Vásquez stung by sinker usage vs. Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- Randy Vásquez was one pitch away over and over and over again.

The Padres’ starter was on the precipice of wriggling out of numerous jams on Saturday afternoon against the Rays. But his inability to close caused the floodgates to open.

Vásquez allowed nine runs -- eight of which scored with two outs -- in 4 1/3 innings in San Diego’s 11-4 loss at Tropicana Field. Those eight two-out runs were the most allowed by the Padres since Aug. 4, 2023, and the nine earned runs charged to Vásquez tied for the second most given up by a Padres starting pitcher this season.

“Just not able to put in my part for the ballclub and just not able to help out,” Vásquez said via team interpreter Pedro Gutierrez. “That’s definitely something that makes me feel bad.”

Vásquez leaned on his sinker more than in any start this season as it accounted for 31 of his 93 pitches. Coming into Saturday, he had used that pitch just 14.8% of the time, and it had registered a .433 opponents’ batting average (29-for-67). It was all part of the right-hander’s plan against the Rays, and although he said he liked the pitch’s movement and location, Tampa Bay succeeded against it repeatedly.

In seven at-bats ending on Vásquez’s sinker, four went for run-scoring singles. His final pitch of the day was a sinker that Christopher Morel slapped through the right side to score Jonathan Aranda and give Tampa Bay a 9-2 advantage in the fifth inning.

“Randy has shown the ability all season to pitch out of traffic. He's in traffic a fair amount,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Today wasn't one of those days.”

The forgettable outing caused Vásquez’s ERA to balloon to 5.18. His .317 opponents’ batting average is the highest of any pitcher with at least 80 innings pitched. His .861 OPS ranks fourth-highest.

This comes at a pivotal time as the Padres are due to welcome Yu Darvish back into their rotation soon. After spending about six weeks on the restricted list, the veteran righty rejoined the team on Aug. 23. Darvish has been ramping back up at the Padres’ Spring Training complex in Arizona and tossed 66 pitches over four innings in a controlled game environment Friday.

Shildt said prior to Saturday’s game that the reports on Darvish stuff “were very favorable,” and Darvish reported after his four innings against Reds Minor Leaguers that he felt good.

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So unless the Padres move to a six-man rotation, someone is going to have to move out of the group so that Darvish can move back in. Might that someone be Vásquez?

“We'll evaluate it,” Shildt said Saturday night. “It’s a little early right after the game to make that decision.”

Saturday’s result aside, August was a stellar month for the Padres. They entered the day at 18-9 and with an offense that ranked among the top five this month in runs per game (5.37). That group stands to get stronger soon with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ha-Seong Kim close to returning to the lineup.

The pitching staff was among the top 10 in ERA (3.69) and appears built for October with a formidable bullpen and a rotation that will have plenty of options once Darvish is given the all-clear.

The club holds the second National League Wild Card and is still within striking distance of the Dodgers in the NL West.

It was a good month. It just ended with a whimper.

“We’ve played a lot of really, really good baseball, firing on a lot of cylinders,” Shildt said. “We're never out of a game. We are never, ever, ever out of a game. … This group does nothing but [gas pedal] down all the way. It's a great club, and it was a great August.

“It’s going to be an even better September.”