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Bryce Miller: Jason Adam pickup solid, but Padres desperately need a starting pitcher

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Bryce Miller: Jason Adam pickup solid, but Padres desperately need a starting pitcher


BALTIMORE — The Padres shook loose the dust two days before the trade deadline. They chased down a late-innings setup arm in the Rays’ Jason Adam, someone to help bridge the gap to closer Robert Suarez.

As the clock ticks until Tuesday’s deadline, it’s still not enough.

The Padres need a starter or risk reliving 2021, when whispers about Max Scherzer and others led nowhere.

That’s when Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack and Ryan Weathers all finished as sub-100 ERA+ starters, meaning all were considered below-average big-leaguers that season.

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Everything imploded during a 46-game finish — the fourth worst train wreck of that length by a winning team since the 1800s — to kneecap a once-promising season.

“You want to round your team out,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Sunday in a hallway of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. “We’re still in conversation. We feel like we have internal options that we like. (Adam) Mazur coming up the other day and battling through, getting us in a position to get a win. Jhony Brito.

“We’ve got some guys that we feel good about from that standpoint.”

Internal options?

No, they don’t. Not real, bankable ones.

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The Mazur Experiment has been a bust to this point. Preller tried to polish the pseudo-opener role he played in the first game of this series against the Orioles, holding things together.

Faint praise, that.

It was 2 2/3 innings, allowing an earned run in a game that began with back-to-back walks and an ERA that now stands at 7.49. No active arm outside of locked-in starters Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron has thrown more than 45 2/3 innings for the Padres this season.

They now have one fewer internal option after this season, considering former first-round pick Dylan Lesko became part of the price tag for Adam.

The Padres could have been guilty of living an illusion that they had four starters because of the recent run of Randy Vásquez. That was before he coughed up six earned runs in two innings Sunday during a wild 8-6 loss to the Orioles.

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Padres starter Randy Vasquez throws Sunday against the Orioles in Baltimore. (Terrance Williams/AP)

A few weeks ago, you know the conversations in Camp Padre felt more like this: We have three starters, so we’ve really got to beat the market bushes and find another arm or two.

Then Vásquez rode the wave of historic Padres pitching on this road trip, jumping in the wipeout Conga line with Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron.

And if you think you suddenly have four starters, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re not that far from five.

Momentum math can be dangerous math.

“The starting pitching, the offense, we’re shutting teams down late in the game,” Preller said of the team, which has roared out of the gates since the All-Star break. “We’re playing good teams. You have to play well, so that’s a good test for our group.

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“I think we knew it was gonna be a test coming out of a break, and these guys have answered it.”

Now, it’s time for Preller to answer.

The Padres have done too much on the field, especially without platinum All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr., and starters Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish, to watch this thing wither on the vine as innings pile up.

When Tatis returns, when Musgrove returns, if Darvish returns, patching up the rotation now could pay playoff-level dividends later. Preller is enough of a baseball junkie to understand the precarious pitching ledge his team is walking.

Adam represents a piece, but should only represent a start.

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The ex-Rays reliever fills a hole the Padres have struggled to patch beyond Jeremiah Estrada and, at times, Adrian Morejon. Adam also is not a free agent until 2027.

Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and another prospect represent a hefty price. It also illustrates how many teams are scrambling for arms.

Wrangling a starter will require some elite needle-threading. There’s still the competitive balance tax reset the Padres have worked so hard to reach.

Creativity in the face of roadblocks is Preller’s specialty, however, as early-season deals for Cease and hitting machine Luis Arraez illustrated.

Doing nothing, though, could derail it all.

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The 2021 deadline became known for a major swing and miss on Adam Frazier of the Pirates, who promptly forgot how to hit when he arrived in San Diego after leading baseball in hits before the trade.

The year also should be known for skipping the arms and a stretch run too thin on pitching.

This team three years later has shown pop and promise, outstanding yet taxed starting pitching and an ability to fight back that recent seasons lacked.

Short-circuiting that potential now with Tatis and Musgrove waiting in the wings would be tough to swallow.

Trade partners and deals need to make sense, of course, and decisions cannot be driven by deadline panic. Preller, though, has shown the ability to make seemingly complex things happen.

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He needs to do it again.

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Man fatally struck by hit-and-run vehicle in San Diego

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Man fatally struck by hit-and-run vehicle in San Diego


A man in the Mission Bay Park community of San Diego was fatally struck Sunday morning by a hit-and run vehicle, authorities said.

The victim was also struck by a second vehicle and that motorist stayed at the scene to cooperate with officers, the San Diego Police Department reported.

The initial crash occurred at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in the area of West Mission Bay and Sea World drives.

The pedestrian was in the southbound lanes of the 2000 block of West Mission Bay Drive when he was struck by a silver vehicle also in the southbound lanes. That vehicle fled the scene, continuing southbound, police said.

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A 28-year-old man driving his vehicle southbound ran over the downed pedestrian.

“That driver remained at the scene and is not DUI,” according to a police statement. “The pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Anyone with information regarding the initial crash was urged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.



