As the 2025 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Padres scrambling in center?
The Padres’ lineup took a major hit when Jackson Merrill went on the injured list with a hamstring strain earlier this week, but that injury looms even larger now that outfielder Brandon Lockridge is suffering from a hamstring issue of his own. Lockridge hasn’t hit much (58 wRC+) in a part-time role this year, but he figured to get expanded opportunities as the club’s center fielder while Merrill is out of action. As noted by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Lockridge appears to have avoided significant damage but is day-to-day due to inflammation in his hamstring.
If Lockridge is unable to play, the Padres’ options in center are shaky at best. Jason Heyward has plenty of experience but only played seven innings there in 2024 and is now in his age-35 season. Oscar Gonzalez and Tyler Wade have both made token appearances in center over their MLB careers, but a 40-man roster move to bring up a non-roster player like Tim Locastro may be in order if Lockridge ends up missing time. One other option could be sliding Fernando Tatis Jr. over to center field. He has just 12 games of experience at the position but has expressed interest in playing there more frequently in the past.
2. Series Preview: Cubs @ Padres
Speaking of the Padres, they’re entering a series that could wind up serving as a preview of a playoff matchup if the two participating teams continue their hot starts to the season. The Cubs have won four consecutive series and are 11-7 overall, and they’re arriving in San Diego to face a Padres club that’s 13-3 so far this year. Two of those three losses came in Chicago just last week, but the Padres are undefeated in 10 home games to this point in the season. The series kicks off at 6:40pm local time this evening, with right-hander Dylan Cease set to take the mound against the team that drafted him opposite Jameson Taillon. After today’s game, the sides will have two rematches from last week’s series with Randy Vasquez and Nick Pivetta both toeing the rubber for the Padres opposite Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd.
3. Pitchers’ duel in St. Louis:
The Cardinals are hosting the Astros at 6:45pm CT to kick off this week’s three-game series, and both teams are sending their aces to the mound for today’s contest. Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray has had a bit of a difficult start to his age-35 season, with a 4.50 ERA over his first three starts, but he looked more like himself his last time out against the Pirates when he shut down Pittsburgh’s offense with five innings of three-hit ball. Southpaw Framber Valdez, meanwhile, has looked as good as ever as he kicks off his final year before free agency. He’s posted a 2.50 ERA and struck out 29.6% of opponents over his first three starts, including six scoreless innings where he struck out eight Mariners and held Seattle to just two hits his last time out.
