Luis Medina draws the start for the A's, which is itself a story. He spent all of 2025 rehabbing from Tommy John, opened 2026 in the bullpen on an innings cap, and has gradually worked back into a rotation look — a 2.41 ERA in 18.2 relief innings earned him this opportunity. Sunday is essentially a stretched-out audition with the radar gun still flashing high-90s.
The Padres are dealing with a rotation that looks like a MASH unit on paper — Darvish, Musgrove, Pivetta, Marquez and Waldron are all down — but King, Giolito and the rest have papered over it enough to sit at 31-20. Jake Cronenworth is on the concussion IL and Luis Campusano is still working back from the toe injury, so the lineup isn't fully whole either.
- Day-To-DayWei-En Lin (P) — Double-A Midland placed Lin on the 7-day injured list May 13 with a left quad strain.05/18
- 10-Day-ILDenzel Clarke (CF) — The Athletics returned Clarke (foot) from his rehab assignment Thursday after he suffered a left hamstring strain while playing in a rehab game at Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday.05/21
- 10-Day-ILJacob Wilson (SS) — Wilson (shoulder) remains in the strengthening and stabilization portion of his rehab, Jason Burke of SI.com reports.05/18
- 10-Day-ILMax Muncy (3B) — Muncy (hand) has begun a swinging progression, Jason Burke of SI.com reports.05/18
- 15-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — Kriske (shoulder) will be shut down from throwing for at least three weeks, Jason Burke of SI.com reports.05/18
- 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20
- Day-To-DayBlake Hunt (C) — Hunt is dealing with an oblique injury and has been shut down from activity, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.05/08
- 7-day ilJake Cronenworth (2B) — The Padres placed Cronenworth on the 7-day concussion injured list Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILLuis Campusano (C) — Campusano (toe) has progressed to swinging in the batting cage and catching off a pitching machine, per MLB.com.05/22
- 15-Day-ILMatt Waldron (SP) — Waldron (forearm) could take on a bullpen role when he returns from the 15-day injured list, MLB.com reports.05/22
- 15-Day-ILGerman Marquez (SP) — Marquez (forearm) has progressed to throwing off a mound, per MLB.com.05/22
- 15-Day-ILNick Pivetta (SP) — Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters Wednesday that Pivetta was diagnosed with a right flexor strain, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.05/08
- OutYu Darvish (SP) — Darvish (elbow) revealed Tuesday in a social media post that he has resumed playing catch.05/12
- 60-Day-ILJhony Brito (RP) — Brito (forearm) had his minor-league rehab statement moved from the Arizona Complex League to Double-A San Antonio on Sunday, per MLB.com.05/18
- 60-Day-ILJoe Musgrove (SP) — The Padres transferred Musgrove (elbow) to the 60-day injured list on Thursday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILBryan Hoeing (RP) — The Padres transferred Hoeing (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08
The market sees this one pretty cleanly. Padres are home favorites with King on the mound, and the model flags moneyline value on San Diego at the current price. The total sits at 8 with two sub-2.50 ERA starters going — if you trust both pitchers to hold form, the under makes sense, but Medina hasn't gone deep into a game all year, so bullpen exposure is the wildcard.
Bottom line: Nick Kurtz and the A's bats have been alive lately, but asking a converted reliever to outduel King in Petco is a tough ticket. San Diego should close this series out and keep their stranglehold on the head-to-head.