Plans for Kyle Hart to pitch in bulk relief on Sunday were finalized with a 10:30 a.m. phone call that morning to the 32-year-old left-hander.

The decision did not catch him off guard.

It had been floated as an option while he was progressing through his week on the road with Triple-A El Paso.

“It was something they seemed to be plotting for a little bit,” Hart said Monday afternoon. “Obviously I’ll do anything to get out of Albuquerque. You want me to pitch long, short, whatever. I was just happy to come up and have an opportunity to help us win a game, win a series.”

The next part of the job: Take a return trip to El Paso.

With Yu Darvish coming off the 60-day injured list for Monday’s 6:40 p.m. start on Padres.TV, Hart was a necessary cut to keep the bullpen stocked with available arms. Hart threw 43 pitches in spinning 3⅔ innings in Sunday’s win and was not going to be available for a few days.

“Tough conversation, right? You go out and basically do your job to almost perfection and get a win, but he completely understands where we’re at,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We had to make a move for Darvish, and we did and have used some of our bullpen, and so we needed to keep our bullpen intact and as fresh … as possible.”

The Padres also needed a spot on the 40-man roster to make room for Darvish, so Michael King was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

King has been on the shelf since May 25 with the issue with his long thoracic nerve. He’s in the early stages of a throwing program and will have been out for longer than 60 days when he’s fully stretched out.

Hart retired all 11 batters he faced after David Morgan allowed a run in the first 1⅓ innings. That set up Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Adrián Morejón and Robert Suarez to finish the game, Hart’s third win in a disjointed season.

Hart began the year on the opening day roster, won his Padres debut, was roughed up in Chicago and then won his third start.

But he was bounced out of the rotation after two more poor starts, made a spot start in May (4 ⅔ IP, 5 ER) and returns to El Paso with a 5.83 ERA in 29⅓ innings in the majors this season.

In other pitching news, right-hander Ryan Bergert rejoined the clubhouse a day after pitching into the fifth inning in a rehab start for Triple-A El Paso. He could rejoin the rotation as soon as Friday, especially if the Padres want to use a six-man rotation to give all the starters an extra day — especially Darvish — heading into the All-Star break.

Here is how the Padres will line up for the opener of a three-game series against the Diamondbacks:

And here is how Arizona will line up:

 

Monday’s pitching matchup

D-backs RHP Zac Gallen (6-9, 5.45 ERA)

A challenging year boils down to giving up homers more often than ever (1.7 per nine innings) and hits more often than ever (8.7 per nine innings), while the strikeout rate has dropped to a career-low 8.5 per nine innings. Gallen had a 6.23 ERA in June, but he struck out 10 batters over seven innings of two-run ball in a win in his last start. He has a 3.38 ERA in 13 career starts against the Padres, including allowing four runs in 6⅓ innings in a no-decision this season.

Here is how he’s fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (2025 debut)

The 38-year-old veteran is making his long-awaited season debut after elbow trouble sidelined him in spring training. Darvish went 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 78 strikeout sin 81⅓ innings last year and then tossed two gems at Dodger Stadium (13⅔ IP, 3 ER) in the postseason. He has a 3.63 ERA in 19 career starts against Arizona and beat him in his lone meeting with the D-backs last year (5⅓ IP, 3 ER).

Here is how Darvish has fared against current Diamondbacks:

Originally Published: July 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM PDT