Padres notes: Canning attacks out of bullpen; Marinaccio begins suspension; Hunt delayed

ST. LOUIS - On Monday night, Lucas Giolito finished his warmups before the second inning began and made his way to the Padres' dugout.

When the top of the second ended, Giolito climbed the stairs and took the mound the same as he had in each of his 205 major league starts.

He wanted that familiar feeling even though he was serving as a bulk reliever following Wandy Peralta, who worked the first inning as the Padres' opener.

Griffin Canning needed something different.

"I kind of wanted a little adrenaline rush to just run in from the bullpen," Canning said.

So he finished his warm-up in the bullpen and jogged in from there to start the bottom of the second inning after Bradgley Rodriguez opened Wednesday's game.

There are different reasons a team uses an opener. For Giolito, it was largely to get him past the first inning and with the idea that when he was working in the sixth inning he was not facing the Cardinals' hitters a third time.

For Canning, it was about trying to foster the aggressive mindset of a reliever.

It worked well enough, as Canning allowed one run in 4⅓ innings in the middle of the Padres' 6-1 victory over the Cardinals.

"I don’t have time to overthink things," Canning said. "Just kind of come out and attack right away."

Canning had to work through a bout of wildness in the fifth inning and left the game after walking a batter in the sixth. But he came out throwing strikes and was ahead consistently. His 70% first-pitch-strike rate was 16 percentage points higher than his season average coming in.

"It’s something I want to do every single time, right," Canning said. "For whatever reason, I think coming out of the bullpen is just kind of a little different mindset. So, look at the positives and build off it from here."

The Padres are looking for Canning to not only make some mechanical tweaks but also muster the belief his pitches can get outs in the zone and he can survive a few hits.

It was with that in mind that pitching coach Ruben Niebla talked manager Craig Stammen into leaving Canning in to face dangerous left-handed batter Alec Burleson with two outs and runners at the corners in the fifth inning. That Burleson singled to drive in a run, cutting the Padres' lead to 3-1, did not mean the Padres viewed that as a mistake.

"I think it was definitely the right decision, even though Burleson got a hit," Stammen said. "The pitch that Alec hit was a really good pitch - up and in heater,. He executed it. He got a jam shot single. As a pitcher, pitching four or five, six innings, that’s going to happen. So I think being able to stick with him there in a 3-0 game, I hope that that breeds confidence for him. It shows that we have confidence in him and are not just Captain Hooking him every time."

Canning, who got out of the fifth and retired the first batter in the sixth before issuing his second walk and being removed from the game, was awarded his first win against five losses and lowered his ERA nearly a half-point to 6.64.

Marinaccio sits

The Padres played a man down in the bullpen Wednesday and will do so again Friday in Texas.

Reliever Ron Marinaccio began serving a two-game suspension, which had a game lopped off from the original three as a result of his appeal.

Marinaccio was suspended by MLB on Monday after it was determined he had intentionally thrown at the Orioles' Gunnar Henderson in retaliation for Xander Bogaerts having been hit by a pitch Saturday in Baltimore. Stammen served a one-game suspension Monday.

Teams do not get to replace a player suspended for disciplinary reasons. Marinaccio worked 1⅓ innings Tuesday, meaning he likely would not have pitched Tuesday, and the Padres are off Thursday, which should help them navigate being short-handed Friday.

It is not known when closer Mason Miller will return after going on the Bereavement/Family Medical Leave list Monday to attend to a family matter, which he has asked to remain private.

Kyle Hart was called up to take Miller's roster spot and worked 3⅔ scoreless innings in two appearances against the Cardinals.

Hunt waits some more

Blake Hunt did not get his first big-league start Wednesday, as the Padres had Rodolfo Durán start a fourth consecutive game.

"I felt like it would have been a tough day for a rookie catcher that hasn’t caught many of our guys," Stammen said.

Hunt was called up Sunday when Freddy Fermin was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list.

This is the second time Hunt has been on a big-league roster. He spent a day active with the Orioles in 2024 but did not play. It does not appear that will happen to him again, as Stammen said he anticipates Hunt will get a start in Texas.

With the off-day providing Durán a chance to rest, he will likely catch for Randy Vásquez on Friday and catch, as he usually does, for Michael King on Saturday.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 4:43 PM.