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Here are the 9 San Diego County communities that set or tied heat records

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Here are the 9 San Diego County communities that set or tied heat records


San Diego County is known for having wet, cold weather in February. But it had numerous hot spells this year. And when the month ended on Saturday a high pressure system produced heat that broke or tied temperature records in nine communities from the desert to the sea, the National Weather Service said.

The most notable temperature occurred in Borrego Springs, which reached 99, five degrees higher than the previous record for Feb. 28, set in 1986. The 99 reading is also the highest temperature ever recorded in Borrego in February.

Escondido reached 95, tying a record set in 1901.

El Cajon reached 92, three degrees higher than the record set in 2009.

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Ramona topped out at 88, five degrees higher than the record set in 2009.

Alpine hit 88, four degrees higher the record set in 1986.

Campo reached 87, four degrees higher than the record set in 1999.

Vista hit 86, four degrees higher than the record set in 2020.

Chula Vista reached 84, one degree higher than the record set in 2020.

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Lake Cuyamaca rose to 76, four degrees higher than the record set in 1986.

Forecasters say the weather is not likely to broadly produce new highs on Sunday. Cooler air is moving to the coast, and on Monday, San Diego’s high will only reach 67, a degree above normal.

 



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Francis Parker captures Open Division girls basketball title

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Francis Parker captures Open Division girls basketball title


OCEANSIDE — The Frontwave Arena scoreboard showed 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Up 16, Francis Parker’s win over Westview High School for the CIF San Diego Section Open Division girls basketball championship was secure.

“No, no, no!” Parker head coach Courtney Clements screamed to freshman guard Jordan Brown, telling her there was no need to score.

So Brown walked the ball up the floor, from the backcourt, across midcourt, a 1,000-watt smile etched across her face.

With no Wolverines defending her, Brown dribbled from side to side across the logo. Then, a fraction of a moment before the final buzzer sounded, Brown flung the basketball high toward the rafters, then was engulfed by teammates.

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The job was complete. Parker’s first Open Division title in program history was secure, the final reading 66-50 on Saturday night.

Of those final seconds, said Brown, who scored 23 points. “It was a surreal moment, knowing we worked for this all year long. It’s amazing.”

One reason it was amazing was because the top-seeded Lancers (21-7) were a decided favorite, but were stressed by the sixth-seeded Wolverines (20-9). Led by UC Santa Barbara-bound senior guard Sarah Heyn (18 points in the first half), Westview led 35-28 early in the third quarter.

“I just knew I had to do whatever it took to win,” said Brown. “Whether that was defense or offense. I just wanted to win, period.”

Sparked by its defense, Parker closed the quarter on a 14-0 run.  Westview’s final 11 possessions of the quarter ended with five missed shots and six turnovers.

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Still, the game wasn’t over. Heyn cut the deficit to 48-44 with just over six minutes to play on a bucket. But with 5:47 to play, Heyn was whistled for her fifth foul on a reach-in.

“Knowing their best player fouled out, we sealed the win,” said Brown.

As for Heyn, who finished with 23 points, she sat on the bench and pulled her jersey over her eyes, hiding tears.

Clements’ thoughts when Heyn fouled out? “I hope we can put this game away now.”

Francis Parker High’s Jordan Brown shoots against Westview High during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

That the Lancers did, outscoring Westview 18-6 down the stretch.

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The Lancers’ players and coach were effusive in their praise for Heyn, a four-year starter.

“She’s a great player,” said Brown.

“She played phenomenally,” said Clements. “She played the way you would think a senior would play in a championship game. She played desperately. She played every possession like it was the last 20 seconds of the game. She was extremely impressive. (Heyn buried five 3s, missing only once from deep.) She should be proud of herself.”

Clements was proud of her team for another reason. After blowing out two-time reigning Open Division champion Mission Hills by 26 in the semis, some thought Parker might cruise in the title game.

“I figured it was going to be a fight, and it was,” said Clements. “It was good that our girls had to come together, had to stick together. That’s what this is all about, developing character via the sport of basketball. When the kids face adversity, they have to make a decision. Who do they want to be? They showed the best version of themselves. That’s what I want to remember from a game like this.”

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Francis Parker’s primary color is brown, which is fitting for the girls basketball team. They are led not only by the freshman Jordan Brown, but also junior Brieana Brown, a strong, aggressive and athletic 5-foot-11 wing.

Brieana Brown scored 25 points and yanked down a team-best eight rebounds.

About the team in brown being led by the Browns (who are not related), Jordan Brown said: “It’s super cool. I love Bri and our story. So many people think we’re related, that we’re siblings. In reality, we’re not, but we play like it.”

Francis Parker High's Brieana Brown shoots against Westview during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Francis Parker High’s Brieana Brown shoots against Westview during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Francis Parker and Westview both will advance to the Southern California Regionals.

Earlier in the season, Clements — who was dressed in all black for the championship game — confessed she wasn’t crazy about Parker’s primary color. Her mood shifted Saturday night.

“Brown’s doing well for me now,” she said.

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Asked if Lancers’ Brown squared tandem represents the best one-two girls basketball punch in the San Diego Section, Clements gave the questioner a “What do you think?” smirk.

“That,” said the coach of the Open Division champions, “is a no-brainer.”



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