Padres believe Clevinger's 'going to be big for us'

DETROIT -- After July’s struggles came to a head by way of an uncomfortable loss to the cellar-dwelling Tigers on Monday night, Padres manager Bob Melvin’s message was simple: “We need to stop talking about it, and we need to do it.”

Mike Clevinger took that message to heart on Tuesday during a season-best seven innings, showing flashes of the commanding stuff he’s capable of during a 6-4 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

“It seems like it’s hard for us to get a win right now; makes you resolve a little bit more,” Melvin said. “But it’s even more rewarding when you come back and put together an offensive inning like we did to put it away.”

Clevinger ultimately received a no-decision as Detroit scored the game-tying run off of Taylor Rogers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. San Diego then loaded the bases in the 10th before scoring the eventual game-winner on a Luke Voit hit-by-pitch and tacking on two more for good measure.

The win marked the Padres’ first in Detroit in team history, but the excitement of the finish wouldn’t have been possible without Clevinger’s steady hand at the start.

He opened at breakneck pace, allowing a single on his second pitch of the game and not allowing another hit until one out in the fourth inning. He came out aggressive and kept his pitch count economical as a result, including a seven-pitch first and an eight-pitch fifth.

"Clevinger was really good early, super efficient,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “... He was just so quick as he was getting his outs, and he wasn’t giving us any room to put pressure on him.”

It was exactly what the Padres were hoping to see from their 31-year-old righty as he continues to settle in to -- hopefully -- have a full head of steam behind him for the stretch run.

Through no fault of his own, Clevinger hasn’t been able to gain much momentum this season. When he’s on, he’s on, but a few untimely injuries and a bout with COVID-19 stopped his season before it began, then shelved him on and off throughout the first half.

He’s made just 10 starts in 2022, half as many as the league leaders. His 3.38 ERA through 11 appearances is a bit elevated from his career average (3.20) but not much, leaving some to wonder if this could be a standout second half for Clevinger now that his Tommy John surgery and other minor injuries are behind him.

“Today looked like [the] vintage Clev that I’ve seen on the other side for years,” Melvin said. “He enjoys what he’s doing out there; you can kind of feel it. All of his pitches were working today, and he’s going to be big for us. And, maybe [he’ll be] a little bit fresher with getting off to a late start and having a couple of times where we had to shut him down.”

San Diego deployed a six-man rotation for much of the first half, but now with MacKenzie Gore and Nick Martinez back in the bullpen (and Gore landing on the injured list on Tuesday), the performance of the Padres’ five starters becomes even more critical, particularly since they’re still in control of an NL Wild Card spot and have no plans for anything less than a playoff push.

Clevinger was helped along in the third by a Voit double that struck the top of the wall in center field. The 427-foot shot would have been a home run in 28 ballparks. It still traveled far enough to score two runs, and one play later, Jorge Alfaro parked a pitch in nearly the same spot -- his one-hopped the wall -- to push the Padres’ lead to 3-0.

The big swings came in handy when Clevinger hit a snag in the seventh, allowing a double and a home run to open the frame and allow the Tigers to within 3-2. After a harmless popup and a single, Clevinger came hard at the next two Tigers, Tucker Barnhart and Akil Baddoo, striking them both out looking to end the frame and his night.

“It’s almost like every time I get the next step, stuff hits the fan a little bit,” Clevinger said, of trying to get over the hump this season and into a rhythm. “So it was good to come back and get out of the inning and just finish it; I think that was huge for us.”