When Bruce Bochy managed the Padres, he said when it came to injuries, a particular type was the scariest.
A severe setback to any good pitcher who was counted on to shoulder 25 to 30 starts, Bochy said, shook the ground under a franchise.
Bochy’s wisdom is one reason I wrote a few days ago the Padres’ injury situation wasn’t — and still isn’t — half as bad as the good folks in “Sky is Falling Club” said it was.
While injuries have sidelined star center fielder Jackson Merrill and two other regulars, the clean health of “mainstay” pitchers served as a powerful counterbalance.
The pitching-health edge showed up this week when a hot Giants club came to the East Village. The Padres pitched well, the offense and defense perked up and a two-game sweep followed, capped by Wednesday’s 5-3 win before an announced crowd of 37,698.
Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease are the pitchers the Padres are relying on to soak up 140 to 200 innings.
So far, so good. They’ve all taken the ball. Each righty has featured explosive pitches, although Cease is still searching for his accuracy of 2024.
Wednesday, King again threw pitches that swerved left or right as much as 20 inches and varied speeds by more than 10 miles per hour.
His dominance in the 5 2/3-inning, one-run performance came one day after Pivetta outpitched Giants ace Logan Webb.
Harkening back to the pitching plan the franchise took into spring training, Padres manager Mike Shildt praised Ruben Niebla, the team’s pitching coach, for having the starters and relievers “ready when the bell” rang to this season.
Padres pitchers made it intact through spring training, when pitchers arms are most at risk. A possible exception was Yu Darvish. The Padres shut him down with elbow inflammation in March. Until Darvish actually pitches in a big-league game, his comeback will be incomplete.
But the Padres have played a smart long game with Darvish, 38, since failing in the first half of the 2021 season to be more proactive with him. Having Darvish ready for the stretch drive is all that matters, so, assuming the Padres aren’t fibbing about his elbow checking out in subsquent exams, there’s a great chance his injury hiatus is actually a good thing.
Ahead, who knows?
Finding extra rest for Cease would be a great idea. He has led MLB pitches thrown across the past four regular seasons.
Let’s go with what we’ve seen from this club.
The Padres are actually enjoying a health windfall, on balance, compared with several of the other National League playoff contenders.
Look at those pitching staffs, and knock on wood. An elbow injury has ended the season of Cubs lefty Justin Steele, a good pitcher. For the Padres, that would be like losing King or Cease until 2026. The Dodgers, Phillies and Braves have all shut down two above-average starting pitchers. TBD on their comebacks. One is $180-million Dodgers newcomer Blake Snell, who’s on the injured list with the first shoulder injury of his career.
Padres starters and relievers came out firing in late March. They set an MLB record by posting seven shutouts before May. This week, they overwhelmed the Giants’ tandem of team-best hitter Matt Chapman and RBI machine Wilmer Flores. In the two games, the two right-handers were 0-for-16 with 12 strikeouts.
The final pitch Wednesday tied a brown-and-gold bow around the Padres pitching brilliance that’s the top theme to the team’s young season.
Right-handed closer Robert Suarez faced lefty Patrick Bailey, who would’ve tied the game with a home run.
Having just thrown a 99.3-miles-per-hour fastball for strike two, Suarez threw a tumbling changeup that was perfect.
It would’ve gone for a low-and-away called strike had Bailey not whiffed at it for strike three.
Suarez, who relies on fastballs more than most pitchers do, may not have thrown a better changeup all of last season.
I understand why folks complain that San Diego sports teams and fans don’t get to have the fun outcomes that other city’s clubs and fans get to have.
There’s no World Series trophy in the display case at 19 Tony Gwynn Drive.
But if a pitching staff boasts both good talent and good health, it’s awfully hard not to contend for one of the three wild-card berths. The Padres, at 19-11, stand third in the National League. A few of their field players are hurting. But as the season moves into May, this team is dishing out more pain than it’s receiving.
