Before the skies opened up here and washed away the Padres’ optional on-field batting practice and and delayed Saturday’s start by two hours and one minute, Mike Clevinger jogged along the warning track with a team trainer. He’d already thrown from 60 feet earlier in the day and expects to move up to 75 feet next week in a throwing program that is about a month old now.
Most Tommy John patients go through these initial steps on their own in extended spring training.
Not Clevinger.
His stipulation from the get-go was to remain in and around the team as he pushed his way through a second elbow reconstruction.
“That was the one thing I made clear to them and they were super supportive,” Clevinger said. “Look, I can help some of the guys with biomechanics or whatever the case may be. It’s staying around the game and not going to what I call the penitentiary in Arizona where you’re separated from everyone else and you lose the close relationships with the team.
“Staying in the swing of things, I think it will be a smooth transition to roll into next year and still be around the guys.”
As for the early goings of rehabbing his second Tommy John surgery, experience has certainly been a help in dealing with the trepidation that often comes after a major procedure.
“The throwing program is the same template, but it’s a lot smoother this time around,” Clevinger said. “Everything has been way better. Last time it took me a long time to not push the ball and be hesitant. Now they have to hold me back because I’m ready to let it eat.”
Next time?
A first-round pick out of LSU in 2014, Aaron Nola beat his older brother to the majors by nearly three years. But they had not been in the same city as major leaguers until Monday night in Cincinnati (the Phillies played a make-up as the Padres arrived for a three-game series) and had not shared a field until this weekend.
The only thing that’s left is their first meeting as opponents.
Perhaps next month when the Phillies play a three-game set at Petco Park.
This time around, Aaron Nola’s start arrived two days before the Padres flew into Philadelphia. Meantime, Austin Nola has been on the injured list with a left knee sprain since late May.
The Nola family had planned to have upwards of 30 friends and family at this weekend’s games. Several still made the trip from their home in Louisiana, but mom and dad at least already have tickets for the Petco Park series.
“Hopefully we get to face each other when we go to San Diego,” Aaron Nola said. “I know he’s on the DL right now. He’s trying to get healthy and I wasn’t scheduled to pitch this weekend. If it works out, it works out, but it’s good to see him. I hadn’t seen him since October.”
First thing’s first: the health of Austin Nola’s knee.
In that regard, he continues to make slow but steady progress. Before the rain came down Saturday, Austin Nola had popped out of the dugout in hopes of running the bases only to see the grounds crew rushing to cover the infield with the tarp.
His agility work was then moved to left field. He’d already caught a bullpen session on the mound above where his brother was throwing his between-start bullpen Saturday afternoon.
“We butt heads all the times (as kids),” Aaron Nola said. “But we’re both here right now and hopefully we have long careers. Really happy for our parents. Glad they got to see both of us on the same field. They did when we were in college (Aaron Nola’s freshman year at LSU, when Austin was a senior) but before that I was one place and Austin was usually in another. This weekend, I know I’m not pitching and he’s not playing, but they get to see both of us on the field at the same time. Pretty special for them.”
Notable
- For the second time in five games, 1B Eric Hosmer and RF Wil Myers started in the sixth and seventh spots in the order. It was Hosmer’s fifth start in that position after spending most of the season batting fourth (30) or fifth (34). Myers hit seventh for just the second time this year. “Offensively, some of the guys that have been carrying us for the last couple weeks,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said, “it’s certainly been the Phams, the Tatises, the Cronenworths, Manny and (Grisham). Right now when those guys are kind of clicking it, it’s just best to try to string as many of those hotter hitters together to try to create some runs early on.”
- RHP Emilio Pagán (neck) was “ feeling much better,” Tingler said after the reliever had been unavailable due to sleeping on his neck wrong. “He made a little bit better strides later (Friday) night,” Tingler added. “It started to kind of open up and loosen his range of motion. He came in today saying this is the best he’s felt in the three prior days.”
- LHP Blake Snell (illness) is expected to come off the injured list to start Sunday’s game.
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