Deadspin | Containing Cubs’ offense next quest for Padres’ Randy Vasquez 
Apr 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Vasquez (98) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images After conquering Coors Field in his last outing, Randy Vasquez now looks to tame the Chicago Cubs’ potent attack.
The San Diego Padres right-hander tries to keep his outstanding start to the season going Monday night when he takes the mound to open a three-game series against the Cubs at Petco Park.
Vasquez (2-0, 1.88) hinted at this progression last September when he won three games that helped San Diego secure a wild-card spot. Aside from allowing four runs in four innings on April 15 against Seattle, he’s yielded just two earned runs over his other four outings.
None of those runs were scored last Tuesday night in Denver, when he sailed through seven innings on just 84 pitches in the first 1-0 victory by a visiting team in 20 years. Vasquez permitted only three hits and fanned five without a walk, the second time this season he’s fired shutout ball in a start.
How does Vasquez explain doing what even the best pitchers can’t do in altitude?
“Just trusting my game plan and executing my pitches,” he said. “Just as I’ve been able to do so far.”
Vasquez’s increase in velocity has led to more strikeouts, fewer walks and cleaner innings. It’s come in handy for a rotation missing key pieces due to injuries. Since a 2-5 start, the Padres have won 16 of 20, although they squandered a 7-1 lead during Sunday’s 12-7 loss to Arizona in Mexico City.
This will be Vasquez’s fourth career start against the Cubs. He’s 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings. The loss came last April at Wrigley Field to end San Diego’s 7-0 start.
He’ll be opposed by left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-1, 5.79), who came off the 15-day injured list Wednesday and pitched the first 4 2/3 innings of the Cubs’ 7-2 home win over Philadelphia. Boyd, who was out with a left biceps strain, allowed five hits and two runs, walking none and whiffing five in an 84-pitch outing.
Boyd went 1-1 last year in his first two career starts against San Diego, pitching to a 1.59 ERA, then allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings in a 3-1 Cubs victory in the opener of the teams’ 2025 NL wild-card series.
The Cubs had been as hot as the Padres lately, rattling off a 10-game winning streak before getting routed Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite Sunday’s 6-0 setback, Chicago boasts an offense ranked fifth in runs (149) and homers (37), as well as second in on-base percentage at .354.
The one nagging problem is that Chicago’s pitching staff — particularly their bullpen — keeps taking injury hits. The latest came Sunday when lefty Riley Martin hit the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.
That forced three other moves to fortify the bullpen with fresh arms. Others are on the way, including the impending activation of veteran righty Phil Maton from the IL and promising news on closer Daniel Palencia (left lat), who will throw a bullpen session Tuesday.
“The next guy’s got to do his job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s kind of where we’re at with this. We’ve got guys coming back soon, so that’s a good thing.”
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Cubs #offense #quest #Padres #Randy #Vasquez
Apr 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Vasquez (98) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images After conquering Coors Field in his last outing, Randy Vasquez now looks to tame the Chicago Cubs’ potent attack.
The San Diego Padres right-hander tries to keep his outstanding start to the season going Monday night when he takes the mound to open a three-game series against the Cubs at Petco Park.
Vasquez (2-0, 1.88) hinted at this progression last September when he won three games that helped San Diego secure a wild-card spot. Aside from allowing four runs in four innings on April 15 against Seattle, he’s yielded just two earned runs over his other four outings.
None of those runs were scored last Tuesday night in Denver, when he sailed through seven innings on just 84 pitches in the first 1-0 victory by a visiting team in 20 years. Vasquez permitted only three hits and fanned five without a walk, the second time this season he’s fired shutout ball in a start.
How does Vasquez explain doing what even the best pitchers can’t do in altitude?
“Just trusting my game plan and executing my pitches,” he said. “Just as I’ve been able to do so far.”
Vasquez’s increase in velocity has led to more strikeouts, fewer walks and cleaner innings. It’s come in handy for a rotation missing key pieces due to injuries. Since a 2-5 start, the Padres have won 16 of 20, although they squandered a 7-1 lead during Sunday’s 12-7 loss to Arizona in Mexico City.
This will be Vasquez’s fourth career start against the Cubs. He’s 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings. The loss came last April at Wrigley Field to end San Diego’s 7-0 start.
He’ll be opposed by left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-1, 5.79), who came off the 15-day injured list Wednesday and pitched the first 4 2/3 innings of the Cubs’ 7-2 home win over Philadelphia. Boyd, who was out with a left biceps strain, allowed five hits and two runs, walking none and whiffing five in an 84-pitch outing.
Boyd went 1-1 last year in his first two career starts against San Diego, pitching to a 1.59 ERA, then allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings in a 3-1 Cubs victory in the opener of the teams’ 2025 NL wild-card series.
The Cubs had been as hot as the Padres lately, rattling off a 10-game winning streak before getting routed Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite Sunday’s 6-0 setback, Chicago boasts an offense ranked fifth in runs (149) and homers (37), as well as second in on-base percentage at .354.
