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Bullpen Collapse Sinks Padres in San Fran

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The San Diego Padres suffered their irrefutable worst loss of the season on Monday’s series opener vs. the San Francisco Giants. The disastrous management of a short-handed bullpen running on fumes was the catalyst. The Padres clung to a two-run lead entering the ninth until yips and inexperience from the bullpen produced a pathetic collapse. Following the loss, the fan base was out in droves to play the blame game.

Melvin Pulls Hill

Lefty specialist Tim Hill was due to close the game, only at 19 pitches through two efficient innings. However, Padres manager Bob Melvin was reactive to pinch-hitter Austin Slater’s success against lefties, and he opted for a change. Granted, Hill has not pitched three innings in a game since a 2017 outing in Double-A. But pulling Hill was the catalyst of the Padres’ bullpen collapse.

Garcia’s Yips

In came Luis Garcia, a 36-year-old veteran who was a mainstay of last year’s bullpen. This year, Garcia’s inability to command the strike zone has been an utter liability for a group stretched thin by injuries. His dreadful season continued, as he was unable to consistently locate both his fastball and slider. After 16 erratic pitches, Melvin cut his losses and relieved Garcia with the Padres’ lead cut in half, 4-3. “We’re trying to get Garcia going, give him a chance,” said the San Diego skipper after the game. An inexplicable decision, considering the team’s position in the NL West standings.

Inexperience

Drew Carlton, one of three rookies available in relief that night, stepped on. The 27-year-old right-hander is rolling through a respectable first half, mostly being utilized in a “piggyback” role in the middle innings. Carlton has 46 saves for his minor league career. His first MLB save opportunity was not in an ideal spot, to say the least. Dealing with a runner on second and a raucous San Francisco crowd, his control faltered. After a Patrick Bailey sac-fly tied the game, Carlton walked the next two hitters.

Melvin’s third pitcher of the ninth inning was the recently recalled Ray Kerr, whose plus-velocity fastball from the left side is his main attraction. Kerr temporarily stopped the bleeding by striking out Joc Pederson to give the Padres offense a chance to respond, until surrendering a walk-off blast to Mike Yastrzemski in the 10th.

The Padres Offense

Unsurprisingly, the 3-4-5 hitters went down in order to the howitzer arm of Giants closer Camilo Doval. The scoreless half-inning made the offense a combined 1-27 in extra innings this season, the primary culprit of the Padres’ 0-6 record in extra-inning games. All season long, lack of clutch hitting has been the largest flaw for one of the better lineups on paper in MLB.

“Don’t the Padres Have Josh Hader?”

Yes, they do. Josh Hader was unavailable on Monday, having pitched in the two previous wins against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Padres were also resting Nick Martinez and Steven Wilson, a combo often utilized in late-game situations by Melvin. Monday’s three unavailable arms are the main contributors to the third-best bullpen ERA in MLB.

Injuries

The absence of set-up man Robert Suarez has thrown a massive wrench into the bullpen structure so far. A bright star of the Padres’ 2022 playoff run, Suarez has yet to take the mound this year due to an elbow injury sustained at the start of spring training, with no timetable for a return. Suarez’s new five-year, $46 million contract signed in January is the second reliever commitment yet to pay dividends. Drew Pomeranz seems like an apparition at this point, not appearing in a game since August of 2021. Set to make around $10 million in 2023, his constant setbacks from Tommy John surgery have rendered him dead weight on a team with a crammed payroll.

 

Photo Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Players Mentioned: Tim Hill, Austin Slater, Luis Garcia, Drew Carlton, Patrick Bailey, Ray Kerr, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Camilo Doval, Nick Martinez, Steven Wilson, Robert Suarez, Drew Pomeranz

Managers Mentioned: Bob Melvin

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