Randy

Vásquez

Vásquez allowed one hit and two walks on the afternoon, taking advantage of a favorable matchup as the Pirates’ hitters have struggled badly lately. The right-hander got off to a strong start in 2026 before he was hit by regression and then dealt with an ankle injury. His recent stretch is the best he’s thrown since April. The Padres entered this series having won 21 of 28 before dropping the first two, but they avoided the sweep. Vásquez’s next start lines up in hitter-friendly Cincinnati.

Vásquez allowed only two hits, and one of those was a two-run triple by Cody Clemens. Outside of that three-bagger, it was a solid effort for the 27-year-old that saw him issue zero walks with three strikeouts. You can’t rely on these kind of results from Vásquez, but you can’t completely dismissed the possibilities of them coming either. He will take a 9-6 record and 4.19 ERA into a scheduled start next week in Pittsburgh versus the Pirates.

Vásquez gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out five. The 27-year-old right-hander entered in the third inning as his usage continues to fluctuate. Vásquez had won his last two starts entering play Saturday, but the Padres also used him for multiple relief appearances of at least three innings in July. He has a 4.30 ERA. Vásquez is lined up to start against the Twins at home next weekend.

Despite giving up eight hard-hit balls, Vásquez yielded a mere two hits. He’s allowed just the two runs over 15 2/3 innings in his last three appearances, but he’s also struck out only three in that span, which wouldn’t seem to bode well. He’ll likely stay in the rotation for now and face the Guardians next weekend, but after that, the Padres might be able to pick from him and Walker Buehler once Joe Musgrove returns.

Vásquez has been alternating in and out of the rotation over the last several weeks. Tuesday’s start was an excellent one for him as he held the D-backs scoreless over six frames. He scattered just two hits and one walk, relying on weak contact as he struck out one batter. The 27-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.19 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and a 65/31 K/BB ratio across 101 innings. With Casey Mize and Robbie Ray now in San Diego, there’s a good chance Vásquez returns to a long relief role in the bullpen.

Vásquez last pitched Thursday against the Giants, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. JP Sears started that game, but he was in the pen and gave up two runs in an inning in Sunday’s game.

Vásquez outpitched starter JP Sears tonight as he tries to find his way back into the San Diego rotation. He’s allowed three runs in 11 innings over four appearances since coming off the IL on July 19. Since he threw 65 pitches tonight, he probably won’t be available again until Monday at the earliest.

Vásquez started this one after a few relief appearances. He tossed two scoreless innings, stranding two runners in the first inning, then gave up one run on a hit batter, base hit, and sacrifice fly in the third. Vásquez would be done with two outs in the inning at 37 pitches. He did not record a strikeout. The 27-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.68 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and a 63/29 K/BB ratio across 90 1/3 innings. With a day off on Monday, he may revert to long relief his next time out.

It’s a decent spot for Vásquez considering the opponent and setting since loanDepot park is a notoriously pitcher-friendly setting. The 27-year-old hurler tossed three scoreless innings against the Royals in his first outing back from the injured list last Sunday. He doesn’t offer enough strikeout potential be a streaming option for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep leagues, but he should be able to hold onto a rotation spot with the Padres for the final two months.

Instead of giving Vásquez a start against the Braves this week, the Padres decided to have him piggyback with Germán Márquez today. Vásquez definitely put together the better performance of the two, so maybe he’ll start next time through, assuming that he isn’t needed in relief again before then.