Seth Lugo scheduled to return in Padres challenging series vs. Giants

Despite the San Diego Padres slow start, one of the players that was doing well early in the season was Seth Lugo. The 33-year-old went six or more innings in five of his first seven outings, posting a 3.18 ERA in that span of time.

But then on May 16 after allowing five earned runs in two innings to the Kansas City Royals, he hurt his calf running over to cover first base. Lugo was put on the 15-day Injured List on May 18 and hasn’t pitched since. That should change this week though, as he’s expected to start game two of the Padres four-game set in San Francisco tomorrow night.

Lugo going on the shelf may not have been the worst thing as now he should have a better chance at finishing the year in the rotation assuming he has success upon coming back. His return is coming at a good time, as Ryan Weathers (12 ER in last 6.1 IP) wasn’t doing a good enough job at giving the team length in the starter’s role.

According to Jeff Sanders, Lugo spent time working on the shape and velocity of his “work-in-progress” slider while he wasn’t on the active roster. That pitch, which he has thrown 11.3% of the time this season, is in a better spot than where it was before he hit the IL. We’ll see how many times he goes to that pitch when he returns to a big league mound this week.

As for the rest of the series, here’s how the pitching matchups should line up:

Tonight: Michael Wacha (SD) vs. Ryan Walker (SF)

First Pitch: 6:45 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Wacha’s last outing (June 14): 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Walker’s last outing (June 16): 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Tuesday: Seth Lugo (SD) vs. Anthony DeSclafani (SF)

First Pitch: 6:45 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Lugo’s last outing (May 16): 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

DeSclafani’s last outing (June 14): 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Wednesday: Yu Darvish (SD) vs. TBD (SF)

First Pitch: 6:45 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Darvish’s last outing (June 16): 5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Thursday: Blake Snell (SD) vs. Alex Wood (SF)

First Pitch: 12:45 pm PT, MLB-San Diego Padres, 97.3 The Fan

Snell’s last outing (June 17): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K

Wood’s last outing (June 17): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K