Wil Myers originally was in Sunday’s lineup against Milwaukee. On paper, his presence represented a significant relief. The Padres first baseman had exited Saturday’s extra-inning victory due to a cramp in his left calf. After he ran on the field Sunday morning, both he and the training staff determined he was ready to play.

A few minutes before first pitch at Miller Park, he turned into the Padres’ latest injury concern. Myers was scratched with what the club called left forearm tightness. Without him, the Padres went on to a 3-2 loss against the Brewers, sealing a split of a four-game series. San Diego (17-22) finished 4-3 on its two-city road trip.

Myers said after Sunday’s game that he had first felt tightness in the palm side of his forearm while taking a swing in Thursday’s series opener. He said he received a scheduled start off Friday “that had nothing to do with the forearm, and I didn’t think anything of it. (Saturday), felt it a little during the game, and today was a little worse.”

During Saturday’s game, Myers went 2-for-5 with a double and an opposite-field home run before departing in the ninth due to the calf cramp. Sunday morning, after he had passed the Padres’ mobility tests, he stood in front of his locker and told reporters he was ready to start.


About 10 minutes before the game, Myers was taking cuts in the batting cage when his forearm “kind of locked up.”

“It didn’t feel great,” he said. “I didn’t fire on a pitch down the middle, and I knew right there that I was babying it. That’s when I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to compete in the game.

“You never want to take yourself out of the lineup. I think that was the first time I’ve ever done that. It was a tough thing, but I think it was one of those things that had to be done.”

Even so, Myers added, “this is something I really believe is going to go away in the next couple days.” He repeated more than once that his ailment had nothing to do with the surgery he underwent last June, when a bone spur was removed from the top of his left wrist; he already had missed most of the 2015 season due to tendinitis and previously sat much of 2014 due to injuries to both wrists.


“Obviously, any injury’s tough for me personally, but the good thing is it’s not the wrist,” Myers said. “Got a lot of treatment today. It’s going to be nice to have the day off (Monday), and then we’ll re-evaluate it on Tuesday.

“This is not a (disabled list) thing. As of now, I highly intend it’s not going to be. ... There’s no structural damage, nothing like that. Just a straight muscle (issue).”

While it is true each case should be viewed uniquely, the Padres have suffered an inordinate amount of injuries that initially seemed less significant than they were. Since opening day, four infielders and four pitchers have landed on the DL.

Myers, who is hitting .270 with seven home runs and four steals, is perhaps the leading candidate to represent San Diego in its upcoming All-Star Game. It would be a crushing blow if he, too, were to miss significant time.


What went through the mind of Padres manager Andy Green when he lost arguably his best hitter to a last-minute scratch?

“I don’t get too caught up in thinking about it in the context of everything that’s happened,” Green replied. “It’s just, like, OK, we have to deal with it. We have to get out here and win a baseball game.”

Catcher Derek Norris, who’d sustained a contused hand in the series opener, replaced Myers in the two-hole. Brett Wallace, originally penciled in at third base, shifted across the diamond. Adam Rosales went from second to third. Jose Pirela, originally on the bench, started at second.

Because the Padres were carrying an eight-man bullpen — and because center fielder Jon Jay was day-to-day with a sore shoulder, the result of a diving attempt at a catch — Green made do with two bench players: catchers Christian Bethancourt and Hector Sanchez.


Padres right-hander Cesar Vargas made his fifth major league start and yielded two runs over five innings. He rebounded from his first bad outing and collected seven strikeouts, a career-high. Each score came on a home run.

“We didn’t get the win, and that’s what we’re trying to do every time out,” Vargas, who allowed eight hits and no walks, said through an interpreter. “That’s why I’m not satisfied with it. The two home runs, those were pitches that could’ve been executed.”

Travis Jankowski, who made his second consecutive start in place of Jay, gave the Padres’ their first hit off Brewers righty Zach Davies, a triple leading off the fourth. He scored on Norris’ sacrifice fly.

In the seventh, Wallace slugged a solo shot to tie the game.


Reliever Quackenbush gave up the winning run in the seventh.

“It’s always disappointing when you come out on this end of things, but I think you look at the entire road trip; the guys battled and that’s kind of been the M.O. of the team for some time,” Green said. “We didn’t have a lot of bullets in the gun, a lot of choices to make today. We had a lot of pitchers in the bullpen down, we had starters up in the ‘pen at the end, we were using our closer (Fernando Rodney) in the eighth inning. And yet there we are in the ninth, with the chance to tie the game and possibly win the game.”

If Myers is sidelined for an extended period of time, Wallace likely would be the Padres’ primary option at first. James Loney, who signed a minor league deal last month, is another choice; the veteran is hitting .342 for Triple-A El Paso.

Due to injuries to others, Wallace, a bench piece to open the season, primarily has been starting at third. Utility infielder Alexei Amarista, on the DL due to a right hamstring strain, has been playing in extended spring training games and could return not long after Monday’s off-day. Third baseman Yangervis Solarte, also on the DL with a right hamstring strain, is considered a bit further away from being activated.


Another regular, second baseman Cory Spangenberg (left quad strain), is still rehabbing in San Diego and not close to game action. Utility infielder Jemile Weeks (right hamstring strain) went on the DL last weekend and will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.

Meanwhile, pitchers Matt Thornton (left Achilles tendinitis), Tyson Ross (right shoulder inflammation), Robbie Erlin (Tommy John surgery) and Andrew Cashner (right hamstring strain) all have gone down since the season opened.

The Padres are idle Monday.

“I don’t think any team needs an off-day more than we do right now,” Green said Sunday morning, before Myers’ name vanished from the lineup.