The Padres left Miami with more than a sweep. They left with a path back into the playoff conversation.
San Diego took all three games from the Marlins over the weekend, and that run has the club sitting just two games back in the wild card race. It wasn’t a flashy trip overall, but the finish gave the Padres exactly what they needed: momentum and a chance to climb this week.
The formula looked a lot like the one the Padres expected to lean on entering the season. They got solid pitching, enough timely hitting, and production from across the lineup to handle Miami.
The wrinkle was how they got there. San Diego has essentially acknowledged it doesn’t have the starting pitching to win consistently in the traditional way, so the club has turned to a rotating group of arms, with Michael King and Walker Buehler the only established names in the “rotation.”
Jake Cronenworth kept showing up in the middle of it all, and after the sweep he delivered a message that sounded as direct as it was subtle. “If we keep playing like this,” he said in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, “we’re going to put ourselves in a position to make A.J. help this team.”
A.J. Preller would likely welcome that chance, but the sale of the team still hasn’t been finalized, so the size and scope of any possible moves remain unclear.
Manager Craig Stammen kept his focus on what the Padres did over the weekend, and he used a wrestling image to describe the way the offense responded. “They’ve picked themselves up off the mat,” manager Craig Stammen said of his offense overall.
“They were getting beat up from everywhere and anywhere. Including internally, with, like: ‘We’ve got to get better.’
They put the work in.”
There’s still plenty to sort out, and the next stretch comes against division opponents. The Padres host the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants this week, while the team they’re chasing for a wild card spot is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona sits just above San Diego in the division standings and is two games ahead in the wild-card listings.
“Listen, it’s a long season,” said third baseman Manny Machado. “We preach it here a lot.
It’s about doing your consistent work. … We’ve had our ups and downs.
We started off hot. We got really bad.
Then, things are starting to kind of fall in place for us right now.”
Merrill was already looking ahead to the flight home after the sweep. “I said it before the game, I said: ‘We win today, we sweep a series, off-day tomorrow -- it’s going to be the best flight of the year,” Merrill stated.
“We got down, but came back. That’s our team right there.
“It’ll be a happy flight. Back to work on Tuesday.”
In Other News...
Yankees Trade Idea Solves A Bullpen Need Without The Usual Price
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For San Diego, the appeal is less about the present than the next step, since the proposal centers on turning a high-leverage reliever into controllable pitching depth. Bowdens case is that the Padres should listen because the return could help address their rotation outlook, but the whole discussion still hangs on whether both sides see enough value in a deal built around need rather than certainty. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Just Got A Brutal Juan Soto Trade Reminder
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Instead, the reminder keeps getting sharper. Soto spent only a season and a half in San Diego before moving on, and the Padres never got all the way to the World Series during his time there. Now, with Soto and two of the key young players from that blockbuster showing up near the top of the National League OPS race, the trade looks less like a finished chapter than a lingering what-if for a fan base still measuring the cost. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans May Not Be Ready For Prellers Latest Deadline Gamble
Michael King has been one of the Padres most reliable arms this season, giving them steady innings and the kind of rotation stability teams usually try to protect in late July. The right-hander has logged 21 starts with a 3.24 ERA and 103 strikeouts, and he is under a three-year deal that initially looked like a way to lock in a useful starter beyond just one season.
Still, with the deadline approaching, AJ Preller is once again being linked to the kind of roster maneuver that can reshape a team in a hurry. Kings contract situation adds another layer to the discussion, since he could be in line for a much bigger payday if he reaches free agency after the season, and the Padres have to weigh present value against what the future might demand. [Read more 🡒]