Padres pregame: A day off for Fernando Tatis Jr., Samad Taylor hitting leadoff
The Padres are a win away from a winning road trip.
They'll seek it without Fernando Tatis Jr., who is out of the lineup for the first time since May 3.
Sunday's first pitch is at 11:35 a.m. on Padres.TV.
Tatis is hitting .298/.357/.387 with two homers, 13 RBIs and nine steals in 42 games since his last day off. He has a .754 OPS on the road trip and is hitting .328/.373/.475 during a 14-game on-base streak.
Without Tatis in the lineup and atop the order, the Padres will give Samad Taylor (.903 OPS) the start in the leadoff spot and in right field. Taylor has spent the last four games in the two-hole.
Sung-Mun Song (.505 OPS) will get the start at second base and in the eighth-hole, between first baseman Ty France (.779 OPS) and catcher Rodolfo Durán (.664 OPS).
Gavin Sheets (.768 OPS) will start in left field and bat fourth and Will Wagner (.828 OPS) will serve as the DH and bat fifth.
The Padres' MLB-worst offense has at least ticked up a bit on a 4-4 road trip. They are hitting .232/.303/.401 over their last eight games, which include Dustin May's gem on Monday. For the season, the Padres are hitting .219/.292/.364.
The Padres (39-36) are nine games behind the Dodgers (49-28) in the NL West and currently tied for the NL's third wild-card spot with the Nationals (40-37) and Chicago Cubs (40-37).
Here is how the Rangers (36-40) will line up for the rubber match:
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Padres LHP Wandy Peralta (1-0, 1.96 ERA)
For the second start in a row, RHP Lucas Giolito (2-2, 4.56 ERA) will pitch behind an opener. He allowed three runs in five innings behind an opener on Monday in St. Louis. He has struck out 16 in 25⅔ innings and has walked 21. Giolito has a 4.26 ERA in seven career starts against the Rangers. He lost last year's start (3⅔ IP, 6 ER).
Here is how Giolito has fared against current Rangers:
Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-7, 4.23 ERA)
He's got a 5.23 ERA over his last five starts, allowing seven home runs over that stretch. Eovaldi, who was pushed back a day because of left knee soreness, has allowed 17 homers in 87⅓ innings after giving up 10 in 130 innings last year. He has a 3.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Padres, the last a win in 2024 (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks).
Here is how Eovaldi has fared against current Padres:
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This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 9:35 AM.