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Nick Pivetta left Sunday's outing against the Rockies with an injury

The San Diego Padres finished off their series sweep over the Colorado Rockies with a 7-2 win on Sunday. After a tough start to the season, the Padres have now won eight out of their last nine games.

The series against the Rockies was already a success prior to Sunday’s win, as the team had two electric walk-off victories before a 4-0 comeback in the third game of the series. However, despite the sweep and relatively stress-free victory on Sunday, the win left a bittersweet taste in many Padres fans’ mouths as the team’s ace Nick Pivetta could not finish his start as he departed with an injury during the fourth inning.

San Diego Padres’ Nick Pivetta’s Injury

San Diego Padres Opening Day pitcher Nick Pivetta was in the middle of his best outing of the season, as he had retired the first nine batters of the game, before he was pulled in the middle of an at-bat to begin the fourth inning.

The team later announced that Pivetta had left the game due to right elbow stiffness. 

Padres manager Craig Stammen expressed optimism following the game as he told reporters, “There’s a world where he makes his next start. So I think we’re optimistic that we caught it the right time, and then he just needs a little breather, maybe get healthy and get some vitamin C in him, and we’ll feel a little bit better.”

Meanwhile, Pivetta seemed to express more concern. He told reporters, “I think it’s too early to tell for me. I just tried to go out there, do the best I could, get as deep in the baseball game as I possibly could. Obviously, didn’t feel good. I came out of the game. But the bullpen picked me up. Team did a great job. A lot of home runs, a lot of great plays. Was able to get a really good sweep and build some good momentum as well.”

Pivetta then added, “To be honest, I’m perplexed. I think just take it day by day. I’m not going to put a single thing on it. … (The) human body is different. People feel things differently. I’m just trying to process it, work through it myself. I think the next coming days, I’ll probably see how it feels and be able to dictate what type of plan I want moving forward.”

Padres Upcoming Series Against Mariners

Fortunately, the Padres had a day off following their win over the Rockies before they began their next series against the Seattle Mariners. Regardless of his health, Pivetta would not have been scheduled to pitch against the Mariners.

His next scheduled start is Saturday, April 18 against the Los Angeles Angels. San Diego will certainly hope to have Pivetta available for that outing, but the team does have an option for a possible replacement in Matt Waldron, who is currently pitching for their Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas.

Waldron missed time in spring training as he required surgery following a hemorrhoid issue. However, during his brief playing time, he displayed some positive signs as his velocity was up from his previous average. Additionally, the Padres knuckleball pitcher has not allowed a run during 12 innings for the Chihuahuas.