The one nagging problem is that Chicago’s pitching staff — particularly their bullpen — keeps taking injury hits. The latest came Sunday when lefty Riley Martin hit the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.
That forced three other moves to fortify the bullpen with fresh arms. Others are on the way, including the impending activation of veteran righty Phil Maton from the IL and promising news on closer Daniel Palencia (left lat), who will throw a bullpen session Tuesday.
“The next guy’s got to do his job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s kind of where we’re at with this. We’ve got guys coming back soon, so that’s a good thing.”
–Field Level Media
![Caitlin Clark rewrites record books with historic 45-point outing INDIANAPOLIS — Even before Caitlin Clark took the floor on Friday, she had the feeling something special was in store. If nothing else, she was trying to will it into existence.Individually, she had struggled to find a rhythm since returning from injury. As a team, the Fever needed a big night from their superstar with fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston out.But even by Clark’s lofty standards, Friday was something special.Clark tallied a franchise record 45 points to go along with 10 assists, becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-10 game, to lead the Fever to a dramatic 110-107 win over the Seattle Storm.“I feel like you just have to believe you’re going to have those types of nights and you have to visualize having those types of nights and I feel like that’s what I did,” Clark said. “It’s not always going to go your way…I know all the time and the work that I’ve put in and people believe in me and, more than anything, I believe in myself.“You just got to dig your feet in a little bit and, when it’s not going your way, nobody cares. Like you find a way to make it better and find a way to help your team win and make this team better and I feel like that’s what I always try to do.”When her team needed her most on Friday, Clark dug in for a fourth quarter masterpiece. Not only did she finish with 16 points in the frame, but she scored or assisted on 17 of the final 19 points for Indiana. No shot was bigger, though, than her stepback three with 39 seconds left to put the Fever up 105-102, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.“It’s incredible,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “It’s special. She does things that we haven’t seen…In the moment, sometimes it’s surreal to see. Heck, I looked down at the stat sheet at the end of the game and it’s like, ‘Holy s—, 45 [points] and 10 [assists].’ I mean, it’s just incredible.”After starting the season hot, things haven’t been smooth sailing for Clark. A back injury has plagued her in recent weeks, limiting her to just four games since June 24. For most of those outings, she’s looked like someone searching for her rhythm.But Friday felt different from the jump. Not only did Clark sense it, but her coach could see it, too.“She seemed lighter,” White said of Clark pregame. “She seemed positive. She seemed like she was bouncy. I think she felt good. I think every day we’ve seen a little bit more of it.”Ironically, it was Clark’s backcourt mate who looked destined for the big night in the first quarter. Kelsey Mitchell scored 17 of her 30 points in the opening frame, helping the Fever to an early double-digit lead. In another bit of history from the night, Clark and Mitchell’s 75 combined points are the most by a duo in franchise history.It wasn’t until the second quarter that Clark really found her groove, doing so predominantly at the free throw line, helping her to 14 points in the period. The Fever desperately needed it as the Storm pulled themselves back into the game to trail by just three at the break.Seattle only kept coming in the second half and eventually built up an eight-point lead in the fourth with 5:23 remaining. However, that became the turning point for both Clark and the Fever as they steadily chipped away at the deficit.Clark showed off her growing array of ways to get buckets, mixing mid-range jumpers with drives to the basket and her patented stepback jumper. A 3-pointer with 2:23 gave her a career-high 38 points and closed the deficit to one. A few possessions later, Clark found Monique Billings for an and-one layup with 1:11 left to tie the game.The sequence of the night, though, came shortly after.Following a Fever turnover in a tie game with just under a minute remaining, Clark raced back on the fastbreak to strip Flau’jae Johnson and win back possession. She followed that up with the biggest shot of the game, turning a broken play into the go-ahead 3-pointer to blow the roof off the arena.“I just think that when she’s really in a flow, [she] reads the game as good, if not better than anybody,” White said. “I think she’s grown into taking what the defense gives her and we always know she has the ability to make big shots and she did all of that tonight.”There’s never a bad time for a 45-point night, but this could hardly come at a better one for Clark. Limited by injury and a minutes restriction, Clark hadn’t found a groove since returning to the lineup on July 8. Finding her rhythm again, then, was a positive in itself on Friday.The 45 points? A welcome bonus.“It’s tough when you come back from injury,” White added. “Your body feels different. Mentally, you want it to happen so badly. Sometimes you second-guess yourself and that’s part of it. Rhythm, timing, all the things that happen when you haven’t played for a little while. So it was huge. It was big time for her and for us.”Funnily enough, White noted pregame that Clark was still on a minutes restriction that had hovered right at 25. That number came and went in the fourth quarter without a hint of Clark coming off the floor.Nothing was taking her out of that game. Not on a night as special as Friday.“Steph knows better than that,” Clark joked with a smile. “Trainers know better than that. They would get an earful. But I told Steph at halftime, like I felt really good and I didn’t want to lose this game…I’ve spent a ton of time on [my body] and I trust the people around me that have really helped me. I always find confidence in that, so I know I’m doing all the right things and there’s no way I was ever coming out of the game in the 4th quarter.