Padres Announce NLCS Roster & Starting Pitchers Games 1 & 2

The San Diego Padres have locked in their roster for the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies that begins Tuesday night. And although there aren't any changes from their Division Series roster, one big change could be coming on the mound.

No surprise as Yu Darvish has been confirmed as the Game 1 starter, taking on the Phillies' Zach Wheeler. Darvish has gone 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA thus far in the postseason, following his 16-8, 3.10 regular season. 

The Game 2 starter for San Diego will be Blake Snell, who had a rough start in the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, but bounced back with a stellar 5.1 innings of work against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. 

But one change we could see this series for the Padres is the appearance of one long-lost pitcher for the first time in the postseason.

The Padres kept their roster the same for the NLCS, carrying all five starters, including Sean Manaea, who hasn’t pitched in a game in two weeks. He threw to hitters during yesterday’s workout and could get a start with Games 3-7 played on five consecutive days.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 18, 2022

According to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, Sean Manaea, who had an atrocious second half of the season with the Padres, could be getting a start in one of the middle games of the series, since there are no days off from Games 3 through 7. 

Manaea posted a 6.44 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP in his 11 second-half starts, allowing a .294 batting average against, along with an .870 OPS. Yikes. 

But he was throwing to hitters during Monday's workout, and it looks like he might be getting the ball at some point in the series. He hasn't pitched in more than two weeks. 

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports