Padres Notes: Nick Pivetta Elbow Injury, Mason Miller Praise, Walker Buehler Dominance

The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-2, on Sunday and improved to 10-6 on the year. Ty France, Ramón Laureano and Jackson Merrill all went yard on the road to a series-sweeping victory.

Unfortunately, right-hander Nick Pivetta exited the eventual victory early after three-plus innings due to a stiff elbow. Manager Craig Stammen spoke on pulling the veteran who was perfect heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

“Any time it's someone's elbow, especially a pitcher, it's reason for caution,” Stammen said. “And that's probably why we took him out of the game when we did.”

Pivetta didn't have much information to share regarding the injury.

“To be honest, I’m perplexed,” Pivetta said. “I think just take it day by day. I’m not going to put a single thing on it. … [The] human body is different. People feel things differently. I’m just trying to process it, work through it myself. I think the next coming days, I’ll probably see how it feels and be able to dictate what type of plan I want moving forward.”

In other news, Friars closer Mason Miller has continued his dominance on the mound and earned major praise from his teammates. Merrill remarked on what it must be like as a hitter facing off against such a formidable presence.

“It’s pretty ridiculous," Merrill said. "You get in there, you don’t know what’s coming. You don’t know if it’s gonna be 87, 95 or 105 [mph]. You just gotta be ready for everything, and it’s pretty tough being ready for all that.”

Miller now developing a changeup only adds to the absurdity of what he brings to the rubber.

Though changeups only account for 4.3% of his pitches thrown so far, expect that number to grow as the season goes on, especially since he only threw 22 total changeups last season.

His 87.9 mph average slider velocity and 101.4 mph average fastball create a truly disorienting experience for the opposing hitters who have the misfortune of matching up against him in the batter's box.

Finally, right-hander Walker Buehler battled back from two rough starts to begin his tenure in San Diego with a three-hitter against the Rockies on Friday. The veteran spoke on what he believed was responsible for the improved production at the bump.

“A little more urgency,” Buehler said. “Obviously, kind of mentally and [physically] struggling the first two. The coaching staff and I have been doing a lot of work and the strength staff and training staff, trying to get back to some things that I used to do really well. And I just think the throw is improving and the delivery is improving. So really good to get a good one under my belt.”

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

'Once-in-a-Generation Type Stuff': Padres' Mason Miller Earns Major Praise From Teammates

Walker Buehler Details Work Behind the Scenes That Led to Dominant Outing for Padres

Padres Manager Craig Stammen Walks Back Comments on Manny Machado

Padres Lineup vs Rockies: Fernando Tatis at Second Base, Jake Cronenworth Out

Padres Pitcher Highlighted as 'Surprise Player' Making Big Impact This Season

Padres Tweets of the Day

The sound off the bat 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/W8OGZhCjHy
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 12, 2026

Now Playing: The Ramóns ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/c6lO2m30rj
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 12, 2026

Oui love to see it. pic.twitter.com/y2pGqu4IqK
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 12, 2026