San Diego finds a way, walks off Seattle on Merrill Madness

Taking the mound

Luis Castillo (SEA) v. Walker Buehler (SD)

Both Castillo and Buehler have struggled lately. That’s atypical for Castillo, who has turned in an ERA under 4.00 for seven consecutive seasons. His first start looked normal, pitching six scoreless innings of three-hit ball. But since then he’s allowed 10 runs (all earned), and hasn’t made it through more than four innings in either of his last two starts. If he wants to reverse that, he’ll have to limit a Padres lineup that has been incredibly potent. It won’t be an easy task for Castillo to do. But Seattle has hope against Buehler. He’s on the opposite trend as Castillo, having bad starts to begin the season and slowly improving. He capped off that improvement with six fantastic innings of three-hit ball against the Colorado Rockies last Friday. The only problem? This is a fantastic Mariners offense, highlighted by stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez. If Buehler can’t keep the ball in the yard, the Friars may have a tough time taking control of the game— no matter how easy of a solve Castillo may seem.

Batter up!

Fernando Tatis Jr. was out of the lineup yesterday apart from a pinch-hit opportunity in that magical ninth inning comeback. He’ll presumably be back today batting second in the order. Ty France has been getting a lot of looks lately, but he’ll probably sit to make way for Miguel Andujar, who hasn’t played in a few games. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Ramón Laureano out for a rest day. Bryce Johnson could take his place in left for the day. That would leave the lineup looking something like this:

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Jackson Merrill, CF
3. Xander Bogaerts, SS
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Nick Castellanos, 1B
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Bryce Johnson, LF Freddy Fermin started yesterday’s game behind the dish but was lifted for Campusano after being struck in the mask by a foul ball. The Friars are hopeful he’s avoided a concussion, but he’ll probably sit out just in case. It’s also possible that, if Laureano sits, Cronenworth could move back to the leadoff spot like he did earlier this year. Anything can happen with Craig Stammen writing that lineup card.

Relief corps

Randy Vásquez finally looked mortal on the mound for the first time this season. It was going to happen eventually, but he still was pitching quite well. His problem was walks, giving up four free passes to Seattle. If not for that he could have worked deeper than four innings. Thankfully, with the Padres down four-plus runs for most of the night, all their high-leverage relievers were kept in reserve. Stammen went with Ron Marinaccio, Wandy Peralta and Alek Jacob to cover the final five frames. They did so splendidly (apart from a two-run homer allowed by Marinaccio). But that gives the Friars plenty to work with tonight against Seattle. It leaves the Padres with Jason Adam, Kyle Hart, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan, Bradgley Rodriguez and closer Mason Miller. If Buehler falters early, Hart will likely be the first one out of the ‘pen. He has the ability to cover multiple innings if it’s needed. With Miller not being used last night, don’t be too surprised to hear Korn blaring in Petco Park if the Friars have a lead in the ninth. His historic scoreless streak is now at 29 2/3 innings and counting.