San Diego Padres starter Mike Clevinger left Game One of the NLDS in the second inning with an injured right elbow. Now, he’s been replaced on the roster.
The San Diego Padres starting pitching situation may very well ruin their World Series aspirations this year.
In the first game of the NLDS, trade deadline acquisition Mike Clevinger got the nod. Clevinger hadn’t pitched in the NLWCS due to an injury. His presence in the rotation for the NLDS was a huge addition for the Padres, who were already missing NL Cy Young candidate Dinelson Lamet.
He made it through the first inning unscathed, although he did allow three walks. But he was unable to pitch the second inning. He was removed from the game, and the Padres lost 5-1.
But there was still hope for Clevinger. Hope that should the series be pushed to five games, that he would be able to contribute in the winner take all matchup.
But that hope has been dashed. Clevinger has been replaced on the NLDS roster by Dan Altavilla.
RHP Dan Altavilla has replaced RHP Mike Clevinger on the #Padres 28-man NLDS roster.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 7, 2020
And if the Padres come back from the 2-0 series deficit they face, Clevinger will be ineligible for the NLCS.
And if Dinelson Lamet is unable to pitch in the NLCS due to his injury, the Padres will be forced to cobble together the best of seven series with a starting rotation of Zach Davies and Chris Paddack.
Davies and Paddack are both quality starting pitchers, but with a potential seven-game series, only having two starters puts a huge burden on the bullpen.
But for now, the Padres have to focus on staving off elimination. Chris Paddack is the only starting pitcher left, and his 2020 season has been a mixed bag. And in the wild card round, Paddack was tagged for six earned runs over 2.1 innings.
That outing doesn’t exactly instill confidence against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And with a magical season hanging in the balance, Padres fans are anguishing over the loss of Lamet and Clevinger in the final week of the regular season.
Hopefully, Clevinger’s elbow ailments don’t require major surgery. He’ll be one of the anchors of a really promising 2021 rotation in San Diego.
Even if they don’t take the cake this year, they’ve put the league on notice.