SHILDT SAYS: Discussing Waldron’s command and knuckleball in Denver, Merrill hitting sixth, Machado’s return, Darvish’s improvement and Morejon’s outing
Matt Waldron struggled with his command in his last outing and Padres’ manager Mike Shildt said he expects better from the right-hander and his knuckleball tonight at Coors Field in Denver.
“Generally speaking, it’s generally conviction getting ahead in the count,” Shildt said of Waldron’s struggles in his last start. “I think it can probably differ from person to person. Having not done it for 30 years and never close to the professional level, but my observation would be it’s more the conviction of it. There’s a lot of variables that probably can lead to the lack of conviction, which is another topic perhaps. But I think it’s really about the mind setup … needing to get back to the attitude of attacking the zone.”
Shildt said he expects Waldron’s knuckleball to be a positive weapon Wednesday night: “It’s an expectation that the knuckleball will be a good weapon tonight. I’m expecting him to use it, establish it and be able to be in the strike zone with it … and then complement it with his other pitches as well.”
Shildt on 21-year-old rookie Jackson Merrill hitting sixth in the lineup Wednesday: “Moving up is more about his continual production. He’s done a nice job and is being rewarded by moving up in the batting order. We’re looking forward to seeing him in the sixth spot tonight.”
Shildt on Yu Darvish’s stint on the disabled list: “It’s 15 days for a reason and we’re about half way there. He threw a side session today. The reports were favorable. He was on the gas, but didn’t have it to the floor … appropriately, as you would expect, for a guy who knows what he is doing in that regard. We’ll see how he recovers, but it was a positive first step.”
Shildt on when Manny Machado will return from paternity leave: “Everyone seems to be doing well and we’ll leave it at that. I expect to see Manny at home in San Diego on Friday. It looks like that’s when he’ll be activated.”
Shildt on Adrian Morejon: “He was good yesterday, wasn’t he. He threw well all spring and since he’s been back with us. His fastball is exploding against righties, lefties. The breaking ball is good. He’s down in the zone a lot. I love where he’s at. He’s throwing the ball well.”
“And he’s picked up our ability to compete. Today and tomorrow is a big part of Adrian throwing the ball well for two-plus innings yesterday. That set us up really nicely — A. The way he pitched yesterday to give us a chance and B. To be in a better position with our bullpen today.”
