FriarNotes: Rengifo delivers again; Notes on Machado, Morejon, France, Miller, Minors, History

By Bill Center

Luis Rengifo at loanDepot Park

Signed as a minor league free agent on June 29, Luis Rengifo went 0-for-2 in his Padres’ debut on July 10.

Since then, the 5-foot-9, 204-pound Venezuelan has gone 10-for-21 in a six-game hitting streak with two home runs, seven RBIs, two walks and six runs scored for a .476/.522/.762/1.284 slash line.

The first pinch-hit home run of his Major League career Friday night was the decisive blow in the Padres’ 4–2 win at Miami.

The 29-year-old Rengifo is the 20th player in Padres’ history to get 10 hits in his first seven games as a Padre.

PAD BITS:

— LHP Adrian Morejon picked up the win in Miami Friday night, issuing a walk with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Morejon is 8–2 on the season and his earned run average is a season-low 3.25. Morejon set a Padres’ record in 2025 with 13 wins as a relief pitcher. Since the start of the 2025 season, Morejon has a 21–8 record with four saves, a 2.58 earned run average and a 0.984 WHIP. Morejon has pitched 129 innings in 123 appearances, giving up 45 runs (37earned) on 96 hits and 31 walks with 133 strikeouts — an average of 9.28 strikeouts per nine innings with a 4.29-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio.

— 3B Manny Machado was 2-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored Friday. He has reached base in 15 straight games for the first time since he reached base in 22 straight games in 2022. During the 15-game on-base streak, Machado has gone 18-for-56 (.321) with five home runs, 12 RBIs, nine walks, a stolen base and 10 runs scored for a .415 on-base percentage and a .589 slugging percentage for a 1.004 OPS. His batting average has climbed 21 points to .208 while OPS has gone from .675 to .724.

— 1B Ty France was 2-for-4 with a double Friday. France has gone 28-for-80 (.350) in 22 games since June 24 with seven doubles, eight home runs, 19 RBIs, four walks and 13 runs for a .381/.738/1.119 slash line. During the run he has raised his batting average from .244 to .279 and his OPS from .749 to .883.

— RHP Mason Miller turned in a seven straight scoreless outing Friday to earn his 26th save while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He struck out one in a perfect inning as his WHIP fell to 0.844 and his opponents’ batting average to .144. Over his last seven appearances, Miller has given up 4 hits and a walk while striking out 13 in seven innings. His stikeouts per nine innings average is back up to 16.7 with a 5-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio.

— Injured list starting pitchers Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta each threw live batting practice Friday at the Padres’ year-round training base in Peoria, Ariz. Musgrove threw 23 pitches in an inning. Pivetta threw 20 pitches in an inning of work. Both will remain in Arizona and are scheduled for another round of throwing live batting practice next week.

PADRES HISTORY:

July 25, 1998 — AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” played to accompany closer Trevor Hoffman’s entry for the first time — leading up to Hoffman converting his 41st straight save. At the time, the streak shares the Major League record for longest run of saves without a blown opportunity.

PADRES ON DECK:

Two top picks from the Padres’ 2025 amateur draft had strong games Friday night.

Starting LHP Kruz Schoolcraft, the Padres’ first-round pick in 2025 and their №3-ranked prospect, gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 5 walks with 4 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings for Single-A Lake Elsinore.

CF Ryan Wideman, the Padres’ third-round pick in 2025 and their №6 prospect, was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and a run scored for High Single-A Fort Wayne. Between the Padres two Single-A affiliates this season, Wideman, 22, is hitting .306 with a .374 on-base percentage and 53 stolen bases in 86 games.

C Ty Harvey (.424), the Padres’ №5 prospect, was 3-for-3 with a RBI, a walk and a run Thursday while on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League. SS Joniel Hernandez (.316), the Padres’ №9 prospect, had a double in 2 at-bats with a RBI, 4 walks and a run scored in the Dominican Summer League.