Padres Daily: Bounceback; Taylor provides early spark; Tatis hits hard; Peralta's renaissance

Good morning from St. Louis,

It was one game.

But then, it was more than that.

Another loss would have bordered on devastating. Another loss in which they did not score would have been practically unbearable.

You can read in my game story (here) about the Padres tying a season high with 14 hits, getting on base in eight innings and scoring in four of them en route to a 6-1 victory over the Cardinals yesterday afternoon.

No one should feel great about where this offense is at.

Last in batting average. Last in OPS. Last in runs per game.

But when we peek out from under the dark cloud of what happened here Monday and Tuesday, it is possible to see that yesterday might have been a resumption of progress.

The Padres have over the past week-and-a-half actually been a middling offense.

Those past nine games include the first two here against the Cardinals in which the Padres were 5-for-57 with a double and two walks.

Even with that two-game stretch, they rank 20th in the major leagues in batting average and 21st in OPS over the past nine games. Great? No. But it is why they believe they are moving toward being what they should be.

"It’s nice after the first two games here," manager Craig Stammen said. "But I think we’ve been trending in the right direction. The first two days made us doubt that a little bit, but I think those guys showed that they’re starting to get back on track."

We'll see.

I will post a story on our Padres page later today trying to (again!) put the Padres' offensive performance in perspective. The story will include input from Steven Souza Jr. and input from Craig Stammen about his hitting coach.

Still sparking

Samad Taylor knew what he was there for.

Same as when he was batting eighth or sixth.

"Keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing," Taylor said afterward. "Just put together good at-bats and see what happens."

That was just maybe more important yesterday, as Taylor hit second in the order, between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill.

It might be overstating it only slightly to say the biggest plate appearance of the day for the Padres was their second one of the day, when Taylor fell behind 0-2 and then worked a seven-pitch walk.

Had he made the second out, it is unlikely the Padres would have scored in the first inning. Had they not scored then, maybe they would not have gone on to score as much as they did. Maybe they would have fallen behind. Then maybe they would have pressed in subsequent at-bats, as they have too often.

They didn't have to find out, because Taylor did get on base, ran to third on Merrill's single and scored on Manny Machado's sacrifice fly.

"That’s what you’re hoping," Stammen said of moving Taylor up near the top of the order. "The guy that’s been swinging it well, seeing pitches well, creating a little bit of havoc. Mix up the big boys a little bit, see if they get somebody on in front of them that’s got some speed, and then figure out a way to score a run. He did that for us."

Taylor was not finished.

His single in the ninth inning - after which he scored again - gave him at least one hit in all nine games he has played for the Padres. It is the longest hitting streak on the team this year.

Taylor has scored and/or driven in at least one run in eight games and yesterday stole his fourth base in four tries.

Before being called up by the Padres on June 3, Taylor was 15-for-73 (.205) in 38 career games for the Royals and Mariners.

"I’m just super locked in right now," he said. "I’m gonna ride the high as long as I can."

Hard hitting

Tatis continues to hit almost as well as anyone in the major leagues and continues to hit harder than almost anyone in the major leagues.

All three of his base hits yesterday left his bat at harder than 100 mph, and he began his day with a 110 mph groundout.

A 100.3 mph single followed in the third inning, a 111.3 mph double came in the fifth, and a 105.9 mph single closed out his day in the ninth.

Tatis' 49 balls in play at 105 mph or harder this season rank sixth in the major leagues.

He put 21 balls in play that hard in his first 29 games and hit just seven that hard in his next 25 games. In 18 games since May 29, his 17 balls in play with an exit velocity of 105 mph or harder are tied with the Cardinals' Jordan Walker and Rays' Junior Caminero for most in the majors.

Tatis is batting .376/.410/.505 in 22 games since May 24. That is the sixth-highest average in MLB in that span, and his .915 OPS over that stretch ranks 38th.

Now, this double should have been a triple. But Tatis was standing 10 feet up the line with the bat in his hand when the ball sailed over center fielder Nathan Church.

Run prevention

Ty France went 0-for-4 and left five runners on base yesterday.

He also made one of the game's biggest plays when he fielded a grounder in the fifth inning and threw a strike to catcher Rodolfo Durán, who tagged out Blaze Jordan.

