The Padres took a hit in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings, but the bigger picture still looks steady. San Diego dropped from No. 7 to No. 9 after a week that mixed a series loss in Queens with a clean sweep of Minnesota, and they remain the sixth-ranked club in the National League.
At 71-60, the Padres are still in control of the spot that matters most right now. They hold a two-game edge over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card position, which is where the focus stays as October gets closer.
The ranking dip was tied to what happened against the Mets. San Diego lost two of three in New York, with the opener turning into the roughest moment of the series.
The Padres were thrown out at the plate three times in that game, twice by Mets rookie outfielder Carson Benge and once by fellow rookie A.J. Ewing, all across a span of just two innings.
They answered with a win in the middle game before dropping the finale, which gave them their first series loss since July 23. It was the kind of setback that could have lingered, especially against a team the Padres would have liked to handle, but they responded the right way.
Back home, San Diego turned around and swept the Minnesota Twins. The offense did plenty of the work, piling up 21 runs across the three games while allowing just 8. Even more encouraging for the Padres, they didn’t score fewer than six runs in any of the games, a strong sign that the lineup is heating up at the right time.
Saturday’s game showed that clearly. The Padres won despite newly acquired starter Casey Mize giving up four runs in fewer than three innings. Mize is still settling in with San Diego, but the lineup gave him plenty of breathing room.
The playoff race behind them still has some movement, though the Padres only need to protect their current place. They are two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the No. 5 spot and four games behind the Chicago Cubs for No.
- Both teams are ahead of San Diego, and the Phillies are riding nearly a double-digit win streak, making those spots a tough climb.
For now, the real chase is staying ahead of the pack for the last Wild Card berth. The Diamondbacks are closest at two games back, followed by the Miami Marlins at four games back and the St. Louis Cardinals at 5.5 games back.
The schedule won’t make that easy. Matchups with the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees are coming over the next couple of weeks, and every game figures to carry weight. Before that stretch fully arrives, though, the Padres are looking to keep the momentum going tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In Other News...
Padres Suddenly Have A Wild Card Edge Diamondbacks Fans Fear
Ketel Martes absence has become one more twist in a late-season race where every roster move carries extra weight. The Diamondbacks first put the veteran on the restricted list after he did not report on time for a game against the Red Sox, then shifted him to the 10-day injured list after an MRI showed knee inflammation, a sequence that only added to the uncertainty around an Arizona club trying to steady itself.
For San Diego, the timing matters. The Padres have worked their way out of a losing streak and back up the standings by leaning on accountability and steady leadership inside the room, the kind of internal stability that can separate contenders when the margin gets tight. Arizonas latest issue leaves the door open a little wider, and with the two clubs chasing the same late-season goals, the pressure now feels very different on both sides of the desert. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Made Another Telling Pitching Decision In Triple A
The Padres have continued to sift through their Triple-A pitching inventory, and the latest move sends right-hander Andrew Thurman back into the market. San Diego released Thurman from El Paso after a rough stretch with the Chihuahuas, where he struggled to find traction in five appearances during his first season in the organization.
Thurman had signed a minor league deal with the Padres in January, hoping to work his way toward another shot at the majors. Now 34 and a free agent, hell be looking for a new landing spot, while the Padres keep adjusting their depth chart in El Paso and searching for arms that can better hold down innings. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Made A Curious Roster Call Before The Pirates Series
The Padres made a notable roster tweak ahead of their series with the Pirates, selecting the contract of outfielder Dustin Harris and giving him his first chance at the major league level with San Diego. Harris arrived on a minor league deal in July, and the move places him on both the 40-man and active rosters as the club continues to sort through its depth.
To clear space, the Padres optioned infielder Sung-Mun Song to Triple-A and transferred right-hander Lucas Giolito to the 60-day injured list on the 40-man side. It is the kind of transaction that can fly under the radar in the moment, but it also hints at how the Padres are managing both their immediate bench mix and the longer injury-related picture as they head into the series. [Read more 🡒]