BOSTON — Matt Waldron’s eyes welled with tears and his voice cracked and trailed off at times.
“Not the result I wanted,” he said. “… But it was a heck of an experience still.”
Waldron had talked with members of the local media here in the days leading up to Sunday’s start about pitching in the same place as the late Tim Wakefield, a revered figure in Boston whose number “49” inside a heart is affixed to a light standard atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
Waldron heard encouragement from some Red Sox fans before the game. This game was special to him, and he wished his knuckleball had fluttered less straight sometimes and less errantly other times during what turned out to be a 4-1 loss.
Waldron grew up admiring Wakefield, a knuckleballer who won 200 games from 1992 to 2011. The two met via video chat, as arranged by the Padres when Waldron was a minor leaguer, and developed a friendship over the years. Wakefield, who pitched 17 seasons for the Red Sox, died of brain cancer in October.
“I know Wakefield toed that rubber,” Waldron said after the game. “You could feel it. It was tough.”
So it was a difficult day enduring what he did, allowing four runs and 4⅓ innings, his worst start since early May.
Waldron’s 1.95 ERA in his previous nine starts had been fifth best in the major leagues since May 11, and he went into Sunday having worked six consecutive quality starts.
He battled control of his knuckleball from the start.
“It’s been a while since I felt this upset,” Waldron said.
He did say he took a moment before the game to appreciate where he was pitching.
“Yeah, but at the end of the day I’ve got to get a job done,” he said. “That just didn’t happen. … I wish the results were a little better.”
Big day for Bogaerts
Second baseman Xander Bogaerts will have a CT scan done on his left shoulder Monday. Provided the healing has progressed sufficiently, Bogaerts is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week with the hope being that he returns before the All-Star break.
He said Sunday is the best he has felt since fracturing the glenoid bone in his shoulder diving for a ball on May 20 in Atlanta. His return could come during the Padres’ home series against the Braves that begins July 12.
What is front of mind now is how he holds the bat on his follow-through. In batting practice, he is intently working on keeping both hands on the bat rather than letting go with his top hand as he usually does.
“If I don’t think about it, I will just let it go,” he said. “I have let it go, not on purpose.”
Bogaerts does not really like how the two-handed follow-through feels, especially on swings at pitches over the outer half of the plate. But he intends to employ it for the time being as a means of alleviating stress on the shoulder and getting back on the field sooner.
“It will be much better when I can take it off,” he said.
Campusano progress
Catcher Luis Campusano, out since June 22 with what the Padres have called left thumb soreness, did drills on the field Sunday morning.
He is eligible to come off the injured list Tuesday and is physically ready to return but will play this week on a rehab assignment at low-A Lake Elsinore.
Campusano, who departed Boston before Sunday’s game was over, will serve as designated hitter for the Storm on Monday before catching Tuesday and Wednesday. He is expected to be activated off the IL on Friday when the Padres return to Petco Park.
