Bob’s Briefing: Discussing “bullpen” game, Steven Wilson, the rotation, Brandon Dixon, Jurickson Profar

RHP Steven Wilson

With seven games to go in the regular season and the Padres in the middle of a race for a wild card berth, both the Padres and Dodgers will use an “opener” tonight in a “bullpen” game for the rubber match of a three-game series.

Steven Wilson will become the first pitcher in Padres’ history to start a game the night after he finished a game.

Why Wilson and a bullpen start for the Padres?

“We like the way the rotation sets up all the way to the end after tonight,” said Padres manager Bob Melvin. “It gives Yu (Darvish) an extra day’s rest. It gives Mike Clevinger an extra day. So we’ll do something a little more creative today. Sean Manaea is available out of the bullpen. He could be one of the guys you see pretty quickly after Wilson.

“After today, it’s Darvish, Clevinger, (Blake) Snell and (Joe) Musgrove in that order. After that, we’ll play it day-by-day. You obviously have to have an idea of what it looks like all the way to the end. That day’s game is the most important game and that’s what we consider. But we took our time and it was a collaborative effort to figure out where we are going from here. Darvish would be available the final day if needed.

“Wilson will not be out there that long. We’re just trying to find more or less an opener. He pitched Wednesday, but had had a couple days off with Monday’s off day. After Wilson, we’ll target how we see the rest of the game going. Wilson for potentially one inning, that’s probably what they’re going to do, too.”

Melvin on the final seven games with the Padres having a magic number of four to clinch a playoff berth: “Every game is a playoff game for us going forward from this point on and that’s been going on for a little while. Couple that with being home in front of packed houses against the Dodgers. Obviously, there’s been two tense games so far. One went our way, one didn’t.”

Melvin on Brandon Dixon making his first Padres start Thursday: “You saw what he did in Triple-A (13 homers in a 21-game span at the end of the season). You don’t want him sitting around too long. You want to get a feel for what he has to offer. Against left-handed pitching, his numbers were off the charts.”

Melvin on switch-hitter Jurickson Profar leading off against the Dodgers’ bullpen start: “Profar leading off gives us a matchup either way when it comes back around again, so that was an easy one to do. It looks like more righty at the beginning and more lefty down toward the bottom.”