DENVER —
Garrett Richards will achieve his goal.
The right-hander said he would pitch in September. On Monday, slightly less than 14 months after Tommy John surgery, he will start for the Padres against the Brewers.
“It seems not real,” Richards said after throwing a bullpen session Saturday at Coors Field. “Now that it’s finally here, it doesn’t feel like it’s here.”
The 31-year-old right-hander signed a two-year, $15.5 million contract with the Padres in December. The team’s hope was to place him near the top of its rotation in 2020, and they were not necessarily expecting him to pitch before then.