On Wednesday night, the San Diego Padres will face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third game of their four-game series.
Most recently, the Padres won 9-4 on Tuesday.
Right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta participated in a rehab outing with the Padres’ minor league affiliate Lake Elsinore Storm.
San Diego Padres Announce Encouraging Nick Pivetta News
Unfortunately for the San Diego Padres, concern was immediately raised during Nick Pivetta’s rehab outing. The starting pitcher left the contest after facing only three batters, after feeling some tightness in his elbow following a fastball. Pivetta did not finish his at-bat.
However, despite things appearing bleak, the Padres announced some encouraging news on Pivetta.
The San Diego-Union Tribune’s Jeff Sanders wrote: “Pivetta went on to throw all of his offerings — “as hard as he possibly could,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said — over a 20- to 30-pitch session in an indoor batting cage after tightness in his elbow led him to exit his appearance after recording two outs in the fourth inning following Joe Musgrove’s encouraging rehab start.”
Regarding Pivetta’s injury scare during his rehab outing, manager Craig Stammen said, “I think he was at a point where maybe he was scared, maybe worried, maybe hurt. We don’t know. We’ll find out. He threw the bullpen afterward, which is a little ironic. That’s not typical on your first rehab start. The key is we’ve really got to see how he wakes up and feels tomorrow, then go from there.”
Stammen also added, “Walking off the field, you think, ‘All right, he’s done. That’s it.’ But that’s just not the case.””
Nick Pivetta’s Season
Prior to his rehab appearance, Pivetta had not pitched in a game since April 12th against the Colorado Rockies, where he departed after only 46 pitches. That game was Pivetta’s fourth start of the season.
San Diego’s opening day starter was expected to bolster the Padres rotation down the stretch this season. He was San Diego’s best pitcher last season as he posted a 13-5 record with a 2.87 ERA in 181.2 innings. Unfortunately, his second season with the Padres has been much more difficult as he’s thrown only 16 innings with a 4.50 ERA.
Pivetta throwing a bullpen session after exiting his outing with elbow tightness is an encouraging sign for his availability the rest of the season.
While the Padres wait for Pivetta’s return, Wednesday’s game against the Diamondbacks will also feature some much-needed rotation help. Right-hander Casey Mize, who the team acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers, is set to make his Padres debut. Mize has a 2.70 ERA in 86.2 innings this season.
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