Robbie Ray wild, Padres' offense mild in loss to Yankees

Jeff Sanders, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sep 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Nick Pivetta threw a bullpen Saturday afternoon. The Padres have not announced what Joe Musgrove’s next step is, other than to reveal that they are considering shorter starts to help him ease past the elbow fatigue that’s slowed him following sharp rehab appearances.

So maybe, just maybe the Padres have options if their two newest starting pitchers continue to stumble.

On Saturday, Robbie Ray could not get out of the third inning, burying the Padres early in a 5-1 loss to the Yankees that again tripped up the Padres in their quest to strengthen their grip on the NL’s final playoff spot.

The Padres began Saturday with a half-game lead on the Diamondbacks in the race for the NL’s third wild-card slot, but they managed just two singles outside Manny Machado’s fourth-inning homer and Ray walked four over 2 1/3 innings in his worst start yet since the trade deadline.

The Padres’ pitching acquisitions, amid an MLB-best 21-7 run that began in late July, were supposed to buoy the team’s rise, but right-hander Casey Mize has a 6.67 ERA in his six starts since the trade deadline and Ray, after walking four on Saturday, has a 4.71 ERA in his six starts.

Padres baseball ops chief A.J. Preller didn’t break the bank to add both to the rotation — combined, the two deals cost three top-30 organizational prospects in Kash Mayfield, Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez — but he needs more than he’s getting to look back on the deals with any kind of fondness.

Either way, the additions were necessary to bridge the gap — pitching chaos couldn’t last forever, could it? — until Pivetta and/or Musgrove could return in some capacity, however diminished they might be after both suffered setbacks since beginning rehab assignments in early August.

Instead of getting both back as full-fledged starters, the Padres are beginning to assess how either could help over the final three weeks of the season, whether they return as short-length starters, piggy-backers or relief arms.

Ray’s trouble in the second inning followed a perfect first in which he threw seven of eight pitches for strikes.

But Ben Rice singled to start the inning, Spencer Jones drove him in with a double and Ray walked the next three hitters to prompt David Morgan to warm up in the bullpen.

Cody Bellinger’s two-run single capped a four-run rally in Ray’s 42-pitch frame.

An inning later, Ray walked Rice to start the third, gave up a single to former Giants teammate Heliot Ramos, a sac fly to rookie George Lombard Jr. and was lifted after Jones’ second hit of the game.

All told, Ray allowed five runs on five hits and four walks while throwing 47 of his 73 pitches for strikes over 2 1/3 innings.

The early lead allowed left-hander Carlos Rodon to largely cruise through five innings, as he allowed only Xander Bogaerts’ one-out single in the first inning and Machado’s home run to start the fourth.

Rodon struck out seven — including Ty France and Jackson Merrill with two runners on in the first inning — and walked three before handing his bullpen a 5-1 lead in the sixth inning.