NL WILD CARD SERIES: CUBS VS PADRES

September 30, 2026

Craig Stammen

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Nick Pivetta certainly at times this season, maybe on the outside there appeared to be some doubt about whether he would get back, what it would look like when he got back to the mound. The results have been so good since he's returned from the injury. From your perspective, how would you sum up the journey with Nick Pivetta to this point as he gets ready to make a postseason start?

CRAIG STAMMEN: A lot of perseverance on his end. Disappointing start to the season with an elbow injury, not being sure if he was going to be able to make it back or not, but he stuck with it, kept believing in it, kept working really hard. Behind the scenes put in more work than anybody, similar to the story of Joe Musgrove.

Then he was able to come back here this last month and really pitch very well for us and solidify himself as our No. 2 starter.

Q. Yesterday he was talking about how important it is for him to show up for his teammates and really dove into his love of the game. From a personality standpoint, we see it on the field, he's intense, but behind the scenes what stands out to you about Nick?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think even through -- he's on the IL, and most players that are on the IL don't travel with the team, and he was adamant he wanted to travel with the team and be around the team and be in the dugout. He's got a verbal personality that likes to create some energy in the dugout, and we love having him in the dugout.

He's been a part of this team the whole way even though he wasn't pitching on the mound.

Q. Xander hit the home run last night. He had a really strong finish to the regular season. He's a guy that has multiple World Series rings inside that clubhouse. Just wonder from your perspective the value of Xander Bogaerts this time of year?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Experience is invaluable this time of the year in postseason. You just get different feelings playing postseason baseball. There's more intensity, more adrenaline, focus is heightened. You're facing better pitching typically.

To have a guy that's experienced at it and even experienced at a very young age and experienced that his whole career, looked last night that he felt very comfortable in that environment, and I think it's a good sign for the Padres.

Q. Ethan becomes the youngest in baseball history to catch a postseason game tonight. What is it about him that allows him to be on this stage for this team?

CRAIG STAMMEN: One, he's a very talented player, and then probably two is his character and maturity that go with it. You add talent, you add character, and it adds up to a pretty nice little combo.

Him getting to play this last September was good for game experience, and it was also him showing us that he's capable of handling any and all situations.

Q. Leadership this time of year, you just talked about experience from Xander, but leadership can be defined in so many ways. How do Fernando and Manny define it?

CRAIG STAMMEN: They define it with their energy. When they give us energy, that's leading our ball club, and it doesn't have to come with words, but it's how they play the game, how they show up for every day ready to work.

I think Manny, you guys don't always get to see it, but the work that he puts in the cage when he's struggling, he's not just showing up at 7:00 to take his at-bats. He's working for hours in the cage to try to figure that out, and Fernando the same way.

Those two have put in the work this year, and now they're seeing the results come from all that hard work.

Q. Joe last night was telling us that, if Matsui pitched a clean inning, he was going into the game. What were the conversations like leading up to that? How did you keep Joe from hitting the roof when you told him that he was going to go into the game?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think that preparation was probably a piece of it as the game went. We knew -- he's used to coming in as a starter and having as much prep as he wants to get ready for an inning. Being in the bullpen, especially in the playoffs, is a little bit different. I wanted to give him a little heads-up to wrap his mind around it and get ready to pitch that last inning.

We've had conversations about all of our pitchers pregame and what roles we'd like to see them in and when we feel like a good point in the game and point in the lineup is good for them to pitch.

Joe's point in the game came up last night in a good spot for him to get his feet wet for the first time in two years. Just trying to over-communicate with him to give him the best advantage to have success.

Q. Considering his recovery issues, how are you going to pattern him to pitch again? Are you going to wait a couple of days? What's the idea of what you're going to do?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think that's up for how he feels each day. It will be different. I think he's in a new space of his career and a new space of this recovery where he has been feeling really good lately, but we'll see -- he pitched a playoff inning last night with a lot of intensity and the crowd going crazy, just a different environment than what he has been pitching in, live BP at Petco Park or instructional league game.

Naturally that's going to make you a little bit more sore. We'll see how he feels today, see if he can play catch, and then determine where he's next available.

Q. Again, when you talked about it the other day, just wanted to reconfirm, he had a side session and then he threw an instructional league game, and then you guys put him on the roster? Is that correct? Is that the progression?

CRAIG STAMMEN: He had a few more sides in there than what you just described. He did have an instructional game where he looked really good, his velocity was really good. He was able to play catch every day after that. We did a live batting practice here in San Diego, was able to play catch after that. The live BP was like a two-inning jaunt. Then played catch the next few days, threw off the mound on I believe it was Sunday again, continued to feel good.

