CINCINNATI — It’s not exactly how the Padres wanted to begin a stretch of 13 games without a day off.
But as starts to road trips go, Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park was welcome.
Eight pitchers worked in place of Blake Snell, who was scratched with a stomach ailment before the game, and the Padres offense did just enough early to beat the Reds, 5-4.
Snell was in the initial lineup the Padres submitted Tuesday afternoon, but manager Jayce Tingler announced a short while later that Craig Stammen would start in his place.
“He’s just under the weather,” Tingler said of Snell. “… Dehydrated. Not feeling well.”
Tingler said Snell was undergoing tests but that he expects Snell to pitch “relatively soon if everything checks out well with the tests.”
How that affects the rotation in the coming days isn’t known, but it does not seem to have changed the expectation Ryan Weathers will be called up from Triple-A to pitch on this road trip. Weathers had a 2.47 ERA in 47 1/3 innings before being optioned June 17.
Chris Paddack threw his between-starts bullpen Tuesday afternoon, which lines him up to pitch Thursday. However, he could be pushed back a day. Joe Musgrove is scheduled to start Wednesday.
Having used eight of the 10 relievers in their bullpen and with one of the others (Tim Hill) up throwing twice Tuesday, the Padres will either be hoping for a long outing by Musgrove and/or they could call up Weathers for coverage.
Tuesday’s game was closer than it might have been had the Padres done more with their 12 hits and seven walks, five of which were earned by the first batter in an inning.
They loaded the bases in four different innings, once with one out and three times with two, and converted those opportunities into one run while leaving the bases full all four times.
They left 16 runners on base, one more than the previous season high set April 13 at Pittsburgh and their most since also stranding 16 in a game against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 25, 2013.
But it was a win. Away from home.
The Padres were coming off a 9-1 homestand and have won 30 of 45 at Petco Park this season. But they arrived here having lost nine of their previous 10 road games and playing sub-.500 ball (17-18) away from San Diego.
After lightning and rain delayed the start of Tuesday’s game 52 minutes at the start and the Padres took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Stammen took the mound.
The 37-year-old right-hander started one of the most memorable games in Padres history in October with 1 2/3 innings before eight relievers followed him in a 4-0 victory over the Cardinals in the final game of the Wild Card Series. He allowed a run in the first Tuesday before getting through the second in six pitches.
Nick Ramirez also allowed a run in his two innings, on three singles in the fourth.
Nabil Crismatt began the bottom of the fifth inning with the Padres up 5-2. It was 5-4 six pitches later, after Crismatt hit Jonathan India and Jesse Winker hit a Crismatt change-up 410 feet to right-center field.
The Reds would not score against the final five Padres relievers.
After Crismatt got an out, Austin Adams came in to strike out the next two batters and end the inning.
Then came the two pitchers the Padres activated off the injured list before the game.
Pierce Johnson, out the minimum 10 days with triceps inflammation, allowed just a dribbled infield single in a scoreless sixth. Drew Pomeranz also allowed only one base runner — but with far more drama.
The left-hander, who had not pitched since May 9 and did not go to the minors on a rehab assignment, walked the first batter he faced (India) on four pitches and fell behind 3-0 to the next (Winker) before striking him out. The next batter, Nick Castellanos, hit a sinking line drive to the gap in right-center that Wil Myers dove and caught inches from the grass for the second out. With Tyler Stephenson up, India went to second on a wild pitch before a grounder to second ended the inning.
Emilio Pagán struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth.
Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 25th save.
Not that they want to do what they did Tuesday very often, but the Padres have the bullpen to do it. Their relievers entered the game with the second-lowest ERA (2.85) of any bullpen while having thrown the second-most innings (334 2/3).
The Reds, conversely, have the kind of bullpen opponents generally enjoy getting to. The group entered the game with the worst ERA (5.49 ERA) in the majors.
After scoring twice in the first inning — the sixth time in seven games the Padres scored multiple runs in the first — and adding a run in the second off starter Tony Santillan, the Padres scored twice more off reliever Ryan Hendrix in the fourth.
Jake Cronenworth’s triple and Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly drove in the runs in the first. Tommy Pham’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the second.
Pham homered to start the fourth, and Trent Grisham’s single put the Padres up 5-2 by scoring Cronenworth, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on Machado’s single.
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