Luis Campusano sits for second straight day

The Padres are giving Luis Campusano a very rare start at DH with Freddy Fermin catching tonight, so there’s no room for Rengifo against a lefty. The switch-hitting Rengifo is hitting just .213/.283/.278 versus southpaws this season, though he’s at .344/.417/.469 in 37 plate appearances against them since joining the Padres and he’s been better versus lefties over the course of his career.

Campusano’s two doubles both came at great times for the Padres here. His first brought home two runs with the bases loaded in a tie game in the fifth and knocked out Guardians’ starter Gavin Williams. Then, after the Guardians scratched across a run in the sixth, Campusano’s next two-bagger gave the Padres another insurance run. He lost two months of his season to injury, but has been highly productive otherwise with a .317 batting average and .935 OPS in 145 plate appearances.

The Brewers got one in the top of the 11th, but it wasn’t enough. It initially looked like Jackson Merrill hit the game winner with one out and runners on first and third in the bottom of the inning, but right fielder Luis Lara made a fantastic leaping catch to turn it into a sac fly. After a stolen base put the winning run on second, Campusano hit a low liner to right for a clean single. Lara’s throw home seemed to be in time to retire the runner, but Gary Sánchez jumped to catch the ball when it really didn’t seem like he needed to and then couldn’t get the tag down in time. It gave the Padres a three-game sweep with two one-run victories and an 11-2 blowout.

The Padres still won’t give Campusano DH time, but at least he’s starting at catcher more frequently than Freddy Fermin right now. He’s batting .311/.410/.513 in 139 plate appearances.

Fermin had been shelved with a bruised head since early July, but made it through a recent rehab assignment with no issues and is ready to return. He is not in the Padres’ starting lineup for Friday’s battle against the Royals though. Rodolfo Duran was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move on Friday.

Campusano was scratched from the Padres’ lineup on Sunday due to abdominal soreness, but it looks like it was only a minor issue and he’s doing much better after a few days off. He’ll start behind the dish and bat ninth for the Padres on Friday evening against Royals’ right-hander Seth Lugo.

Campusano is available off the bench, so this is all precautionary, and not related to the oblique injury that shelved him in late June. The 27-year-old should be considered day-to-day, with a good chance to return after the All-Star break.

He began a rehab assignment there last night and figures to be activated in the near future, though it’s worth noting he DHed and has not caught in a game yet.

Campusano is 5-for-11 with three walks since coming off the IL on Friday. He’ll stay plenty busy behind the plate for the Padres while Freddy Fermin is out, but he also might deserve some DH time once Fermin returns; he’s batting .317/.403/.619 with four homers in 72 plate appearances on the season.

As one Padres’ catcher gets healthy, they lose Freddy Fermin (head) to the injured list on Friday. Campusano had been shelved since early May due to a fractured left big toe. Prior to landing on the injured list, the 27-year-old backstop was hitting .288/.362/.596 with three homers and 10 RBI.