"It was basically right at me," France said. "Wasn't the best runner at third. Took a shot."

The play kept the Padres ahead 3-0, and that lead was trimmed to 3-1 when the next batter hit a single.

Wandy's work

Wandy Peralta is throwing harder, pitching differently and possibly pitching better than he ever has.

"Let's wait for the season to be done with, and then hopefully the results are exactly as they are now," the 34-year-old left-hander said through interpreter Pedro Gutiérrez.

Peralta has the lowest ERA (2.06) while logging the most innings (35) he ever has 30 games into any of his 11 big-league seasons. He is also in the midst of the best 17-game stretch of his career, having allowed two runs in 21⅔ innings (0.83 ERA) and stranded seven of the eight runners he has inherited since May 1.

The velocity on Peralta's sinker and four-seam fastball are up, and he is throwing the four-seamer more often. While he still relies on his changeup more than any pitch, he is also throwing his slider more against left-handers.

"It's something I do feel the need to emphasize throughout my career," Peralta said of mixing up his repertoire from time to time. "It's something that has worked for me."

Peralta is no longer the guy to turn to in the eighth inning of a close game in most instances. He generally is pitching when the Padres are behind or up by three or more runs. But he has earned some appearances in more crucial roles recently.

He opened Monday's game against the Cardinals and pitched the ninth inning Tuesday in a game the Padres trailed by a run.

"You prepare yourself for any situation," Peralta said. "That's the most important part. But the competitor in you wants to be on the mound in critical situations."

Tidbits

• Merrill topped off a three-hit day with a two-run homer that curled just inside the right field foul pole in the ninth inning. Merrill has gone 10-for-36 over the past eight games to raise his average 15 points to .213, the highest it has been since he was hitting .221 on May 12.
• Xander Bogaerts, Machado, Merrill and Tatis were a combined 9-for-16 with a home run, two doubles and a sacrifice fly yesterday. It was their best day since April 5, in the season's ninth game, when they were 9-for-15 with two homers, a double and a sacrifice fly. Yesterday was actually just the fourth time since then that all four got a hit in the same game, and it had not happened since April 27.
• Machado was 1-for-3 with a double yesterday. He is 8-for-31 with five doubles and a home run over the past eight games. He has raised his batting average 11 points (to .177) in that span and lifted himself out of the cellar. He now ranks 155th out of 157 qualifying batters, ahead of the Rangers' Evan Carter and Cubs' Dansby Swanson (both at .176).
• Bogaerts' single in the fourth inning that drove in Machado was his first RBI in 11 games.
• Peralta worked a 1-2-3 first inning on Monday and Lucas Giolito did the same in the third inning of the series opener. The Cardinals had at least one baserunner in all but two of their 22 offensive innings that followed. And Kyle Hart was the pitcher for both of those clean innings - retiring the Cardinals in order in the seventh inning Monday and again in yesterday's seventh inning. In all, Hart allowed one hit in 3⅔ scoreless innings in his two appearances.
• Bradgley Rodriguez opened yesterday and threw a scoreless first inning before Griffin Canning worked into the sixth. Rodriguez has yet to allow a run in three one-inning turns as an opener. He allowed his first baserunner yesterday on a one-out single.
• You can read in my notebook (here) about Canning's day, Ron Marinaccio beginning his suspension and the prospects for Blake Hunt to play this weekend.
• The Padres are 24-8 when they score first. That is the sixth-best record in the major leagues. Their 32 times scoring first are tied for fifth fewest in the majors.
• The Padres are 33-13 when they score at least three runs. That is the 10th-best record in the majors. Their 46 games scoring that many runs are fifth fewest in the majors.
• Machado, who said before the season he would never challenge a strike call and then swore off doing it after he was wrong on three straight tries in April, challenged a strike call for the 11th time this season. He was correct and is now almost .500 on ABS challenges for the season (5-for-11).
• Durán was 1-for-4 with a double yesterday. Among his seven hits since being called up May 7 are three home runs and three doubles.

All right, that's it for me.

The Padres are off today, so no newsletter tomorrow. No newsletter Saturday either. My youngest son lives in Dallas, so I am going to spend time with him after tomorrow's game.

The next Padres Daily will arrive in your inbox Sunday morning.

Talk to you then.

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 6:37 AM.