scuffling lately. But all three were impactful over the weekend, with Tatis drilling his 20th homer on Saturday and Arraez reaching base six times and driving in a pair over the series. Getting that trio going will be important as San Diego continues its postseason push.
The same can be said regarding the rotation. And there are reasons to be optimistic about a turnaround in that department, as well.
Aside from the quality the Padres received from Pivetta, Vásquez and Cease, they anticipate Michael King will return from the injured list sometime within the next week. Getting King back will help stabilize the top of the rotation for the start of the postseason, assuming the group is able to stay healthy over the final three weeks.
“This is not a secret to this game,” Shildt said. “The saying is a true adage: starting pitching gives your team a chance to win. I love our rotation, it’s just a matter of time before it starts clicking again. It’s been there for us a good portion of the season.”
Coupled with their MLB-best bullpen, the Padres pose a formidable threat on the mound in October with King in the mix. Even more so if Cease and Yu Darvish hit their stride before the end of the regular season. And whatever Vásquez is able to contribute while Nestor Cortes is sidelined (left biceps tendinitis) will certainly be valuable, as well.
There aren’t many clubs — if any — that can adequately match up against that unit when it’s firing on all cylinders.
“We’ve had really good starting pitching all year,” Jackson Merrill said. “I feel like it’s gone the same way for them [recently], a lot of bad luck, some unlucky games. But we’re getting to the point where [the past] doesn’t matter anymore — nobody is thinking about April, May or June. They’re thinking about right now and performing to the best of their ability.”