Stuff looked really good, so we felt like he could be available for us to pitch in the Wild Card, and he was.

Q. Earlier in the year you made a decision to drop Xander in the lineup. Could you revisit that conversation, how that went, and maybe what Xander, when he's right, what he provides to that bottom thirdish of the order?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, he's a pro. It really wasn't like a big conversation, honestly. I kind of sat down with him in the battle cage, and I said, hey, I know you saw the lineup. I know you're probably not happy about it. But number one goal for us is to get you right and give you a chance to have success.

I felt like hopefully bringing him down a little bit took a little bit of pressure off of him, allowed him to work out whatever kinks he was working out, get him right.

And then the other part of it was, and what he understands the most, is we needed to win games. We had to have our best lineup, and we felt him batting eighth at that time was our best lineup. He's understood that, took it as the leader that he is, and he's proved to us that he can bounce back and be a great player.

Q. Last year Mason and Adrian pitched a ton in Chicago in that three-game series. To get through yesterday without using any of your leverage relievers, but especially them, how good do you think that sets you up for the rest of the series?

CRAIG STAMMEN: It definitely gives us an advantage with those guys, to be able to use them judiciously over the next two days. We've still got to be careful not wearing them out today in case there is a tomorrow. Obviously they're our best two guys in the bullpen, and we'd like to finish out the game with those two guys.

Q. Hays today, really good numbers against Gausman, also the possibility of a couple of lefties later. Is that just the idea today, that combination of things?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, that combination of things. I think Gausman is a reverse split-type pitcher. Doesn't mean that righties are going to hit him or lefties can't hit him, but we felt like Hays was probably the best matchup of the guys that we had in that DH spot. Also, they have a couple lefties in their bullpen that they could deploy for multiple innings if they have to.

It also allows us to have Gavin Sheets on the bench to shoot off against probably their two best relievers in Palencia and Zeferjahn.

Q. You've been here on some pretty cool nights. Last night, the way everything played out from start to finish, how did that rank up there?

CRAIG STAMMEN: That's probably number one in my book with playoff nights in San Diego, along with the clincher against the Dodgers in '22. The ballpark was in a frenzy last night from the very beginning, and that's because the players started playing well and got them going.

More of that will be the recipe for success for us.

Q. Either way, win or loss, you have to flip the script. Is there a challenge after such an emotional, exciting night, to really start fresh given the stakes in a short series again?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, you're definitely right. I think last night, as great as that game was, it counted as one and nothing more than one, and we need two. Today is a fresh slate for both teams, and we've got to bring it.

Q. You were talking about the atmosphere last night. I'm curious in the midst of just managing your first postseason game, are you able at some point to step back and soak that in and appreciate it, or is it just the stresses of the moment make that harder to do at all?

CRAIG STAMMEN: After the game, I think you can reflect on it a little bit more and think about how enjoyable that was. In the moment, everybody else is thinking how great this is, and the manager's kind of thinking what's worst-case scenario and how do we get out of it if that happens?

But that's my job, and I've got to be locked in on that. But it was a very exciting night last night.

Q. What might Game 3 pitching plans look like if it comes to that?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Everybody's available.

Q. Could Walker be starting that game? Have you made that decision?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, potentially, but we haven't made that decision, no.

Q. I know you probably could talk about this for a long time, but what maybe gets underappreciated about Jackson Merrill?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think maybe the complete player that he is. He's not just a hitter, but he's a great center fielder, and this year he's really stepped up his ability to steal bases and base run.

Then probably the biggest part is his competitiveness and leadership that he brings to the club. He's locked in every day. He's super highly competitive and just wants to win, wants to be at his best every single day. There's no days off for Jackson, and he brings a great attitude for our ball club.

Q. You said everyone's available for Game 3. Does the same apply tonight, or are you holding guys back? Are Walker and Robbie potentially in the bullpen tonight?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, Michael King would be the only one not available tonight.

Q. How much do you just want to get this done tonight and the benefit of what that might do for you and set you up for the divisional series if you do?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, you're right, that is obvious. We would rather win tonight. It's going to be a tough task. The Cubs are a really good ball club, and they're not going to go down without a fight. I think we can see that from the other Wild Card games. That's just the way it's going to be. If we don't bring our A game, there's likely going to be a Game 3. If we bring our A game tonight, we'll see how it goes.