Randy

Vásquez

Vásquez missed bats like basically never before at the beginning of the season and got off to a great start, but that seems mostly over now. This was his fifth straight start in which he’s fanned three or fewer, with him totaling 11 strikeouts in 25 innings during the span. His velocity jump has remained intact and he’s still doing a good job of limiting walks, so he might not be completely useless in mixed leagues going forward. However, his ERA, currently at 3.63, will probably continue to climb. He’ll face the Orioles next weekend.

Vásquez had three strikeouts and just six misses on 37 swings tonight. He’s struck out just 16 over 31 2/3 innings in his last six starts, compared to 34 in 33 2/3 innings over his first six starts of the season. If this keeps up, he’s going to lose viability in mixed leagues, even in a nice situation in San Diego. He’s set for a home start against the Mets on Sunday.

Vásquez was a victim of the home run on Tuesday. He served up a solo blast to Bryce Harper in the first inning. J.T. Realmuto then took him deep for a solo shot in the second. Trea Turner added a solo homer in the third before a walk and two hits brought a fourth run in. He finally kept the Phillies off the board with a clean fourth inning and continued with a scoreless fifth. Vásquez recorded the first two outs in the sixth and departed at 99 pitches. He struck out two. It was only the third time in 11 starts that Vásquez has allowed more than three runs. The 27-year-old right-hander will carry a 3.28 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 47/17 K/BB ratio across 60 1/3 innings into a rematch against the Phillies in Philadelphia next Tuesday.

Vásquez gave up a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani in the first tonight and didn’t strike out a single one of the 21 batters he faced. It’s actually kind of impressive that he did so little damage to his 2.96 ERA while giving up six hits and walking three. He still seems like a decent play next week at home against the Phillies.

He struck out three and walked none. Vásquez surrendered 11 hard-hit balls, including nine over 100 mph, but nothing much fell in against him. In the fifth, Jhonny Pereda hit a liner to left with a .960 xBA, only to watch Ramón Laureano make a diving catch in left field and then double Cole Young off second base. Vásquez improved to 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA. He has a home start against the Dodgers coming up next week.

Vásquez gave up six hits and walked none, but there were enough deep counts that it took him 94 pitches to get his 15 outs. Still, he lasted long enough to get the win, which is most of what matters here. Vásquez moved to 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA. He’ll pitch in Milwaukee next week, making him a middling play in mixed leagues.

Vasquez wasn’t bad, but Trevor McDonald (7 IP, 1 ER, 8 SO) was much better. He allowed two runs in the first, and another run was charged to him after he exited in the sixth. The 27-year-old has allowed eight runs over his last two starts, and it’s pushed his ERA up to 3.20 in the process. That’s still solid, but more regression is likely coming. He’ll be back on the bump Saturday for a scheduled start versus the Cardinals.

Randy Vasquez, who had been scheduled to start on Sunday, will get pushed back to Monday. That also means that Matt Waldron will get bumped from the Padres’ rotation entirely. Canning, 29, has been working his way back from last year’s Achilles injury. He posted a 3.60 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and an 18/12 K/BB ratio over 15 innings in five minor league rehab starts at Triple-A El Paso.

Vásquez was due for some regression — he came into this start with an unsustainable 1.88 ERA over his 28 2/3 innings — and it came relatively quickly for the right-hander. That being said, if not for a grand slam by Moisés Ballesteros, this would have looked like a much more effective outing. Lots of things look better with/without grand slams, however. The 27-year-old walked three, struck out four and allowed nine hard-hit balls before exiting. He’ll look to get back on track versus the White Sox on Sunday.

Vásquez was incredible on Tuesday, holding the Rockies scoreless over seven frames in Colorado. He scattered only three hits and did not walk a batter, tossing an efficient 56 of 84 pitches for strikes. He collected five strikeouts on 12 whiffs in the dominant outing. The 27-year-old right-hander is off to an excellent start to the season, posting a 1.88 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 30/8 K/BB ratio across 28 2/3 innings. Vásquez will look to keep it going against the Cubs in San Diego on Monday.