San Diego preserves sweep-less 2026, heads to San Francisco for road trip

Taking the mound

Trevor McDonald (SF) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

McDonald is making his 2026 debut for the Giants. The No. 16 prospect in San Francisco’s system hasn’t been particularly solid. He was just optioned back to Triple-A on Friday but was called back up to start today’s game. How deep McDonald can go (or will be allowed to go) is the bigger question. He was in the Giants’ bullpen as the 27th man but was never called upon. It remains to be seen what San Francisco expects from the career 3.88 ERA (minor leagues) starter. Vásquez, on the other hand, has been phenomenal for the Friars. He was supposed to start Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox but was swapped in favor of Canning in order to give him his debut start in the more friendly confines of Petco Park. The righty owns a 2.94 ERA with 34 strikeouts across 33 2/3 innings. It’s Vásquez’s first time ever facing the Giants after not starting against them in last month’s series. San Diego is betting that San Francisco will be hard pressed to figure out Vásquez (like most other clubs this season).

Batter up!

With the righty McDonald on the mound, the Padres’ lineup feels pretty well-set. But Miguel Andujar has been raking lately. Despite being signed to help solve the Friars’ problems against left-handed pitching, he has produced better against righties, putting up a .364/.386/.527 slash line compared to a .208/.269/.417 mark. That, as well as his two homers across the last seven games, could propel him into tonight’s lineup.

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Gavin Sheets, 1B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B Tatis got an off day in yesterday’s finale which means he’ll be back for tonight’s series opener. In spite of the fact he’s still without a home run in 2026, Tatis has had a hot bat lately with a .296 batting average in his last seven games. And — seriously — he’s got to get one soon… right?

Relief corps

The Padres used their three high-leverage pitchers to secure Sunday’s win. Adam, Morejon and Miller covered four innings, meaning they’re likely out for the series opener. That being said, don’t count Miller out if the Friars have a narrow lead in the ninth. But that leaves Jeremiah Estrada, Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez. Hart has been the least used in recent memory, so he’ll likely be the first one out of the ‘pen first after Vásquez exits. The San Diego bullpen has been off lately, moving from third place to 13th in ERA across MLB with a 4.00 mark. They’ll need to turn that around soon if they hope to regain their status as an elite group.