“It didn’t matter. I would play with one leg.” #Caitlin #Clark #rewrites #record #books #historic #45point #outing](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/gettyimages-2285922189.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Caitlin Clark rewrites record books with historic 45-point outing INDIANAPOLIS — Even before Caitlin Clark took the floor on Friday, she had the feeling something special was in store. If nothing else, she was trying to will it into existence.Individually, she had struggled to find a rhythm since returning from injury. As a team, the Fever needed a big night from their superstar with fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston out.But even by Clark’s lofty standards, Friday was something special.Clark tallied a franchise record 45 points to go along with 10 assists, becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-10 game, to lead the Fever to a dramatic 110-107 win over the Seattle Storm.“I feel like you just have to believe you’re going to have those types of nights and you have to visualize having those types of nights and I feel like that’s what I did,” Clark said. “It’s not always going to go your way…I know all the time and the work that I’ve put in and people believe in me and, more than anything, I believe in myself.“You just got to dig your feet in a little bit and, when it’s not going your way, nobody cares. Like you find a way to make it better and find a way to help your team win and make this team better and I feel like that’s what I always try to do.”When her team needed her most on Friday, Clark dug in for a fourth quarter masterpiece. Not only did she finish with 16 points in the frame, but she scored or assisted on 17 of the final 19 points for Indiana. No shot was bigger, though, than her stepback three with 39 seconds left to put the Fever up 105-102, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.“It’s incredible,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “It’s special. She does things that we haven’t seen…In the moment, sometimes it’s surreal to see. Heck, I looked down at the stat sheet at the end of the game and it’s like, ‘Holy s—, 45 [points] and 10 [assists].’ I mean, it’s just incredible.”After starting the season hot, things haven’t been smooth sailing for Clark. A back injury has plagued her in recent weeks, limiting her to just four games since June 24. For most of those outings, she’s looked like someone searching for her rhythm.But Friday felt different from the jump. Not only did Clark sense it, but her coach could see it, too.“She seemed lighter,” White said of Clark pregame. “She seemed positive. She seemed like she was bouncy. I think she felt good. I think every day we’ve seen a little bit more of it.”Ironically, it was Clark’s backcourt mate who looked destined for the big night in the first quarter. Kelsey Mitchell scored 17 of her 30 points in the opening frame, helping the Fever to an early double-digit lead. In another bit of history from the night, Clark and Mitchell’s 75 combined points are the most by a duo in franchise history.It wasn’t until the second quarter that Clark really found her groove, doing so predominantly at the free throw line, helping her to 14 points in the period. The Fever desperately needed it as the Storm pulled themselves back into the game to trail by just three at the break.Seattle only kept coming in the second half and eventually built up an eight-point lead in the fourth with 5:23 remaining. However, that became the turning point for both Clark and the Fever as they steadily chipped away at the deficit.Clark showed off her growing array of ways to get buckets, mixing mid-range jumpers with drives to the basket and her patented stepback jumper. A 3-pointer with 2:23 gave her a career-high 38 points and closed the deficit to one. A few possessions later, Clark found Monique Billings for an and-one layup with 1:11 left to tie the game.The sequence of the night, though, came shortly after.Following a Fever turnover in a tie game with just under a minute remaining, Clark raced back on the fastbreak to strip Flau’jae Johnson and win back possession. She followed that up with the biggest shot of the game, turning a broken play into the go-ahead 3-pointer to blow the roof off the arena.“I just think that when she’s really in a flow, [she] reads the game as good, if not better than anybody,” White said. “I think she’s grown into taking what the defense gives her and we always know she has the ability to make big shots and she did all of that tonight.”There’s never a bad time for a 45-point night, but this could hardly come at a better one for Clark. Limited by injury and a minutes restriction, Clark hadn’t found a groove since returning to the lineup on July 8. Finding her rhythm again, then, was a positive in itself on Friday.The 45 points? A welcome bonus.“It’s tough when you come back from injury,” White added. “Your body feels different. Mentally, you want it to happen so badly. Sometimes you second-guess yourself and that’s part of it. Rhythm, timing, all the things that happen when you haven’t played for a little while. So it was huge. It was big time for her and for us.”Funnily enough, White noted pregame that Clark was still on a minutes restriction that had hovered right at 25. That number came and went in the fourth quarter without a hint of Clark coming off the floor.Nothing was taking her out of that game. Not on a night as special as Friday.“Steph knows better than that,” Clark joked with a smile. “Trainers know better than that. They would get an earful. But I told Steph at halftime, like I felt really good and I didn’t want to lose this game…I’ve spent a ton of time on [my body] and I trust the people around me that have really helped me. I always find confidence in that, so I know I’m doing all the right things and there’s no way I was ever coming out of the game in the 4th quarter.“It didn’t matter. I would play with one leg.” #Caitlin #Clark #rewrites #record #books #historic #45point #outing")
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