24 Wins With No Starter and Nobody in San Diego Is Talking About It

Okay, seriously, how are the Padres doing this? You hear about teams grinding, but what San Diego is pulling off right now, winning 24 games when their starters can't even get past five innings, is absolutely wild. It's a miracle the bullpen hasn't completely imploded. This is a trend that's gotta stop, or their season is gonna hit a wall faster than a ferry in a fog.

The Cubs' Reliever Roulette Is Somehow Working

Contrast that M's-esque pitching headache with what the Chicago Cubs just pulled off. Their manager, Craig Counsell, used *thirteen* different relievers over seven games in six days. THIRTEEN! That's not a bullpen, that's a whole relief army! And it worked. They swept the Mets in four games and took two of three from Milwaukee, including a nail-biting 4-3, ten-inning win on Sunday. Counsell's out here saying, "The guys are having fun right now and we're playing good baseball," and "We got enough done because we got great pitching performances today. Today was the day the pitching carried the load." You can't argue with results, right? Even with 12 pitchers, including a whole starting rotation, on the injured list, Bryse Wilson tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings as a bulk guy, and Jordan Wicks, the lucky 13th reliever, got a game-ending double-play ball from Gary Sanchez with the bases loaded. They're just finding ways. Shota Imanaga, who is 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA, gets the ball tonight against San Diego, and he's been lights out against the Padres before, with a 1-0 record and a tiny 1.40 ERA in three previ

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ous starts.

San Diego's Starter Situation Is Dire

Meanwhile, the Padres are staring down a pitching abyss. They haven't even named a starter for tonight against Chicago, but it could be Griffin Canning, rocking a brutal 1-5 record and a 7.38 ERA. Dude might need a miracle just to keep his spot in the rotation. His last outing was a disaster, lasting only two outs in the second inning against Atlanta, giving up four hits and four runs in a game they barely won 7-6 in ten innings. That's rough, buddy. Padres manager Craig Stammen isn't sugarcoating it either, saying, "It definitely puts our bullpen in a tough spot because we can't use them in the correct lengths. They have to be able to get us at least five (innings) or we've got to figure out a different way to do it." It's not just Canning, either. This short-start thing is their whole vibe. They just got clobbered by the Dodgers, losing the rubber game 4-2 on Sunday after L.A. outscored them a ridiculous 19-5 in the last two games. Talk about a wake-up call. If Canning can't turn it around, Jhony Brito and German Marquez are apparently almost ready from rehab stints at Triple-A El Paso. Something's gotta give. So, as the Cubs roll into San Diego tonight, it's a battle of two wildly different pitching philosophies. Can Imanaga continue his dominance, or will Canning find something, anything, to save his job and the Padres' bullpen? This is gonna be a wild one. Speaking of wild, our very own Mariners just dropped a tough one to the Guardians, 6-5. Tough break for the Emerald City. Gotta keep fighting, boys! Always next game for our M's.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.