It appears the Padres have their deepest team in many years. And that is why they are 22-14 and not 14-22.<\/p>\n
Just four previous versions of the Padres have started a season this successfully.<\/p>\n
Here is a list of those teams, with their records and some key statistics after 36 games and their final records:<\/p>\n
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All of those teams had at least one star player who hit like he was supposed to, or at least did so for extended stretches. All but the 2010 team, which had one of the MLB\u2019s top pitching staffs and was led by peak Adri\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, had multiple frontline players who carried them offensively.<\/p>\n
It is practically unfathomable the Padres could finish with as many victories as those other teams without far more excellence from Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., who are batting a combined .225 with a combined .641 OPS. (Machado brings up the OPS, Tatis brings up the average.)<\/p>\n
We know that. We also know the Jackson Merrill we have seen the past week is the one that has to show up most days going forward.<\/p>\n
OK. Fine.<\/p>\n
There is still plenty of time for Machado and Tatis to live up to expectations.<\/p>\n
For now \u2026<\/p>\n
How about Gavin Sheets, Ty France and Luis Campusano getting some of the biggest hits of the season? How about Miguel Andujar getting lots of hits? How about Nick Castellanos playing three positions and starting to get hits? How about Sung-Mun Song being one of the heroes in his MLB debut on Tuesday? How about Bryce Johnson playing almost never and yet being the biggest contributor in one of the games he did play?<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of guys that maybe aren\u2019t having every day at-bats are swinging really well,\u201d Xander Bogaerts said.<\/p>\n
And, oh yeah, how about Bogaerts being the team\u2019s best player so far?<\/p>\n
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It adds up<\/p>\n
So what is with the supporting cast doing so well?<\/p>\n
We should always credit the players most of all, since they are the ones playing.<\/p>\n
This is a group of veterans, most of whom have been regulars and are just now figuring out how to be their best when they don\u2019t get to play a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you look just down our entire roster, whether it\u2019s the superstars, the mid- tier guys or the bench guys, it\u2019s just a talented roster,\u201d France said. \u201cIt\u2019s an established group, a veteran group, and it\u2019s just the amount of talent we have. We\u2019re baseball players. We know our job, we know what we have to do and we prepare to do that job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Give the coaching staff credit for working to keep everyone ready. And give Stammen credit for mixing and matching the lineup so often, in large part to make sure guys don\u2019t get stale sitting on the bench.<\/p>\n
Johnson is the only player who has been on the team since opening day and not started at least 15 games. (The extra outfielder has started six times and appeared in 12 games as a defensive replacement, pinch-runner or pinch-hitter.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is, I think he\u2019s done a great job of keeping everybody engaged and everybody fresh,\u201d Sheets said of Stammen. \u201cIt\u2019s super hard to come off the bench; it\u2019s hard to play one day every five. But I think he\u2019s done a really good job of using everybody all the time and keeping everybody in it. I think that\u2019s why you\u2019re getting good results from guys coming off the bench, guys going into pinch-hit opportunities. Everybody is ready to go at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And credit to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his staff for seemingly culling capable depth by shopping at the thrift store.<\/p>\n
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Latest example<\/p>\n
France provided perhaps the quintessential 2026 Padres at-bat yesterday when called on to hit in the seventh inning with two outs, runners on second and third and one strike against him before he stepped in to face Giants left-hander Matt Gage.<\/p>\n
You likely already know he hit a triple off the glove of diving right fielder\u00a0 Jesus Rodriguez, driving in the two runners to break a 1-1 tie.<\/p>\n
What led up to it speaks to France\u2019s mettle and how things that can go wrong just aren\u2019t for the Padres.<\/p>\n
With left-handed-hitting Sung-Mun Song due up, Giants manager Tony Vitello went to Gage to replace righty Keaton Winn. As Gage was warming up, Stammen and his coaches conferred.<\/p>\n
France was with some other bench players in the batting cage down a set of stairs and behind the Padres dugout.<\/p>\n
Stammen was considering the fact that France was his backup catcher, that Song was playing shortstop with Xander Bogaerts getting a day off, Tatis was at second base with Song at short, and Castellanos was in right field in place of Tatis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lot going on as far as our roster today,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cSo trying to figure all that out in a short timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Padres field coordinator Vinny Lopez was sent to get France.<\/p>\n
This is how France recalled the sequence of events:<\/p>\n
\u201c(Lopez) said, \u2018Hey Ty, you\u2019re hitting.\u2019 I said, \u2018When?\u2019 He said, \u2018Right now.\u2019 I said, \u2018OK.\u2019 Ran up to the bat rack, I was putting my stuff on, and then Craig said, \u2018Wait, hold on.\u2019 And that\u2019s when Song went to the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stammen said Gage finished is warm-up throws quicker than he anticipated. Then there became the matter of pulling Song at that point, meaning France would go to the plate behind 0-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, I threw a strike first pitch,\u201d Stammen said.<\/p>\n
He could joke afterward.<\/p>\n
France was unfazed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, the violation and the timeout (for the replacement) kind of helped me out a little bit,\u201d France said. \u201cGave me a couple extra seconds to put my batting gloves on, talk to Jackson (who was on deck) a little bit, and then go to the plate. It was a whirlwind. But, you know, it all worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heck, France has a better batting average (.250) after falling behind 0-1 than he does after being ahead 3-1 (.202).<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I\u2019ve been 0-1 thousands of times,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a swinger, so I swing a lot. There\u2019s no difference between 0-0 and 0-1 for me. I\u2019m going to treat it the same. Two strikes happened a lot quicker. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
France took a ball, swung through a fastball, took another ball and then fouled off two pitches before watching a ball in the dirt.<\/p>\n
