PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 05: Joc Pederson #3 of the Arizona Diamondbacks rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run off relief pitcher Jhony Brito #76 of the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on May 05, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
One of the biggest concerns facing the Padres in 2024 was depth in the starting rotation. If anyone got hurt and had to miss substantial time, do they have enough arms in the system to stay competitive? Unfortunately, that is already being tested.
Prior to Sunday's game in Arizona the Friars sent Joe Musgrove to the 15-day Injured List with right elbow inflammation. In that situation the first thought is naturally, oh no, I hope this is not a Tommy John surgery kind of situation. It is far too early to make that determination. The club is hoping rest and treatment can take care of the problem.
Randy Vasquez, who was called up for a couple of starts when Yu Darvish was out with a neck issue, was brought back from Triple-A to fill Joe's spot in the rotation. With the El Cajon native out for a while, the rest of the starters are going to have to be as good as possible.
Against the Diamondbacks, Matt Waldron was not very good. His knuckleball was not working and neither was anything else. Waldron gave up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 3.0 innings and took the loss in an 11-4 Arizona win, snapping the Padres season-high four game winning streak. The tone was set in the 1st inning when Waldron allowed four runs, half of them on a home run by Ketel Marte.
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The Padres offense did try to give him a boost. In the 3rd inning Jackson Merrill launched a 2-run homer and Kyle Higashioka added an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-3 but this was just not Waldron's day. Arizona got two of those runs back in the bottom half then poured it on in the 4th inning. Jake MCCarthy's RBI double made it 7-4 and chased Waldron.
In came Johny Brito, which didn't do much to stop the onslaught. Christian Walker lined an RBI single to make it 8-4 and longtime Padres nemesis Joc Pederson ripped a 2-run homer to put it out of reach. The Padres have still won back-to-back series and try to make it three straight when they open a 3-game set at Wrigley Field on Monday.
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