MILWAUKEE — Fernando Tatis Jr. laughed.
“We’ll see,” he said.
The question he was responding to was whether he thought a day off would help.
Implied in the chuckle was that nothing else has.
Tatis entered Saturday’s game (4:35 p.m. on FOX) against the Brewers batting .187 with a .595 OPS over his past 30 games. Both numbers are lowest among the team’s seven qualifying batters in that span and second-lowest over any 30-game stretch in Tatis’ career.
So Padres manager Mike Shildt decided to give Tatis his first (non-injury) day off this season.
“I think anybody that gets a day off after working a lot is beneficial for him, regardless of capacity,” Shildt said. “It’s hard not to take that pen and write Tatis in there. But we’ll give him a little bit of a break.”
Tatis said he didn’t need the day off but then shrugged and said, “We do have 26 in 27.”
He referred to the Padres having just one day off from May 30 to June 25.
“It just makes some sense relative to the number of games we he has played (and) we are playing,” Shildt said. “There’s not a day that is optimal for a guy of his caliber to get off, but at some point he needs an off day, and today we chose it.”
The only other game Tatis has not started was April 9, a day after he tweaked his left shoulder on a swing.
With Tatis out of the lineup, shortstop Xander Bogaerts will hit lead off for the first time this season. The only other game that Tatis missed this season was April 9, a day after shoulder discomfort forced him from a game in Sacramento. Luis Arraez shifted into the leadoff spot that day, but he’ll remain in the two-hole as the designated hitter on Saturday.
Saturday night baseball. pic.twitter.com/pMuNZQVx
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 7, 2025
Gavin Sheets will play his first game in left field since exiting Sunday’s game after a run-in with the wall.
Sheets will hit fifth, between center fielder Jackson Merrill and second baseman Jose Iglesias. Jake Cronenworth is at first base, Elias Díaz will catch and bat eighth and Brandon Lockridge will get the start for Tatis in right field and bat ninth.
Friday’s win drew the Padres (36-26) to within game of the Dodgers in the NL West.
Here is how the Brewers (34-30, 3rd in NL Central) will line up for Game 2:
Back on National TV tonight
📺: @MLBONFOX
📻: @620wtmj #ThisIsMyCrew x @fleet_farm pic.twitter.com/8c9JAmeY4B— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 7, 2025
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.47 ERA)
He’s gone at least five innings in all six of his starts and is coming off 5⅔ shutout innings in San Francisco. That halted a run of starts in which Kolek had a 7.71 ERA over 16⅓ innings. Left-handed hitters have a .799 OPS against Kolek, compared to righties’ .484. Kolek has a 1.04 ERA in four road starts. He allowed an unearned run in three innings across two relief appearances last year against the Brewers.
Here is how he’s fared against current Brewers:
Brewers LHP Jose Quintana (4-1, 2.77 ERA)
The 36-year-old returned from a three-week injured list stint (shoulder impingement) with five innings of two-run ball on Sunday. He struck out three and walked four. Quintana has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his seven starts. Quintana has a 4.25 ERA in 42⅓ career innings against the Padres, including one run allowed in 12⅓ innings over two starts last year while with the Mets.
Here is how he’s fared against current Brewers:
