Padres pregame: A ‘meaningful' start for Samad Taylor, looking for a series win
To date, Samad Taylor has collected just two plate appearances (one strikeout) since he was added to the Padres roster. The 27-year-old gets his first start on Sunday in left field … and in front of his paternal grandmother for the first time as a pro.
Samad Taylor's other grandmother, Odeal Johnson, died in 2017. Playing so close to home allowed grandmother Sheila Marshall to plan to commute from Los Angeles after Taylor was given the heads up that he'd be in line for his first start against a left-hander.
The Mets are throwing an opener, likely ahead of left-hander Sean Manaea in the 1:10 p.m. start on Padres.TV.
"It compares to my debut," Taylor said. "My grandma's my everything. She's my last grandma here. I feel like our connection has been strong ever since I could remember. It's another day of baseball, but it's a meaningful day."
Taylor was drafted out of Corona High in the 10th round by Cleveland in 2016. He'd made stops in Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League but had yet to play this close to home since debuting in 2023.
Taylor is a .200/.265/.253 hitter across parts of four seasons in the majors. He was hitting .319/.406/.500 with seven homers in 51 games at Triple-A El Paso while seeing time at all three outfield spots and second base. He had nine steals in 10 attempts with El Paso but swiped as many as 50 bases while with Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners system in 2024.
"Be the best version of myself every day," Taylor said of his mentality with the Padres. "Whatever I have to bring to the table that day, it’s going to be 100%. I don’t really put myself in the situation of, ‘I have to do this,' to show the team what I can do. I just take it day by day, pitch by pitch … and whatever happens, happens.
"Control what I can control, and that’s it."
Taylor will man left field and bat eighth, between right fielder Jase Bowen (.250 OPS) and catcher Freddy Fermin (.431 OPS). Bowen is getting his first start since he started Tuesday and Wednesday upon joining the team out of El Paso.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (.666 OPS) will start at second base and hit leadoff, followed by center fielder Jackson Merrill (.600 OPS) and first baseman Ty France (.827 OPS). Third baseman Manny Machado (.6060 OPS) will bat fourth, followed by shortstop Xander Bogaerts (.650 OPS) and designated hitter Miguel Andujar (.707 OPS).
The Padres (33-30) snapped a six-game skid on Saturday. They are looking for their first series win since taking two of three from the Athletics at Petco Park last month (May 22-24).
Here is how the Mets (28-36) will line up for the rubber match:
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Mets RHP Huascar Brazoban (3-1, 2.25 ERA)
Brazoban has a 2.03 ERA over his last 13 ½ innings (10 appearances), has topped out at 38 pitches in an outing (2⅔ IP) and a 26-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 32 innings so far. The last time through the rotation the Mets used an opener in this spot ahead of LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 5.08 ERA), who threw five innings of one-run ball in bulk duty, his heaviest workload yet. Manaea has a 5.42 ERA in 99⅔ innings since the start of 2025. He is 5-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 49⅔ career innings against the Padres and has allowed three earned runs over his last 15 innings against them.
Here is how Manaea has fared against current Padres:
Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-3, 3.31 ERA)
He has a 5.40 ERA and has struck out only five batters over his last three starts (15 IP), all losses for the team. Vásquez has been better on the road (1.82 ERA) than he has at Petco Park (4.54 ERA). He allowed four runs in 2⅓ innings in a loss last year in his only start against the Mets.
Here is how Vasquez has fared against current Mets:
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This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 12:04 PM.