Padres manager Mike Shildt frustrated with starters as bullpen carries the load

The Padres are in a rough stretch, having dropped seven of their last nine games. They missed a perfect opportunity to gain ground on the Dodgers, who had been swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the beginning of the week.

In an article released by The Athletic on Wednesday, it was confirmed that there is one position group from which Mike Shildt expects better results from going forward.

“We have a deep bullpen. It’s a talented bullpen. But the way the game’s built — and I know it’s morphing into shortening the game — over 162 games, starters are going to have to carry a lion’s share of the innings. And we just haven’t been able to get that consistently.”

Padres manager Mike Shildt expects more from his starting rotation despite injuries piling up

He is referring to the starting rotation, as during the team’s recent skid, getting quality innings out of the starting pitchers has hurt the team. In the last nine games, there have only been two instances where the starters made it through the fifth inning.

While Shildt acknowledged that the Padres have a strong bullpen, it is still vital to get as many innings out of the starters as possible, especially since the bullpen will be without Jason Adam for the remainder of the year.

In the last eight games where the Padres have had a true starting pitcher, the average number of innings pitched is less than four, which is not sustainable even with as good a bullpen as they have.

Yu Darvish has been incredibly shaky since returning from injury, especially in his past two starts in which he only pitched four innings in each. He acknowledged his poor performance in the same interview with The Athletic through his interpreter, Shingo Horie.

“Regardless of what type of situation the team is in — injuries, all of that — the starter’s job is to go out there and give innings for the team,” said Darvish.

We have seen glimpses of what Darvish looks like when he is on point — take his start against the Mets, for instance, where he pitched seven shutout innings. But, as Mike Shildt said, the Padres need to get more innings out of the starting rotation in order to compete with the top teams in the National League.