Padres lose 5-1 to the Diamondbacks on June 14, 2025, as rotation woes force Ryan Bergert's debut. Can Fernando Tatis Jr.'s hot bat save the offense?
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
It was a night that perfectly captured the Padres' current predicament. In his major league debut, rookie Ryan Bergert was thrown into the fire against a division rival, a direct result of a starting rotation decimated by injuries. While the kid battled, the offense went missing, leading to a deflating 5-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to open the series at Chase Field.
Ryan battled out there. He gave us a chance, but we need to support him more offensively.
All eyes were on Ryan Bergert, the latest arm called up from Triple-A to plug a hole in the rotation. The right-hander's final line—four runs on seven hits over five innings—doesn't tell the whole story. He showed flashes of the stuff that made him a steady performer in the minors, but a rough three-run fourth inning, punctuated by a two-run double from Corbin Carroll, proved to be the difference-maker. It was a tough-luck introduction to the big leagues, a trial by fire for a pitcher the Padres desperately need to step up.
Manager Mike Shildt's postgame comments hit the nail on the head. You can't win if you don't score, and the Padres' bats were mostly silent on Saturday. The team managed just six hits and couldn't string anything together, squandering the few opportunities they had. The one exception was Fernando Tatis Jr., who continued his hot hitting by going 2-for-3 and scoring the team's only run. Outside of Tatis, however, the lineup looked lifeless, failing to provide any cushion for their rookie starter.
Bergert's start wasn't a planned experiment; it was a necessity. The Padres are navigating a treacherous stretch with three-fifths of their intended starting rotation on the injured list. With Michael King (shoulder), Yu Darvish (elbow), and Joe Musgrove (elbow) all sidelined, the team's depth is being tested like never before. While it's exciting to see top prospects like Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas generating buzz, the reality is that the farm system is considered top-heavy. The immediate pressure falls squarely on the healthy members of the roster to weather this storm.
The loss drops the Padres to 38-30, a reminder that every division game counts. As the team looks to salvage the series against the D-backs, the path forward is clear: the offense must wake up and support a pitching staff that's being held together with grit and duct tape. Saturday was a tough pill to swallow, but it's how the Padres respond to this adversity that will define their season.
