Former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has kept the San Diego Padres right on the heels of the billionaire-built Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West race.
And he is absolutely leading their competitive charge.
Just ask umpire Adrian Johnson, whose strike zone was a bit, um, fluid Monday night during San Diego’s 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
When Johnson ejected Fernando Tatis Jr. for objecting to his strike calls, Shildt had seen enough. After all, Tatis had never been ejected before – and he didn’t really show up Johnson during this dispute.
Shildt charged out of the dugout. He screamed. He threw down his lineup card. He even threw his glasses, albeit carefully, while earning his 15th career ejection.
“My glasses made it,” Shildt told reporters afterward. “I did have my head about me to make sure. I got . . . a lot of BPs on my shoulder. not as operable as I'd like but it came into play, and I made sure it stayed in the grass.
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“I didn't want them scratched. I like these glasses a lot."
The outburst impressed the Padres, who staged a three-run rally in the eighth inning to earn the victory.
“You can feel it. It's energy,” Padres utility player Tyler Wade said.
“Tatis made me hot,” infielder Luis Arraez said. “I love Mike Shildt. He supports his players, and when I saw that thing, I said: 'We come back!'”
“Shilty came down the tunnel and he was still chirping,” infielder Xander Bogaerts said. “I think he was ready to fight.”
While Tatis kept his composure during his ejection, he did not bite his tongue.
“Ah, what did I say? I forgot,” Tatis told reporters with a laugh. “I'm just happy I got the boys hyped.
“I'd just been complaining all game. It was a rough night. After the strikeout I just let him know what I thought.”
Shildt noted the kerfuffle – well-timed as it was – was out of character for the Padres.
“I probably have the fewest amount of player ejections in my time managing, so our players play, they stay in the game, they're very respectful, rightfully so, to the umpires,” he said. “I'll let the body of the work for the umpire grade speak for itself, and we'll leave it at that.”
Here’s what folks have been writing about Our National Pastime:
Jeff Passan, : “Nobody should question (Masyn) Winn's defensive bona fides. His bat will determine his financial ceiling, and Winn has plenty of time to develop. What's important to remember: He plays a position that gets paid in free agency, and he'll turn 28 just before Opening Day in 2030. If Winn is even slightly above average, that's a $100 million player. If he's anything more, the number could be massive.”
Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “The Cardinals were hoping that hanging onto closer Ryan Helsley the first half of the season would enhance his trade value, but after saving a league-leading 49 games last season, he has only four saves in six opportunities with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Meanwhile, they still are trying to trade All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to express interest while still hoping that third baseman Max Muncy escapes his early-season struggles.”
Will Leitch, : “The two-time defending NL Central champs blew a lot of minds last year when they lost Corbin Burnes and manager Craig Counsell and somehow got better. That led many to think they’d be just fine despite waving goodbye to closer Devin Williams and star shortstop Willy Adames this year. While neither of those players is off to a good start with his new team, the Brewers are still sputtering a bit. The bullpen hasn’t been the problem, and neither has the rotation, or at least the top of it. (Freddy Peralta, Jose Quintana and Chad Patrick all have ERAs under 3.00.) It’s the offense, which was their big surprise last year, that has sputtered. With Adames gone and Joey Ortiz moving over from third base in his place, the team has gotten very little production from either of those positions. Even Christian Yelich (.676 OPS) and William Contreras (.689) haven’t really gotten things going yet, and Jackson Chourio has just two walks in 161 plate appearances. Instead, it’s Sal Frelick, Rhys Hoskins and Brice Turang keeping the Brewers afloat. If Milwaukee can get some pitchers back in the rotation (including the rehabbing Brandon Woodruff) and get Chourio to maybe take a pitch or two, there’s no reason it can’t get back in this race. They might not catch the Cubs. But this team has proven plenty resilient before and will be again.”
Matt Snyder, : “No team expected to contend dug a hole for themselves to the extent that the Braves did, but the Reds lost four straight games to fall to 2-6, a stretch that included three consecutive 1-0 losses. That has to be miserable to watch, and the Reds have been more disappointing than not for quite a while. I can just see a bunch of people screaming in frustration about how ‘it was supposed to be different with Terry Francona!’ And it has been since. The Reds . . . had a stretch where they won 11 of 17.”
Matthew Trueblood, Baseball Prospectus: “Pete Rose had 18 seasons with at least 650 trips to the plate. No one else has topped 15, and only six players had at least 13. There are only 33 players on the rolls of big-league history who have managed even 10 seasons of 650 or more PAs. (Juan) Soto is well on his way to his sixth—and he’s 26 years old. That might be more impressive than his walks total. At the very least, it’s as noteworthy. The current version of the game is the most physically and mentally demanding one we’ve ever known, and the base rate for injuries is quite high right now. Soto, however, has avoided that trouble. He’s not just piling up walks, or home runs or RBIs or WARP. He’s becoming incredible for the amount he’s playing, and it doesn’t look like that will stop any time soon.”
Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs: “Seattle been carried by an exceptionally potent offense, a marked contrast from recent years, particularly 2024, when the team’s failure to score contributed to the August firings of manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jarret DeHart. These Mariners have benefited not only from Cal Raleigh’s heavy hitting, but from the ongoing presence of Randy Arozarena, who was acquired just before last year’s trade deadline, and rebounds from players who struggled due to injuries last season, such as J.P Crawford and Jorge Polanco. The return of Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez to their coaching staff has helped, and it does appear as though T-Mobile Park has been a bit more forgiving than usual.”
MEGAPHONE
“We’ve been in a little bit of a rough patch, but I think we just gotta figure out, first individually, what we’ve gotta do and then collectively as a team, gotta figure out how to do it. We were right there most of the game. I don’t know if it’s slowing the game down. I don’t know exactly what it is. We just gotta figure out what we need to do to get on a hot streak.”
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, on his team’s ugly downturn.
