Acee: ‘Foregone conclusion’ Pads want off Bogaerts

There’s little doubt that Miller will be the choice in the ninth on Tuesday in the NL All-Star squad has a lead. Miller enters the break as the NL saves leader, with one more than Jhoan Duran and Riley O’Brien. He’s three behind Cade Smith for the major league lead.

Miller did put the tying run on base, but he was able to work around that knock without trouble while fanning a pair. It’s been nothing short of a dominant first half for the 27-year-old; one that has seen him save 24 games with a sparking 0.93 ERA. In a different era, Miller would likely be in the Cy Young conversation.

Bogaerts gave the Padres an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when he sent a fastball from Shane Bieber 422 feet into deep left-center for his ninth homer of the season. Bogaerts had a chance to be the hero with two outs in the ninth inning when he stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. Unfortunately, a softly hit grounder to third ended the Padres’ hopes of a comeback. Friday marked the first homer of the month for Bogaerts, who continues to struggle at the plate. It’s still early in the month, but after a down June that saw him slash .211/.355/.237, the veteran shortstop has followed that up with a .152/.222/.303 line this month.

Miller was summoned in the ninth inning with a three-run lead to close out the game against the D-backs. He worked a clean frame on 14 pitches, striking out two batters to secure the win for the Padres and his 23rd save of the season.

Sung-Mun Song gets a look at shortstop with Bogaerts taking a seat following 22 consecutive starts dating back to June 12. The 33-year-old veteran has hit .231/.321/.337 with 36 runs scored, eight homers, 33 RBI and 10 steals in 336 plate appearances through 85 games.

Miller got one strikeout tonight, which was actually his first in three appearances. He averaged 102.1 mph with his 10 fastballs. Miller has pitched on back-to-back days now, so he might be iffy for Monday. The Padres did use him three straight days once back in April.

Miller took the mound with the game tied in the ninth inning against the Braves. He struck out two in a clean frame, then returned for the top of the tenth. He retired all three batters once again with one strikeout before the Padres walked it off in the bottom of the frame to give Miller the win. The 27-year-old right-hander has been the game’s top closer, posting a 0.79 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and a 66/13 K/BB ratio with 21 saves across 34 innings.

Miller made things a little interesting by allowing a single and a walk with two outs, but he struck out Mike Yastrzemski to end the game. He’s second in the majors in saves, three behind Cade Smith and two ahead of Bryan Baker and Riley O’Brien.

Miller was summoned in the tenth inning for his first appearance back from the bereavement list after the Padres took a three-run lead in the top of the frame. He allowed the runner on second to score on a base hit, but closed out the game with two strikeouts for his 20th save of the season.

The Padres’ stopper missed the first half of the week while away on bereavement leave. He’s available out of the club’s bullpen should a save situation arise on Friday night. Miller returns to a brilliant 0.90 ERA and 59/12 K/BB ratio over 30 dominant frames this season.