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San Diego Padres: 5 takeaways from Saturday's win against the Arizona Diamondbacks

By Jonathan Northall |
San Diego Padres v Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres v Arizona Diamondbacks / Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/GettyImages
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The San Diego Padres made up for being beaten in convincing fashion the night previously with a tough 5-3 win at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. The game saw Joe Musgrove make his season debut and Fernando Tatís Jr. do what he does best as the two National League West teams swapped the lead until Ha-Seong Kim broke it open at the bottom of the sixth inning.

There was plenty for Padres fans to take away from the win, and here are five key points.

San Diego Padres: Joe Musgrove is back…

Joe Musgrove finally returned to the mound after toe and shoulder issues. Although it wasn’t a glittering performance, both the pitcher and the team will be pleased with a winning start.

Musgrove had issues in the third inning. It started off with a timer violation, presumably as Musgrove adjusts to new pitching rules, and ended with a poor pitch over the wide part of the plate as Christian Walker despatched it over left field for a two-run homer.

Musgrove pitched five innings in total with seven hits, three runs, for a 5.40 ERA. However, it was a good 80-pitch workout as he works his way back from injury.

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

…and so is Fernando Tatís Jr.

Although Fernando Tatís Jr. had already made his season debut, his first at-bat on Saturday saw him launch his 2023 season. More accurately, he launched Merrill Kelly over deep left field for a 374-foot home run. It was the first one since his 80-game PED suspension and gave the Padres a 1-0 lead at the top of the first inning.

Tatís Jr. also featured in the key moment of the game with Ha-Seong Kim’s base hit. It allowed both Tatís Jr., who Kelly had walked, and Juan Soto to score, and the RBI double produced the go-ahead run at 4-3. Despite an aggressive set of at-bats, with 11 strikes from 18 plate appearances, El Niño is back in the big leagues looking to crush pitchers.

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Josh Hader
San Diego Padres relief pitcher Josh Hader / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Hader saves again

It’s becoming a given that Josh Hader will save the game as the relief pitcher notched his seventh save of the season. Hader is MLB's joint save leader along with Jordan Romano (Toronto Blue Jays) and David Bednar (Pittsburgh Pirates). Hader pitched the ninth inning, where he sawed off Gabriel Moreno, Evan Longoria, and Geraldo Perdomo to save the win for the Padres.

Hader has pitched 10 innings so far with 15 strikeouts, suffering just three hits for a 0.90 ERA. Hader did need Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth to conjure up a highlight-reel play to get Longoria, but it was another critical performance from the 29-year-old southpaw.

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola and pitcher Josh Hader
San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola and pitcher Josh Hader / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Division is tightening up

With the win, the Padres got back to 1.5 games of the Diamondbacks, who are the divisional leaders. Sunday’s game gives the Padres opportunity to close the gap further. With the Diamondbacks at .545 and the Los Angeles Dodgers at .500, the Padres (.478) are recovering after logging a pair of three-game loss streaks in the month.

The Padres have had a tough start to 2023 with 19 of their 21 games against opponents having a record greater than .500. Next up for the Padres is the Chicago Cubs, currently in a series against the divisional rivals Dodgers, and they too have started well (.600).

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove
San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Finally at full strength

The return of Joe Musgrove and Fernando Tatís Jr. finally brings the Padres back up to full strength. Both are key to the Padres competing, both at the plate and on the mound.

The batting lineup looks powerful when you add Tatis to it along with Bogaerts, Soto, Trent Grisham, and Manny Machado. However, just 85 runs so far this season is a less than acceptable return. The return of Tatís Jr. should be the catalyst for the bats to hot up.

Musgrove’s return should bring stability to a rotation that has been wanting at times. Both Yu Darvish (0-2) and Blake Snell (0-3) have yet to earn a win. Snell has been particularly wanting of a good performance. Both pitchers are better than their records and will be expected to improve soon.

Once the offense and pitching are firing, the Padres will be a dangerous team to face.

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