Padres to play Cardinals on Monday without Mason Miller and Manager Craig Stammen

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The Padres are set to face the Cardinals on Monday without the services of closer Mason Miller and manager Craig Stammen.

An unexpected absence, indeed. Miller has been placed on bereavement/family medical leave, while Stammen is serving a one-game suspension following a dust-up in Baltimore over the weekend.

According to reports, Miller is expected to miss at least three games, including Monday's matchup, while Stammen has expressed regret over the situation, stating, 'We're gonna miss him.'

Stammen was ejected from the game after he and pitcher Ron Marinaccio got into a heated argument with the umpires over an intentional pitch by Marinaccio that hit Gunnar Henderson in the head.

Marinaccio has been suspended for three games and will appeal the decision, but for now, the Padres are left to navigate without two key figures in their rotation.

With Miller out and the recent workload of Jason Adam and Adrian Morejón, plus Jeremiah Estrada being on the injured list, the Padres' bullpen is looking a bit thin in the coming days.

However, Stammen remains optimistic about the team's prospects, saying, 'It's the beauty of having a really good bullpen. We feel solid one through eight. We have David Morgan and Kyle Hart, who have been in El Paso recently. It's more like one through 10 or one through 12.'

And as for Miller's absence, Stammen added, 'No one wants to be suspended for something they don't think they should be suspended for. But it is what it is.'

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