Nick Pivetta holds Dodgers scoreless through 4 2/3

Pivetta allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four to win for the second time in three starts since coming off the IL. He got up to 76 pitches tonight after throwing 63 and 69 in his first two starts back. Things are lined up for him to face the Dodgers next week and then start Game 2 of a potential Wild Card series for the Padres.

Pivetta struck out five and got up to 69 pitches in his second start back from the 60-day IL. It looked like he might have been dealing with a leg issue at the end of the outing, but he grinded it out. Assuming that he’s OK, maybe he’ll have a chance to complete five innings in a home start against the Marlins next weekend.

Pivetta recorded two strikeouts and allowed just two baserunners, requiring an economical 63 pitches (39) strikes to cruise through five frames in his first start back in the majors since April 12. He gave up some loud contact, including six batted balls with exit velocities over 99 mph, but they didn’t come back to burn him. It was completely justifiable to question whether the 33-year-old veteran starter would make any sort of fantasy impact down the home stretch after such a lengthy layoff, but he seems to have answered those concerns with a strong effort right out of the gate. He’s in line for an extremely favorable matchup against the rebuilding Giants to wrap up a two-start week on Sunday.

This was reported on Sunday, so the Padres have now made the roster moves to make it official. Pivetta last appeared on an MLB mound on April 12th, throwing three scoreless innings against the Rockies before leaving with a flexor strain. He did throw 4 1/3 innings in his last rehab outing, but he’s been out for so long that fantasy managers should expect considerable rust in his first few appearances.

Pivetta was very effective in his last rehab start, striking out seven in 4 1/3 scoreless innings for El Paso. In the outing before that, though, he gave up two homers in three innings in A-ball. There’s little doubt he’d be making at least one more rehab start if we were still in June, but since we’re not, it’s worth giving him a try, especially with Vásquez available to throw several innings behind him if necessary. Pivetta seems pretty risky as a fantasy play, and he might not complete five innings and qualify for a win even if he’s effective.

The 33-year-old right-hander twirled 4 1/3 scoreless frames in his last minor league rehab start at Triple-A El Paso. He was scheduled to throw a bullpen at Petco Park over the weekend and as long as everything goes smoothly, it sounds like his next outing could come with the Padres. Whether he works out of the rotation or the bullpen down the stretch remains to be seen though.

Pivetta struck out four and walked one but also allowed two home runs while throwing 35 of his 47 pitches for strikes. We don’t have much data from High-A parks, but it’s nice to see that Pivetta threw as many strikes as he did and that he ended the outing healthy after having to walk off the mound the last time he was making a rehab start. He should move to Double-A or Triple-A for his next outing, which could come over the weekend.

Pivetta is running out of time to make it back to San Diego, but continues to make gradual progress after an injury scare earlier this month. The 33-year-old has been out with a flexor strain that sent him to the injured list back in mid-April. There’s a chance he makes it back to San Diego at some point in the final month of the year.

The Padres are obviously proceeding with an abundance of caution and will wait to see how Pivetta responds before determining his next steps. The 33-year-old set off alarm bells when he abruptly exited a minor league rehab start, but appears to have avoided serious injury. There’s a chance he’s back in San Diego at some point in the final few weeks of the year. He’s been out since mid-April due to a flexor strain in his elbow.

There was some fear that Pivetta had aggravated his elbow injury when he had ot leave his rehab start early on Tuesday. However, he was able to throw in the bullpen after leaving the game, and Stammen says that it’s “all systems forward” right now. We’ll admit to still being a little worried, but it seems like we’ll get another rehab start from Pivetta next week to track his progress.