Good Morning San Diego: German Marquez has rough start, Padres lineup picks him up

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 11: Ramon Laureano #5 of the San Diego Padres rounds the bases past third base coach Bob Henley #20 after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 11, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

German Marquez was not sharp in his start against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on Saturday night. The former Rockies ace who was facing his former team for the first time, allowed three home runs and Colorado held a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning. In years past, the game would have been over essentially before it started, but this San Diego Padres team went to work. San Diego put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning after Manny Machado hit a two-run home run. The Padres added three more runs in the fourth when leadoff hitter Ramon Laureano hit a three-run home run to put San Diego ahead 6-4. But the Padres did not stop there. They added another run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases loaded walk to push the score to 7-4 and Jackson Merrill broke the game open with a two-run double through the middle of the infield with the bases loaded to give San Diego a 9-4 lead. The Padres would allow the Rockies to add another run to make the score 9-5 and with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Stammen had to call on Jason Adam to get the final out and slam the door shut.

Padres News:

• The San Diego Padres wanted to bring back Luis Arraez, but he wanted to play second base. The Padres could not guarantee Arraez playing time at his preferred position, so he became a member of the San Francisco Giants. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball says without contact-heavy Arraez at the top of the lineup, San Diego is working to find a new offensive identity.

• Craig Stammen did not have the best start to his managerial career, but it was not all bad either. Respondents who took part in the Padres Reacts Survey this week on Gaslamp Ball believe Stammen has earned a middling grade to this point in the season.

• Fernando Tatis Jr. found himself in a new position in Stammen’s lineup on Saturday night – second base. Xander Bogaerts got the night off, so Jake Cronenworth bumped to short and Tatis Jr. came in to man second base, while Nick Castellanos filled the hole in right field.

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune focuses his attention on Padres closer Mason Miller and his historic start to the 2026 season. Dennis Lin of The Athletic also focused on Miller and asked the question, “Can he be the first reliever since 2003 to win the Cy Young?”

• Griffin Canning continues his rehab work in the minors, while some of the top prospects in the San Diego system get in on the action.

• Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune provided some notes on the night that was on Friday, including Walker Buehler, Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada and the run of bad luck that has befallen Tatis Jr.

Baseball News:

• Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez became the first player in the organization’s history to have a home run against each of the 29 other teams.

• Former Padres pitcher Michael Wacha is off to a scorching hot start to the season and continued his success with eight scoreless innings Saturday.

• The Tampa Bay Rays did not need to hit the ball far to get what they needed to get a walk-off win on Saturday.

• Reliever Craig Kimbrel is returning to the MLB as a member of the New York Mets.

• Houston Astros pitcher and one of the top free agents this past offseason Tatsuya Imai is returning to Hoston for an exam after experiencing arm fatigue on road trip.

• Adley Rutschman lands on 10-day IL and Ryan Mountcastle leaves the Baltimore Orioles game against the San Francisco Giants early with a foot pain.