D-backs Face Brutal Challenge in New-Look Padres Pitching Staff

The Arizona Diamondbacks will see some tough arms as San Diego comes to town.

Aug 1, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller (22) pitches during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images | Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks, coming off a refreshing series win over the Athletics in Sacramento, will return to Chase Field to face a tough three-game set against the San Diego Padres and their revamped pitching staff.

San Diego was one of the most active buying clubs at the Trade Deadline, while the D-backs were among the most active sellers.

The Padres are 62-50, hot on the Dodgers' tails. They've won seven of their last 10. The D-backs recently snapped a six-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over the A's.

Here are some of the pitching matchups Arizona will face in the upcoming series. Though the starters may not look daunting, it will be the Padres' bullpen that provides the most brutal challenge yet.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs San Diego Padres Starting Pitchers

Monday, August 4: LHP J.P. Sears (4.95 ERA) vs RHP Brandon Pfaadt (5.11 ERA)

The first arm Arizona faces will be recently-acquired southpaw J.P. Sears. Sears was the secondary portion of the blockbuster trade with the Athletics that sent closer Mason Miller to San Diego.

After a good start to the season, Sears has struggled somewhat, pitching to a 4.44 ERA over five starts in July. Sears only pitched into the sixth inning once, and was blown up for seven runs in four innings on July 18, but has given up just three earned runs in his last two starts.

Brandon Pfaadt looked to be turning a corner, but suffered a dismal blowup outing against the Tigers his last time out, giving up seven earned runs in 4.2 innings after he had posted three straight solid starts.

The D-backs need more consistency out of their young righty, whose ERA has now rocketed back above 5.00.

Tuesday, August 5: RHP Yu Darvish (6.16 ERA) vs RHP Ryne Nelson (3.20 ERA)

Yu Darvish has not looked like himself since his return from a lengthy absence. The veteran has made five starts this season, and has been knocked around for the most part.

Darvish gave up eight runs in 3.1 innings two starts ago, but turned in his best outing of the season in his last start, going seven scoreless innings and allowing just two hits while punching out seven against the Mets. He needed only 76 pitches to do so.

The D-backs got to Darvish in his return debut this year. Though they only got two runs, they chased him after 3.2 innings by working three walks and three hits.

Right-hander Ryne Nelson now leads Arizona's battered rotation after the departure of Merrill Kelly. He gave up four runs in 5.1 innings his last time out, but three were unearned after a double error by Geraldo Perdomo.

Nelson has been the most consistently sharp arm on Arizona's staff, and they'll need to rely on him a lot more in the coming months.

Wednesday, August 5: TBD vs RHP Anthony DeSclafani (4.91 ERA)

The Padres have not announced a starter for Wednesday as of this writing, though there is a likelihood it will be recently-acquired left-hander Nestor Cortes, who was just activated off the 60-day IL on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Anthony DeSclafani will make his third start of the season, and second since taking Kelly's slot post-trade. DeSclafani was having a solid year as Arizona's long reliever, but was but by a four-run first inning in his last start in Sacramento, going just 2.1 innings.

Sharp results may not be the expectation, considering the situation, but the D-backs could certainly use a bounce-back.

Diamondbacks vs Padres Bullpens

This is where the real challenge begins.

San Diego holds the best bullpen ERA in baseball, an impressive 3.03 figure.

Closer Robert Suárez has given up two earned runs in his last 12 appearances. He's 32-for-36 in saves this season, though one of his blown saves came in a thrilling five-run comeback by the D-backs at Chase Field.

Miller, who is setting up for Suárez, has a 3.66 ERA that's inflated by a couple of blowup outings. He (and his triple-digit fastball) has not given up an earned run since June 19. Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon have sub-2.00 ERAs, as does Jeremiah Estrada.

The D-backs, meanwhile, have gotten good mileage out of their struggling bullpen in the past series, but they still rank 26th with a 4.86 ERA.

Kevin Ginkel, Andrew Saalfrank and Kendall Graveman have taken on the leverage innings. Saalfrank and Graveman both worked the past two games.