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Padres pregame: JP Sears set for first MLB start of season; Freddy Fermin back in lineup Martin Perez starting for Braves as Padres look for first three-game win streak in more than a month Peoria, AZ February 23: JP Sears #38 of the San Diego Padres walks in the dugout during a spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on February 23, 2026 in Peoria, AZ.
Sears first start in the majors this year is as much about timing as anything.
The 30-year-old has a 7.92 ERA in 6323 innings at Triple-A El Paso, has walked 28 batters and is allowing hitters a .326 batting average.None of that is as promising as whathas done in a small sample at the same level 1.32 ERA, 13 IP, 7 BBs, .208 opponent average but Sears was set to start Wednesday for El Paso, Brito is listed for Saturday and Brito is still ramping up as he returns from an elbow reconstruction.
Here is how Sears has fared against current Braves: The Padres have won the first two games of this series to remain a half-game out of a wild-card spot.They havent won three games in a row in more than a month.
is back in the starting lineup and behind the plate for Sears.
Hell bat eighth, between first basemanPerez , the one-time Padre, is thriving in Atlanta after an injury-shortened 2025 with the White Sox .He has a 3.38 ERA over his last six starts and a 2.91 ERA as a starter this year vs.
a 1.93 ERA as a reliever.
Perez has a 3.86 ERA in 14 career innings against the Padres.
He last faced them in 2023.