PHOENIX -- Three pitchers. Two fields. One job.
Chris Paddack, Ryan Weathers and Nick Martšªnez took their first steps toward a possible rotation spot Sunday, with mixed results.
Paddack started and gave up a solo home run in two innings and Weathers gave up three runs on a pair of homers in his two innings during the Padres¡¯ 6-3 loss to the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
The 31-year-old Martšªnez, meanwhile, retired all six batters he faced in a Minor League game at the Padres¡¯ training complex in Peoria, Ariz., striking out three while using 25 pitches.
¡°It¡¯s good to get that first one under your belt,¡± Paddack said. ¡°Every Spring Training that I¡¯ve put a uniform on, I go out there and compete for a job. Nothing is penciled in until that final day, Competing against myself but also the guys around me, making them better. At the end of the day, that¡¯s all I can control.¡±
Paddack, 26, threw 33 pitches, and a fastball that leaked out over the plate was the culprit on Keston Hiura¡¯s homer in the second inning. Paddack struck out two.
Weathers, 22, gave up back-to-back homers to Jace Peterson and Mike Brousseau after walking Hiura to open the bottom of the fourth inning. The walk after a 1-2 count was his main regret.
¡°Not the results I wanted, but it was coming out good,¡± said Weathers, who threw 37 pitches. ¡°I threw two pitches that didn¡¯t hit my spot. Any given day, they could be a pop-up, ground ball. Just one of those days.¡±
Paddack was shut down with a UCL sprain last September and Weathers played through a fractured ankle, but both said no issues remain.
¡°I¡¯m dealing with a bunch of guys who know how to pitch,¡± Weathers said. ¡°It¡¯s fun getting competitive, and we¡¯re all going for the same goal -- wanting to win.
Development will be paramount in any roster decision regarding them, manager Bob Melvin said.
¡°It depends on what the roster construction looks like, whether you think you need a true long man,¡± Melvin said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it does either of them any good, because you don¡¯t know how much you are going to use those guys. If they are not on the team, probably need to develop a little more is my guess, but we¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±
The more established starting pitchers will make their first appearances this week.
Yu Darvish is set to make his first appearance Monday with three innings against Colorado.
¡°He came into camp ready to go,¡± Melvin sad. ¡°He wanted to throw to hitters right away. I think he saw this [lockout] coming and was ready for it.¡±
Joe Musgrove will follow against the Guardians on Tuesday. Mike Clevinger, who has not pitched since Sept. 23, 2020, because of elbow surgery, is scheduled to pitch in a Minor League game Wednesday ¡°to make sure everything is fine with him,¡± Melvin said.
Blake Snell, who left his final 2021 start on Sept. 12 with a left adductor strain, is ¡°maybe not as far along as the other guys¡± in camp, Melvin said.
¡°I think you might see with quite a few teams if someone is behind, then maybe their first start is a three-inning type of thing,¡± Melvin said. ¡°I¡¯m just hoping he is at that point once we start the season, and whatever the innings looks like, I don¡¯t think that really matters.¡±