Sticking to winning ways, San Diego ekes out ahead of Rox

Batter up!

With the lack of thump yesterday, the Padres will hope that their lineup can deliver against Sugano. That being said, not many have great track records against the righty. The club is 4-for-25 against him, with two of those being home runs (Luis Campusano and Gavin Sheets). But against the righty, manager Craig Stammen seems pretty set with his lineup:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, DH
7. Ty France, 1B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B It’s worth wondering when Machado might come out of the cleanup spot. He’s been off to an incredibly cold start to the year, batting just .178 so far. If he can turn that around in this series, it would go a long way toward assuaging any concerns about his bat. But, more than that, if the Friars can’t figure things out tonight against Sugano, they’ll have as tough a time as they did yesterday against Dollander.

Relief corps

With Vásquez having his longest start of the year of seven innings, the Friars only needed to use Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon to get the job done. The two will likely be unavailable today, though Morejon managed to finish the ninth on only eight pitches so don’t be too surprised if he trots out of the ‘pen in a high-leverage spot. That leaves San Diego with a plethora of options in Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta, Bradgley Rodriguez and closer Mason Miller. Miller remained in reserve despite a narrow lead going into the ninth. With the off day Monday, it was surprising to see him on the bench, but Stammen has his reasons. That being said, Miller will be on the mound tonight if the Padres take a lead to the ninth.