Padres pregame: Miguel Andujar (hamstring) hoping to avoid IL as Reds arrive

Miguel Adujar has been in this spot before.

In April, he tweaked his left hamstring busting down the first-base line, but there wasn't an obvious substitution when he came out of the game and the Padres managed the injury with days off and DH duty without requiring an injured list stint. The same hamstring forced the 31-year-old from Sunday's game after he beat out an infield single in the seventh inning, but he again believes he's avoided anything that would send him to the shelf.

"Nothing crazy; I'm available to maybe pinch-hit tonight," Andujar said before Monday's 6:40 p.m. first pitch on Padres.TV. "It was bad a couple weeks back, maybe a month (ago). Yesterday I was feeling 100%, but something happened in the game that I couldn't control. But I feel better today."

The sliding Padres need all the breaks they can get.

After all, they've likely lost outfielder Ramón Laureano for the year to hip surgery, second baseman Jake Cronenworth is still in the early stages of ramping up baseball activity after late-developing concussion symptoms sent him to the shelf on May 5 and the broken toe that sent Luis Campusano to the injured list on May 7 has so far barred the 27-year-old catcher from progressing to rehab games.

"I've been doing everything," Campusano said Monday. "It's just a matter of like when to play."

The sooner, the better.

To say nothing of the pitchers who've hit the injured list after the start of the season - from Nick Pivetta to Germán Márquez to Matt Waldron to Jeremiah Estrada twice - the Padres are 13-17 since playing their first game without Cronenworth, who was clearly struggling at the plate (.144/.272/.196) but still expected to be key cog in the 2026 season.

The Padres are losing far more often over the last two weeks (11 of 13 entering Monday), but Padres manager Craig Stammen pushed back against the notion that a cumulative effect of mounting injuries has contributed to the team's swoon.

"The guys that we have in the lineup are really good baseball players, also," Stammen said. "They’re major leaguers for a reason, and we feel like we can win with the guys that we have currently. You know, obviously, the guys on the IL can definitely make us a better team. They’ve proven that in the past."

Two hitters in Monday's lineup - right fielder Jase Bowen and left fielder Samad Taylor - began the year at Triple-A El Paso. That was also the case for Sung-Mun Song, who started Friday and Saturday at second base against right-handed starting pitchers. Meantime, Ty France is hitting third in a third straight game after receiving just two starts in the team's first 12 games of the year.

Not exactly the way the anything was drawn up in spring training.

Which is often par for the course for a baseball season.

While the Padres might have to forge a postseason berth to have a chance at seeing Laureano again this season, Andujar appears like he will avoid the injured list and Campusano and Cronenworth continue to ramp up baseball activity as they inch closer to rehab assignments.

"It’s never easy when you have injuries, and to key guys that have been a big part of our team, big part of our success at the beginning of the year and the success the Padres have had over the last five, six years," Stammen said. "So we definitely miss them, but it’s a good thing that we think most of those guys will all be back, and we’ll be able to get them in the lineup and hopefully we start playing a little bit better baseball, start swinging the bats a little bit better, and then we get those guys back, and we hit the ground running."

Here is how the Reds (31-33) will line up for Game 1 of a three-game series:

Platformed

12-year-old Victoria signed a contract with the Padres through Make-A-Wish, an endeavor that not only allowed her to meet her favorite Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr., she was able to watch batting practice on the field, tour the batting cage and even field questions from San Diego media alongside Stammen in the dugout.

"She’s got a great smile and a great personality, so she put a smile on my face today, too," Stammen said. "And I think that’s what this whole thing is about, is we have an opportunity to play baseball, to coach baseball, and a lot of people like to watch us, and we’re entertaining a lot of people, and she’s entertained a lot by the Padres. She looks up to these players out there, and for us to be able to bring her here and show her around and make her feel like she’s a part of the family is an amazing opportunity."

Notable

• Waldron (brachialis) is expecting to throw two innings of live batting practice on Tuesday. That should line him up to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso as soon as Sunday. Waldron threw 12 shutout innings while rehabbing a lower-half injury to start the year at El Paso. He had an 8.49 ERA in 23⅓ innings in the majors before going on the injured list on May 15.
• Márquez (forearm nerve) has thrown 6⅓ shutout innings across two rehab appearances with El Paso.

Monday’s pitching matchup

Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (4-3, 4.06 ERA)

He's got a 2.25 ERA over his last seven starts, which include four quality starts. Abbott has a 2.81 ERA on the road and a 5.15 ERA at Great American Ball Park. He is 2-0 with an 0.98 ERA, 24 strikeouts and an 0.94 WHIP in four starts in his career against the Padres.

Here is how Abbott has fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.53 ERA)

He's coming off his third quality start in 12 trips to the mound. He struck out six and allowed a run on four hits and two walks in six innings. Buehler has a 3.50 ERA at home and a 6.23 ERA away from Petco Park. Buehler has a 3.00 ERA in eight starts against the Reds, the last in 2024 (11⅔ IP, 3 ER across two starts).

Here is how Buehler has fared against current Reds:

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 5:31 PM.