Padres bats make noise, but not enough to make up for Waldron’s blunder

Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) v. Michael King (SD)

Misiorowski has been doing what he does best: throwing baseballs as hard as almost any human can. He’s been much more successful than last season, with his fastball run value going from ranking in the 63rd percentile (2025) to the 86th (2026). In his first eight games, he owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. The young phenom has anchored this Brewers rotation. He has been one of the best pitchers in the National League, giving Milwaukee a shot at staying in contention in the stacked NL Central division. King has been just as much of an ace as he ever has been for the Friars. He’s pitched to a 2.76 ERA in 45 2/3 innings, with his sinker and changeup being his most valuable pitches. He pitched a gem in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up one run across six innings. If he can do that again against a Brewers club that has struggled to score runs, tonight may turn out to be quite the pitcher’s duel.

Batter up!

Manager Craig Stammen made just about the most offense-focused lineup he could, putting Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base so Nick Castellanos could play right field, and having Andujar DH. That didn’t end up working out fully, with the Friars only scoring four runs in their loss.

1. Jackson Merrill, CF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Miguel Andujar, DH
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
7. Ramón Laureano, LF
8. Sung Mun-Song, 2B
9. Rodolfo Durán, C Andujar is the only player who’s faced Misiorowski and, though it’s a small sample size (two at-bats), he’s batting 1.000 with a 2.000 OPS. Duplicating that would go a long way toward a San Diego win. The lineup knocked eight hits last night, but couldn’t take advantage of all of their opportunities. They’ll need to do a much better job tonight if they hope to force the rubber match tomorrow.

Relief corps

With Bradgley Rodriguez serving as an opener for Waldron, the Friars used three relievers to get through the game. It was basically a bullpen game with Waldron only going 2 2/3 innings. Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui combined to pitch 4 1/3 scoreless innings. With that, the bullpen has plenty of options for tonight’s game. Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Ron Marinaccio, Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon will each be readily available for Stammen to turn to. All but Marinaccio are obvious high-leverage options for the Friars.