Padres Notes: Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta Return Timelines, Jackson Merrill Struggles, More

The San Diego Padres lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0, on Wednesday afternoon and fell to 31-24 on the year. Walker Buehler went 5.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out a pair of Philadelphia batters as he was charged with his third loss of the year. Both runs scored after he exited the game.

Fernando Tatis Jr. continued his home run drought, but collected his third multi-hit game in his last four and has had at least one hit in nine of his last 10 appearances.

In other news, a Padres insider recently spoke on a timeline for right-handers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove to return from their respective injuries.

Pivetta totaled a 2.87 ERA last season across 31 starts and was easily one of the best additions to the Friars, but a flexor tendon strain last month put him on the shelf after just four starts.

Musgrove hasn't had any big league action since he underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2024, and after suffering a setback this past spring, is still awaiting his 2026 debut.

In other news, center fielder Jackson Merrill has endured quite the slump lately, hitting .115 in his last 15 contests. A two-hit game on Wednesday raised his batting average to .200 on the year, but ahead of the game, manager Craig Stammen spoke on what he saw wrong with his young star.

"It's similar to what we've kinda talked about all year, he's a little bit over-aggressive, probably," Stammen said. "It's one of those situations where I'm gonna take one down the middle and then the next one he swings at in the dirt. Don't swing, don't swing, and then all of a sudden, you're swinging.

"I know he's working his butt off behind the scenes to try and get better at that."

Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Padres Insider Reveals Tentative Return Timeline for Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove

2 Padres Starting Pitchers Making Major Progress Toward Return

Padres Manager Gets Brutally Honest on Jackson Merrill's Struggles

History Isn't on Padres' Side to Make Playoffs in 2026

Nick Castellanos Reacts to Phillies Firing Rob Thomson Amid Matchup With Philadelphia

Padres Have New Breakout Reliever Who Wants More High-Leverage Opportunities

Padres Tweets of the Day

“Its part of baseball of baseball… and it's frustrating.”

- Jackson Merrill on the Padres going 3-6 on the home stand pic.twitter.com/YMn8CEntmx
— SleeperPadres (@SleeperPadres) May 28, 2026

What is the biggest “What if” in Padres history?
— SleeperPadres (@SleeperPadres) May 28, 2026

Craig Stammen assessed the performance of his team's offense in the series against the Phillies, his decision to bring in Adrian Morejon in the 6th inning and his team's lack of productive outs at the plate: pic.twitter.com/maJwnxm0rZ
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 27, 2026

Fernando Tatis Jr. is a Platinum Glover in right. He's also been damn good at second base. pic.twitter.com/EGAhEt6rT3
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) May 27, 2026

Mason Miller Appreciation Post:

23.2 IP
47 K (1st among Relievers)
16 Saves (2nd in MLB)
0.76 ERA
0.80 WHIP pic.twitter.com/p3ZqkvYFWU
— SleeperPadres (@SleeperPadres) May 27, 2026

Randy Vasquez with the bases empty:

.307 BAA
18.1% K%
1.63 WHIP
5.36 FIP

With runners on:

.170 BAA
20% K%
0.78 WHIP

With RISP:

.174 BAA
18.5% K%
0.84 WHIP

xDawg: 100th percentile. pic.twitter.com/uLZYPQcB5L
— LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) May 27, 2026

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