Then he sent an inside belt-high fastball off the middle portion of his bat not all that hard the other way and took off running.<\/p>\n
And at the end of a run of more than 70 feet, Rodriguez, who was called up to make his MLB debut on Monday and started at catcher the first two games of the series, dove and had the ball go off the heel of his glove.<\/p>\n
Ty France’s go-ahead two-run triple#MLB<\/a> #ForTheFaithful<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8Coqvqqd5V<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Stammen credited France for a professional at-bat saving him, and he figuratively looked skyward.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably the favor of the Lord resting upon me at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes things work out in your favor.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldron wins<\/p>\n Maybe it was the opener making it so he did not have to face the top of the order an additional time. Maybe it was pitching at Oracle Park, where he has never been bad. Maybe it was that the Giants have a bad offense. Maybe it was that his knuckleball was dancing and his fastball and sweeper were obeying him. Maybe it was Michael King\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n Maybe it was all of it.<\/p>\n Whatever.<\/p>\n Matt Waldron had his best outing of the season by far.<\/p>\n The Padres had hinted at perhaps taking unorthodox measures to help navigate the uncertainty with their starting rotation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yesterday, they did so by using an opener for the first time this season. It was, in fact, the first time they purposely used a pitcher for just one inning at the beginning of a game since Sept. 29, 2022.<\/p>\n The employment of Bradgley Rodriguez as the opener before Waldron took over to cover the bulk of the innings could not have gone much more according to plan.<\/p>\n Waldron got through the sixth inning, Adrian Morej\u00f3n worked the next two innings and Mason Miller closed out the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was us trying something with Waldron and seeing if it might get him going a little bit,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cGive him a little breather going into the game, not having to face the top of the order three times. We felt like, if we had somebody come in, get the top of the order out, he could start in the middle of the order, and then get through that lineup a couple times and then go to our elite bullpen. So it worked out kind of the way we expected it.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldron, who entered the game having allowed 15 runs in 13\u2154 innings in his first three starts of the season, surrendered just Rafael Devers\u2019 solo home run and one other hit while striking out seven in his five innings.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it makes it a little bit easier, honestly, taking that first inning out,\u201d Waldron said.<\/p>\n Waldron also worked quicker, on the advice of King.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the tempo of just getting the ball and going right to the mound and just being on the aggression a little more, that\u2019s the biggest takeaway I have today,\u201d Waldron said.<\/p>\n He is a notorious (over) thinker. And getting the ball and throwing didn\u2019t allow for that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt cuts down on the thinking,\u201d Waldron said. Thinking doesn\u2019t help.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldron now has a 1.65 ERA in three games (16\u2153 innings) at Oracle Park.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are certain places you just have a good feel with,\u201d Waldron said. \u201cSo far it has been this place.\u201d<\/p>\n It has felt like Waldron is fighting for his job with every start. And it isn\u2019t just a trip to El Paso in the balance. Waldron is out of options and would be subject to being claimed off waivers by another team if the Padres decide if he is the odd man out when Lucas Giolito arrives in a little more than a week.<\/p>\n A couple people in the organization have indicated in recent days that no decision has been made about what will happen at that point.<\/p>\n Extra duty<\/p>\n A day that ended with France as a hero began with him wearing shin guards and a chest protector and a big grin as he did drills with catchers coach Kevin Plawecki in the morning.<\/p>\n \u201cI love doing it,\u201d France said of working as a catcher. \u201cIt\u2019s fun. You know, it\u2019s never a good circumstance when I\u2019m doing it, because that means something happened to our guys. But that\u2019s kind of my role. Whatever the team needs, I\u2019m willing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The circumstance yesterday was that Campusano fouled a ball off his foot on Tuesday and was unavailable. So France, who finished yesterday\u2019s game at first base, was the backup catcher.<\/p>\n France last played catcher in high school, but he was the Padres\u2019 emergency catcher as far back as 2019. He was also on call in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cI love catching,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s great. Obviously, I\u2019ve never done it in a big-league game, but whenever I get a chance to put (the catcher\u2019s gear) on, I have a blast with it.\u201d<\/p>\n And Freddy<\/p>\n The Padres catcher situation suddenly seems fragile.<\/p>\n Freddy Fermin was hit by two more foul tips yesterday, though not as rattling as half-dozen or so that have hit hard off his face mask.<\/p>\n Both he and Plawecki agreed Fermin has already had a season\u2019s worth of baseballs ricochet off various body parts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the first time in my career this much,\u201d Fermin said. \u201cIt\u2019s really tough. But it\u2019s part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n It would not be surprising to see Rodolfo Duran called up from Triple-A today. Stammen said Campusano, who was limping pretty severely, was day-to-day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty banged up,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t able to do a ton today.\u201d<\/p>\n Rebound, splash down<\/p>\n Sheets did something yesterday that you don\u2019t often see. He did not recall having ever done it at any level.<\/p>\n In the fourth inning, he swung at a changeup from Adrian Houser and sent it down the right field line, where it sailed just foul past the pole, bounced off the narrow pathway that runs high beyond the outfield and bounced into the bay.<\/p>\n The next pitch was a fastball that Sheets straightened out just enough, sending it about 30 feet to the fair side of the pole and directly into the water.<\/p>\n Gavin Sheets sends a cannonball to McCovey Cove \u2604\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/bjs2xP1f4V<\/a><\/p>\n
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