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The only time the San Diego Padres swept a series this season was April 29-30, when they won two straight against the San Francisco Giants in Mexico City
On Wednesday, the Padres not only will try to sweep a three-game series from the Los Angeles Angels, but they will be out to match their longest winning streak of the season — also three games
Meanwhile, the ailing Angels not only will be looking to salvage a win in the series, but they will be seeking to end a 1-6 skid — and get out of San Diego in one piece
Before the Tuesday game, the Angels announced All-Star center fielder Mike Trout is going on the injured list and will be out four-to-eight weeks with a fractured left hamate bone. He sustained the injury Monday on a foul-ball swing
“I kind of knew it wasn’t good,” Trout said Tuesday morning. “It’s just a freak thing. I had a lot of guys reach out who had the hamate injury surgery before. Some guys were back in four weeks. Some take longer. We’ll see.”
Los Angeles now leads the major leagues in one dubious category. Trout became the 14th Angel on the current injured list. Two days earlier, Brandon Drury was No. 13 when he went on the injured list with a left shoulder contusion.
Then matters got worse Tuesday night. Third baseman Anthony Rendon had to be assisted into the clubhouse after fouling a Joe Musgrove pitch off his left shin, sustaining a contusion. Then pitcher Shohei Ohtani left Los Angeles’ 8-5 defeat with a blister on his right middle finger.
Looking ahead to the All-Star Game on July 11 at Seattle, where Ohtani is due to start as the American League’s designated hitter and also was selected as one of the team’s pitchers.
“It’s going to be pretty tough (to do both),” Ohtani said after the Tuesday game. “As of now, I’m planning on not pitching.”
The Wednesday finale will match Padres right-hander Seth Lugo (3-4, 3.59 ERA) against Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval (4-7, 4.57). But Los Angeles got a bit of a head start on the Wednesday contest in the ninth inning on Tuesday
Entering the final inning down 8-1, the Angels mounted a rally that forced the Padres to use closer Josh Hader for a second straight game. He hasn’t worked in three straight games this season. Not having Hader, who issued two bases-loaded walks Tuesday before getting his 19th save, would be a major blow to a bullpen that has struggled recently
“We had to do what we needed to do to win that game,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “Where we are, there is a premium on wins.
The Padres have lost all three of Lugo’s starts since he returned from a calf injury that cost him a month on the injured list. But in those three starts, Lugo produced a 2.25 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP. He has faced the Angels only once before, on July 24, 2022, when he threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings while operating out of the New York Mets’ bullpen
Sandoval also will be making his second appearance and first start against his Wednesday opponent. In his only other game against the Padres, Sandoval picked up his first major league win on Sept. 23, 2020, allowing two hits and no walks in three scoreless innings of relief
Sandoval has blown hot and cold this season. He had a 3.16 ERA in April and May and a 7.11 ERA in June. He has allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his 15 starts, but he gave up seven runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings in his most recent start, against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
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