The San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers continue their weekend series in Detroit on Saturday. The Padres have been one of baseball's biggest disappointments this season and look to be a team that may part ways with several veterans at the trade deadline. The Tigers continue their own rebuild toward respectability and reside in third place in the AL Central Division. The pitching matchup on Saturday is still not official as the Padres will likely turn to an opener in a bullpen game while the Tigers will hand the ball to righty Matt Manning (3-1, 3.38). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM EST.
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The San Diego Padres come to Motor City after taking two out of three games from the Blue Jays in Toronto. The Padres took each of the first two games of the series but lost a chance to sweep the Blue Jays with a 4-0 loss on Thursday afternoon. The Padres' star-studded lineup has failed to gain much steam this season and, after last year's run to the NLCS, the Padres find themselves under .500 with the trade deadline approaching. On Friday night in game one against the Tigers, Juan Soto blasted two home runs and the Padres built a 5-0 lead and held on for a 5-4 win.
Congratulations to Xander Bogaerts on reaching 1,500 career hits!#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/QEFmruVm7s
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 20, 2023
The Padres will likely make Saturday's game a bullpen affair as the team continues to deal with the injury to starter Michael Wacha who is on the IL. The Padres recently welcomed back righty Robert Suarez from the 60-day IL so that gives their bullpen a bit more bite. Nick Martinez, one potential starter, worked two innings on Wednesday against the Blue Jays but should be available for a few innings in this matchup as well.
Key Injuries: OF Preston Tucker is out.