The San Diego Padres made a roster move on Friday before their first game in the three-game series versus the Seattle Mariners. RHP Alek Jacob was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to join a bullpen that was depleted by the short start (1.2 innings pitched) of starter Griffin Canning on Thursday.
Starter/reliever Matt Waldron has been placed on the injured list with a right Brachialis muscle injury. Waldron started the first game in the recently completed series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He didn’t last long, giving up six runs in 2.2 innings pitched in a 6-4 loss. He also pitched two innings to finish the loss to the Brewers on Thursday. The trio of Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, and Waldron each pitched two innings in relief of Canning, saving the rest of the bullpen for other games.
Even with that effort, it was expected that a fresh arm would be called up with two of the last three games being mostly carried by the bullpen.
Alek Jacob started the season with El Paso after not making the Padres bullpen out of Spring Training. He was called up on April 14 and pitched one inning on April 15 versus Seattle. He allowed one hit and no runs with a walk and was optioned back to El Paso on April 17.
With the Chihuahuas, Jacob has pitched 17.2 innings with a 4.08 ERA. He has 18 strikeouts to 10 walks. He throws a four-seam fastball at 85 mph, a changeup, a sinker, and a sweeper from a sidearm delivery.
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