Morejon leaves early, Padres bullpen shuts out Texas 2-0
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For the second year in a row, the San Diego Padres swept the Texas Rangers.
The Padres completed the sweep behind 8 1/3 shutout innings from the bullpen and solo home runs from Trent Grisham and Manny Machado, winning 2-0.
Adrain Morejon took the mound for his second start of the year but left in the first inning after 16 pitches. The Padres announced that his injury is an elbow/forearm strain.
With Morejon out, Padres manager Jayce Tingler needed 25 outs from the bullpen, and his long-distance reliever, Ryan Weathers, pitched the night before, so Tingler needed a plethora of guys to get the job done.
Tingler called on Stammen first, and Tingler has touted Stammen as a multi-inning guy in both of his outings this season. In both appearances, Stammen started strong but allowed a home run in his second inning of work. On Sunday, Stammen dominated the Rangers, recording ten outs and picking up three strikeouts.
Taylor Williams and Tim Hill combined to throw the next two innings while each striking out two batters. Austin Adams, Emilio Pagan, and Mark Melancon each pitched an inning to close out the game. Melancon is now up to five saves on the season.
Needed the pen to be nails and they delivered.
8.1 IP, 10 Ks and a shutout 🔥#HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/6FP9FcAZpm
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 11, 2021
While the Padres did come out victorious despite the injury to Morejon, it may sideline him for quite some time. If that ends up being the case, San Diego will need to figure out how to change the rotation to fill in for Morejon.
Dinelson Lamet is supposed to be returning from the injured list soon, and if he can return to make a start against either the Pittsburgh Pirates next series or the Los Angeles Dodgers next weekend, that is an option.
Jayce Tingler said Lamet threw about 56 pitches and looked good. The Padres will consider giving him at least one more start in Arizona. They also might look at activating him for the Pittsburgh series.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) April 10, 2021
Ryan Weathers is currently on the roster but is yet to make his first career start. Weathers pitched two innings on Saturday, so he can definitely turn around and make a start against Pittsburgh if that is the choice.
Another option is the top pitching prospect in baseball, MacKenzie Gore. Gore is still waiting to make his MLB debut, and he impressed at times in Spring Training.
The Padres lineup struggled once again, despite leaving with a victory. An offense that started the season ablaze and entered the season with high expectations is getting carried by the pitching staff. With the Dodgers on the schedule next weekend, the Padres only have four games to get prepped for the division foe and reigning champs.
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San Diego will travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates in a four-game series beginning Monday.
The first pitch on Monday will be at 3:35 PT, with Yu Darvish facing Trevor Cahill.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”