Padres notes: Matt Waldron ready for any role; bullpen gets it done

The sweat was still dripping down Matt Waldron's forehead as he returned to his locker on Saturday. He'd just thrown his customary between-starts bullpen, but was not certain if he would actually start Tuesday's game in Milwaukee or follow an opener into the game as he did on Wednesday in San Francisco.

The Padres have listed him as the starting pitcher for Game 1 in Milwaukee, but Waldron was also listed as the starter last week in San Francisco until the morning of his assignment.

The heads-up that he got the night before wasn't exactly on his radar, even though pitching coach Ruben Niebla had hinted at the possibility.

"It shocked me a little bit at first," Waldron admitted.

But Waldron said he understands the strategy.

"If anything, it's a little bit of a crutch," he said. "If it can help me get to the fifth (inning of work) a little bit sooner."

The Padres used an opener on Wednesday, in part to allow Waldron to bypass the Giants’ red-hot Casey Schmitt and settle into a rhythm against the bottom half of the lineup.

Waldron did just that, pitching a 1-2-3 second inning en route to five frames of one-run ball. He struck out seven and allowed two hits, one of which left the yard.

Waldron had plenty of time to find the feel for his trademark knuckleball, but that's something he's got a much better handle on in his fourth year in the majors.

"I feel like I’m past the point of searching for it anymore," Waldron said. "Like, I barely play catch with it now. I just have it in there … and I just trust it’s going to be there."

Because he struggled in his first three starts, Waldron is still carrying a 7.71 ERA into Milwaukee. It remains to be seen how many more appearances he gets after that: right-hander Lucas Giolito threw six innings of one-run ball on Sunday at Double-A San Antonio and could fold back into the rotation as soon as this weekend in Seattle.

Giolito has to be added to the big-league roster by Saturday. The Padres already pushed Germán Márquez to the injured list with inflammation in a forearm nerve when they needed a spot for Griffin Canning. Waldron is out of options, so he can't be sent back to Triple-A El Paso without exposing him to waivers.

Asked about his mindset last month amid the looming roster crunch, Waldron said, "Just trying to pitch as best as I can. Just fighting, no matter what. It’s a privilege to be out there."

Getting there

Jeremiah Estrada touched 97 mph while striking out the Cardinals’ most dangerous hitter, Jordan Walker, with a runner on second base to start Sunday’s 10th inning. He hit that number two more times while punching out Nolan Gorman and again in his at-bat with Masyn Winn before losing him to a walk.

Yes, it's a lot easier to pitch with the automatic runner on second base in extra innings when your stuff's back.

Or almost back.

"Not there yet," Estrada said with a smile. "I haven’t thrown a 99 or a 100 yet, but I felt good."

Estrada was down to the low 90s when elbow tendinitis sent him to the injured list last month. He put on some of the weight he lost in the offseason, took a closer look at his delivery and is working his velocity back up. His four-seam velocity on Sunday was 96.7 mph, a tick above his season average to date (95.5 mph).

The Padres turned to Estrada in extra innings, in part because they were staying away from Mason Miller a day after he worked a four-out save. After Estrada’s walk of Winn, Padres manager Craig Stammen pulled him for left-hander Adrián Morejón, who needed one pitch to retire Jose Fermin on a pop-up.

The scoreless 10th inning followed two perfect innings from Ron Marinaccio and a perfect ninth from Bradgley Rodriguez.

"We have one of the best bullpens in baseball," right-hander Walker Buehler said after throwing six innings of two-run ball in the start. "That’s not just one guy. Obviously, Mason’s doing some special things and some things that nobody’s done before, but every guy back there’s talented and really knows their role and can do it. So it’s definitely a nice thing to be able to kind of hand it off that way."

Notable

Giolito threw 52 of his 74 pitches for strikes for Double-A San Antonio on Sunday over an efficient six innings in which he did not walk a batter and allowed a run on three hits. He struck out three. Giolito has a 4.76 ERA through four minor league starts (17 IP).

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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 6:14 PM.