Petco Park- San Diego

After a hard-fought first half, San Diego headed into the All-Star break on the heels of a 2-1 loss to Philadelphia. Falling behind in the eighth, San Diego put up a fight in both of the following frames, but came up short.

A notable transaction took place this morning, as Luis Campusano was recalled from Triple-A and inserted into the lineup. In turn, Gavin Sheets was placed on the paternity list and will take an extra day

The red-hot Nick Pivetta took the mound for the Padres, just 11 days after facing the Phillies in Philadelphia. San Diego was victorious in that tilt, with Pivetta firing six strong innings of one-run baseball. That outing included, Pivetta has allowed just one run in his last three starts, collecting 23 punchouts in the process

On the other end, Christopher Sanchez made the start for Rob Thompson’s Phillies. Sanchez pitched on the same day as Pivetta, but started the latter of the doubleheader and earned the win. Sanchez— who ranks fourth in ERA among National League starters— didn’t crack the All-Star roster, which stirred up controversy. Rookie Jacob Misiorowski got the nod in his place, although he had only made five starts. Meanwhile, Sanchez had thrown over 100 innings. In a courtesy gesture, the Phillies organization activated his $50k incentive for making the All-Star team.

Pivetta carried his success into the first inning, striking out two good batters in Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to begin his day. However, things turned sloppy as a four-pitch walk, an infield hit, and a pair of throwing errors plated a run for Philadelphia. The errors came on a throw left short by Manny Machado from third, and a misfire from Luis Arraez to a covering Pivetta at first.

The premier southpaw Sanchez danced around some danger in the first inning, but was nails afterwards. A leadoff single from Fernando Tatis Jr. led to a first-pitch sacrifice bunt and gave the Padres action. Manny Machado grounded out— a theme that Sanchez will endorse— to put the pressure on Xander Bogaerts. The Padres’ shortstop walked on four pitches, Jackson Merrill walked on seven, and Jose Iglesias struck out at the hands of three great changeups. Sanchez proceeded to glide through the bottom half of the lineup on 11 pitches. He then managed to impressively retire the Padres’ top three hitters on only four pitches.

On the other side, Pivetta did an excellent job of keeping the Padres in the game. He didn’t let any of the first inning chaos affect his game, as he cruised through six and two-thirds innings. All of Pivetta’s velocities were up, and he was able to maximize his sweeper break in some important situations. Most importantly, he kept his offspeed offerings away from the heart of the plate. He made hitters go after his fastball, and he recorded nine outs on fastballs, allowing just one hit. The sweeper was the go-to, as he used it 22% of the time compared to just 19% usage of his curveball. He finished with eight strikeouts and no earned runs, walking off to a large ovation from Petco Park.

P̶i̶c̶a̶s̶s̶o̶ Pivetta pic.twitter.com/uaxqsu5UuD

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 13, 2025

Since he broke into the MLB, hitting left-handed sinkerballers hasn’t been Tatis Jr’s preferred matchup. However, he recorded two singles with exit velocities of over 100 MPH, and a walk-off Sanchez. He’s been hitting well as of late, with a .325 AVG in the month of July, with a wRC+ of 163. Xander Bogaerts, San Diego’s other hot hitter, collected two knocks as well.

San Diego broke through in the sixth inning, with Machado and Bogaerts hitting consecutive singles. Jackson Merrill laid down a crucial sacrifice bunt, giving Iglesias a chance at redemption. Fortunately, he snuck a ground ball under the glove of Bryson Stott, tying the contest at a run apiece. With a chance at making his first big splash, Campusano grounded into an inning-ending double play instead.

Adrian Morejon came on in a crucial spot following Pivetta’s departure, facing Kyle Schwarber with a runner on. Schwarber worked the count 3-0, but Morejon battled back. He landed a 3-0 sinker and then induced three out-of-zone swings before firing a 99.5 MPH heater past Schwarber for the punchout. The game remained tied, as Morejon fiercely refused to walk off the mound.

The Padres found themselves in another tight spot as Bryce Harper grounded a double against the shift softly. He exited after the at-bat, and David Morgan came on to face Nick Castellanos. He managed to strike out Castellanos on a full count, but still needed to face J.T. Realmuto. Realmuto went ahead 2-0 on two pitches that appeared to be strikes, and proceeded to drive a 3-1 pitch into the gap to plate Harper from second.

Real-ly needed that! pic.twitter.com/YUpXEDFiuc

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 13, 2025

San Diego entered the eighth with the heart of the order due up. Leading off, Luis Arraez unluckily lined out for the second time of the day. He was followed by Manny Machado’s second hit of the day, which paired with a wild pitch, started a threat for the Padres. Afterwards, Bogaerts walked to hand the bat to an amped up Jackson Merrill against Orion Kerkering. Merrill lined a sweeper hard, but a little bit foul outside the 1st baseline. Ultimately, Kerkering forced Merrill to fly out, and a flyout from Iglesias ended the chance.

A sullen-feeling ninth inning was altered quickly when Manny Machado made an incredible sliding grab in foul territory. Shifting against the lefty Brandon Marsh, Machado dashed from shortstop territory to make the grab well behind third base. Wandy Peralta entered to record the inning’s final out and struck out Kyle Schwarber, his third K of the day.

Star worthy. pic.twitter.com/XSh0NfItm9

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 13, 2025

The final inning of the first half was tossed by former Padre Matt Strahm. His appearance got off to a rocky start, throwing five consecutive balls and walking Jake Cronenworth. Elias Diaz quickly popped up to third, and the game fell into the hands of Fernando Tatis Jr… until he was put on intentionally after a 3-0 count. Strahm’s command was visibly absent, as very little of his pitches landed in reasonable locations. Arraez battled and appeared to find the gap in left-center. However, yet another line drive from Arraez found the glove of a Phillies defender. This time, it was Brandon Marsh to end the game.

With the loss, San Diego finished the first half 52-44, in a deadlock with the Giants for the final wild card spot. San Diego’s bullpen will get some well-needed rest, as will the rest of the squad.

Following the tight loss, Mike Shildt spoke on how vital Pivetta’s continued success has been. “Huge. You need guys to be those pillars, anchors, aces.” He further praised him, stating that “we’ve got five guys headed to the All-Star game, and he should be on that plane.”

On a more intense note, a reporter asked Shildt how the catching staff brings value defensively. Shildt responded by crediting the catching staff for working with young guys making their debuts on the mound. Specifically, he noted Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek as two beneficiaries of the catching staff

With the break, San Diego will enjoy the next four days off and will be back in Washington on Friday. Meanwhile, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez will enjoy the All-Star festivities. Machado will start the gam, and Tatis Jr. will be available off the bench, with the hurlers in the bullpen.

With that said, a fun slate of baseball is coming up, with one event already underway! The MLB Draft began at 3 PM, and the first three rounds will stream through the evening, with the remaining 17 rounds taking place on Monday starting at 11:30 AM.

Later on Monday, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby kicks off at Truist Park in Atlanta at 5 PM. No Padres players will be participating, unfortunately. However, the lineup includes some incredible power, including some names that San Diego has seen go deep against them. Matt Olson, Cal Raleigh, and James Wood have all taken San Diego deep this season.

Later this week, the Padres will have their pick of who starts on the mound Friday, with all starters rested. On Washington’s side, the former Padre MacKenzie Gore is the most likely option to toe the rubber. First pitch will be at an early 3:45 PM.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a public baseball media account covering around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X. Willy is set to attend the Cronkite School of Journalism in the fall of 2026 at Arizona State University, where he’ll pursue a major in sports journalism.