MILWAUKEE -- Phil Maton will give his dad a memorable gift this Father's Day Weekend. The Padres reliever notched his first career save in the Padres' 7-5 extra-inning win over the Brewers on Saturday and said he's planning to send the ball to his parents.
"It feels awesome. It was such an up-and-down game. It's just awesome to walk away with a 'W' there," Maton said Saturday. "It's a huge step up from a Triple-A save. There's maybe 5 or 6,000 fans there, but there's 35,000 here."
The 24-year-old began the 2017 season with Triple-A El Paso and made his big league debut on June 11. His younger brother, Nick, was selected by the Phillies in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB Draft on Tuesday, making Maton's save the icing on the cake for his family's incredible week.
:: Father's Day 2017 ::
Maton replaced Jose Torres with one out in the 11th inning, following Chase d'Arnaud's and Cory Spangenberg's solo homers in the top half of the frame. The right-hander struck out Hernan Perez and Lewis Brinson to preserve the Padres' two-run lead.
"I think Maton ends up closing the game [Saturday] circumstantially in extra innings, but I'll say this: His stuff was better in that role," Padres manager Andy Green said Sunday. "There's an ease about him in that situation that he's had throughout his Minor League career. That 91 and 92 is now 94, and the swings on fastballs were even worse than they had been at any point in time since he's been here. No doubt he's comfortable in that."
Maton and the rest of the Padres took the field in specially designed caps and uniforms Saturday and Sunday as part of Major League Baseball's initiative to raise awareness and funds for the fight against prostate cancer. The uniforms incorporated blue into the Padres' regular logo, while the caps are highlighted by a blue shadow tech heather crown and graphite visor. Royalty payments from the sales of specialty caps and jerseys will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer.
This year's efforts also included the annual Prostate Cancer Foundation "Home Run Challenge," which gave fans the chance to make a one-time monetary donation or pledge for every home run hit by their favorite MLB Clubs during the time period of Thursday, June 1st through Father's Day, Sunday, June 18th, all the while tracking where their team stacks up in a "Team vs. Team" competition. Every dollar donated through the Home Run Challenge goes to PCF to fund critical research to defeat prostate cancer.
INJURY UPDATES
• Outfielder Manuel Margot will fly out to Fresno, Calif., to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso on Monday. Margot will serve as the designated hitter Monday and will play in the field Tuesday, or vice versa, Green said. He will be off with the team on Wednesday and continue rehabbing after that. Margot was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right calf on May 25. He ran the bases and took batting practice with the Padres on Saturday in Milwaukee.
• Right-hander Trevor Cahill will throw another bullpen session on Monday and could easily face live hitters on Thursday, Green estimated. Cahill was placed on the 10-day DL with a right shoulder strain on May 15, and the Padres skipper said he's gotten every indication that Cahill feels good at this point.