Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr. Make Feelings Clear on Converted Starter's Latest Outing vs Marlins

Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr. make feelings clear on converted starter's latest outing vs Marlins

Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. were left impressed with relief pitcher turned starter Stephen Kolek.

Stephen Kolek - San Diego Padres Starting Pitcher

View the profile of San Diego Padres Starting Pitcher Stephen Kolek on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.

Fish in a barrel: Stephen Kolek shrugs off unlucky first, Padres storm back to win

Stephen Kolek pushed his glove up to his face and screamed — ahem, something — into it as he walked off the mound as Jackson Merrill settled under a flyball in center field to end the first inning. Jesus Sanchez had certainly hit that ball hard, 105.4 mph off the bat. But that ball dropped safely into Merrill’s glove. Yet somehow five — five?!?! — 100-plus-mph groundballs found holes in a frustrating first inning. Little did Kolek know that his …

Kolek, Padres regroup vs. Marlins for huge comeback win

SAN DIEGO -- When Stephen Kolek walked off the mound after half an inning, the Padres trailed by six runs and Kolek had already thrown a whopping 38 pitches. Who, then, could have envisioned this?: Two hours later, there was Kolek, walking off that very same mound, to a huge