CRAIG’S COMMENTS: Discussing Rodriguez Opening for Waldron; Mason Miller’s domination

Mason Miller at Petco Park

The Padres opened a series in Milwaukee Tuesday night with right-handed reliever Bradgley Rodriguez again serving as the opener for right-handed starting pitcher Matt Waldron.

“The last time we used this formula against the Giants, it worked pretty well,” said Padres’ manager Craig Stammen. “We’ll see how Bradgley gets going in the first inning and go from there. For Bradgley, there’s only a difference in mentality between pitching in the first and pitching in the sixth or seventh.

“In the end, if there’s a difference in him facing his hitters in the sixth or seventh or the first inning, he’s got to execute his pitches and execute his game plan against them.”

“Then we’ll have the same ol’ Matt. He’ll go out there and throw all his niche of pitches, including the knuckleball, which we all know he has. One thing we saw that was very successful against the Giants was all his other pitches — cutter, sweeper, sinker and four-seam fastball. I think when he mixes all his pitches together, he’s very successful. I’m sure he’s going to do that again tonight.

Stammen discussed Mason Miller and how exceptional his 11-game streak to open the season really was:

“They were incredible,” said Stammen of the games starting Miller’s season. “The league is going to try to adjust to him and try to figure out a way to score a run off him and get guys on base. He’s seeing that adjustment that they’re making right now and he’s got to combat that in some way. There are points in the season where you are just on. You are on fire and anything you throw up there goes exactly where you want it to go and the hitters are swinging at it.

“Sometimes, it’s not quite that easy. And you have to be able to bear down and make pitches. But he’s done an awesome job so far this year. I think them taking more of his pitches is a product of them thinking they can’t hit it. That’s the biggest thing. We saw the Cardinals definitely being a little more patient with them. Maybe it makes Mason throw a few more pitches. But I think he can combat that real easy and throw more strikes. He is a strike thrower. He doesn’t have a problem with walking people. So, if they take that approach, you are going to see a lot more strikes.”

Stammen on the Padres being a strong road team: “We’re just playing good baseball overall. These guys aren’t afraid of bringing it on the road and bringing it at home. So far, we’ve done well on the road. But it is tough to play on the road in the Major Leagues.”

Stammen on what stands out about the Milwaukee Brewers: “They are a very aggressive team on the base paths. That’s probably the №1 thing that stands out. They have a lot of young players who play the game very hard and play the game the right way. So, you have to be prepared for all those little nuances they do on the bases.”

Stammen discussed why walks are up with the ABS challenge system and possible changes in the strike zone: “The ABS strike zone is smaller than the zone that the umpires have been calling for the last few years, prior since history. The strike zone is definitely not as high and not as low. So, it’s getting shrunk. The corners are still the same. But obviously, ABS makes it a little easier for the hitter to get a walk because you can challenge pitches whether they are balls or strikes. You’re able to get the corner strikes called more, but it’s very hard to try to specifically throw it there, too. It’s a pitch we practice all the time as pitchers but not able to execute. It’s by chance it happens to go to a corner and the catcher challenges it. “