The Padres activated right-hander Sean Reynolds off the injured list on Wednesday, bolstering their bullpen ahead of seeking their first series win at Yankee Stadium. To make room, right-hander Ryan Bergert was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.
First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (Padres.TV, MLBN, Amazon Prime Video).
Reynolds, 27, struck out two batters and against four walks but did not allow a hit over 5⅓ innings of relief work across four rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso.
Reynolds struck out 21 against five walks over 11 innings (0.82 ERA) during his first big-league action last year. He was poised to compete for a bullpen job in spring training, but a stress reaction in his right foot sidelined him until now.
The Padres’ bullpen was in need of fresh blood after left-handers Adrián Morejón and Wandy Peralta were knocked around in Tuesday’s loss.
Morejón allowed four runs on three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning.
Peralta allowed six runs on four hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.
Bergert followed that disastrous seventh inning with a scoreless frame. He returns to Triple-A El Paso — most likely as a starter again — with two strikeouts over four scoreless innings, which included his first big-league win on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
Bergert, 25, had a 5.16 ERA in five starts in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League to start the season.
Tuesday’s loss did not cost the Padres (23-12) any ground, as they remain a half-game behind the NL West-rival Dodgers (24-12) for the best record in baseball.
A day after coming off the injured list, Jackson Merrill will start a second straight day in center field. The team is off Thursday, giving Merrill an extra recovery day for the weekend series at Coors Field.
Padres at Yankees
Facing LHP Max Fried pic.twitter.com/zz3thNV8cR— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) May 7, 2025
Merrill went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a strikeout in his first big-league game in a month on Tuesday.
He will hit cleanup again on Wednesday, wedged between third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Jose Iglesias is back in the lineup, at second base and in the eight-hole, after two days on the bench. That gives Tyler Wade a day off as Oscar Gonzalez makes what could be his last start, in left field, in the majors for a while.
Jake Cronenworth is expected to return from the injured list on Friday and Brandon Lockridge (.552 OPS, 5 steals) and Wade (.758 OPS) have been more productive on the whole than Gonzalez (.509 OPS).
Martín Maldonado will start behind the plate, while Gavin Sheets will start at DH.
It is Sheets’ first start this year against a lefty and just the 20th start of his career against a southpaw. Sheets is a .173/.222/.249 hitter in 189 career plate appearances against lefties and is 3-for-12 this year.
Here is how the Yankees (20-16, 1st in AL East) will line up for the series finale:
Series finale on deck.#RepBX pic.twitter.com/h9PsCXVvEs
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 7, 2025
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Dylan Cease (1-2, 5.61 ERA)
He has just one quality start on the season, all the way back on April 2, and hasn’t completed five innings in any of his last two starts, in which he has a 4.32 ERA despite walking seven over 8⅓ innings. Cease has a 6.39 ERA in five career starts against the Yankees, which includes allowing four runs in 6 ⅔ innings in a loss last year at Petco Park.
Here is how Cease has fared against current Padres:
Yankees LHP Max Fried (6-0, 1.01 ERA)
He enters the week leading the AL in ERA+ (391) and ERA and the majors in innings (44⅔). The former Brave has a 2.30 ERA in five regular-season starts against the Padres, who drafted him in 2012, but San Diego battered him for five runs in two innings in Game 2 of last year’s NL Wild-Card Series.
Here is how Fried has fared in the regular season against current Padres:
