The Padres are heading into Miami with the number six hanging over everything.
That’s the magic number San Diego needs to clinch a postseason berth, and they’ll get their first crack at trimming it down with Nick Pivetta on the mound in game one against the Marlins.
San Diego has been rolling at the perfect time. The club has won 11 of its last 12 and now sits in full control of its own fate as a possible wild-card team. The Padres hold a four-game edge over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third wild-card spot, while Arizona has dropped four of its last five heading into a series with the New York Yankees.
There’s still a path to climb even higher, though. The Padres are only a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, who are tied for the top two wild-card positions. Philadelphia’s 3-0 win over the New York Mets in the opener of that series kept San Diego from moving up a half-game.
Pivetta brings his own intrigue to the matchup. He’s made two starts since coming back from a long stay on the IL, and the first one was better than expected. On Sept. 7 against the Washington Nationals, he went five innings and shut them out for five frames.
His second outing was less crisp. Against the San Francisco Giants, Pivetta allowed two runs in four innings. Right now, he looks like something between an opener and a true starter who can give the Padres some real length.
San Diego has set itself up for that kind of plan. Robbie Ray and Michael King delivered strong starts in the last two games against the Colorado Rockies, which helped the Padres keep their bullpen fresh for this series.
Miami comes in with its own stop-and-start rhythm. The Marlins have won four of their last five, but that came after a rough stretch in which they lost four in a row and seven of eight. Their brief wild-card push is basically finished, with the club eight games back and sitting at 76-77.
Tyler Phillips gets the start for Miami, and he fits a similar mold to Pivetta in that he could work as an opener or stretch out if things go well. The Padres won’t have much mystery about what they need, though. A win would knock that magic number down another notch.
In Other News...
Padres Rookie Reliever Could Become An October Weapon Fast
Bradgley Rodriguez has quickly become one of the more intriguing bullpen names in San Diego, giving the Padres a rookie arm with both a 2.38 ERA and a look that does not fit the usual power-relief mold. His changeup has become his out pitch, a wrinkle that has helped him carve a path from early setbacks and injuries through multiple minor league levels before arriving in the Padres bullpen this season.
For a club hanging around the National League wild-card race, that kind of late-season emergence matters. San Diego is always looking for relievers who can miss bats and disrupt timing when the games tighten in October, and Rodriguezs mix of poise and deception has put him in the conversation as a possible postseason weapon if the Padres get there. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Could Face A Costly Infield Choice This Offseason
The Padres are already facing a familiar winter calculation: how aggressive can they really be when the infield market gets interesting? Jazz Chisholm Jr. has emerged as a name worth monitoring, and the idea of San Diego adding a two-time All-Star with recent strong performance will naturally draw attention. But any pursuit would come with real roster baggage, since the club already has significant long-term money tied up on the infield side.
Pitching may end up getting the first call in the offseason anyway, especially if a looming lockout shortens the free-agent window and forces teams to move faster than usual. For San Diego, that means the Chisholm chatter is only part of the larger question of how to spend limited resources, and whether a splash on offense makes sense if the front office decides the mound needs to be the priority. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Could Finally Get Needed Lineup Stability From Miguel Andujar
Miguel Andujar looks poised to give the Padres a needed jolt of stability when they open their upcoming series against the Miami Marlins. After finishing a minor league rehab assignment, the veteran is expected back in the lineup following a July absence caused by a right wrist fracture, and his work at Triple-A El Paso offered encouraging signs that the bat is ready to rejoin the mix.
For a San Diego club still sorting out the bottom end of its roster, Andujars return could settle one more moving part. The corresponding move is expected to send Jase Bowen back to the minors, a reminder of how much the Padres have been forced to juggle while waiting for healthy bodies to reappear and the lineup to take on a more familiar shape. [Read more 🡒]