The Padres have put themselves in position to finish off a sweep on Sunday afternoon, and the timing couldn’t be much better. San Diego enters the finale with 86 wins, 69 losses, and a firm grip on the No. 5 seed in the National League playoff race after taking the first two games from Miami in very different ways.
Friday’s opener was a clean, convincing 8-2 win. Nick Pivetta handled five strong innings, and the offense blew the game open with a six-run fifth.
Saturday was messier, but the result was the same: the Padres dug out of an early 5-1 hole and pulled out an extra-inning victory on Ethan Salas’ first career walk-off hit. That makes it 12 wins in their last 13 games.
San Diego will try to keep that roll going behind Walker Buehler, who has had back-to-back odd outings. Against the Rockies this past week, he gave up two runs on seven hits and struck out one over 4.2 innings. In his start the week before against Washington, he was lifted in the third inning after allowing two runs.
Even with those bumps, Buehler has been a major stabilizer for the Padres’ rotation this season. He has made 30 starts, thrown 143.1 innings, and posted a 4.58 ERA. He also already faced Miami on July 26, when he allowed two earned runs - three total - over 5.1 innings while striking out seven.
The Marlins will counter with Sandy Alcantara, their ace, even though he’s coming off a strange stretch of his own. He pitched in relief four days ago against the Diamondbacks and picked up the save, then started against Arizona two days earlier and worked five innings while allowing four runs with six strikeouts.
For the season, Alcantara is 13-10 with a 3.84 ERA across a league-leading 206 innings.
First pitch between the Padres and Marlins is set for Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m.
ET. The game will air on Padres.TV and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on 97.3 The Fan in English and XEMO 860 in Spanish.
In Other News...
Padres Just Got A Playoff Race Break They Needed
The Padres got a little help in the National League playoff chase when the Mets handled the Phillies 10-3, a result that tightened the pressure on one of San Diegos closest wild-card rivals. New York got big swings from Carson Benge, who hit his 19th home run, and Francisco Alvarez, whose three-run homer helped put the game away before the bullpen took over and kept Philadelphia quiet after the fifth inning.
For San Diego, it was the kind of outside result that can matter just as much as anything happening on its own scoreboard. Every stumble by the Phillies changes the math in the crowded race, and this one landed with extra weight because it knocked Philadelphia back in the standings while giving the Padres a cleaner path as the stretch run gets tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Got A New Reason To Believe In This Lineup
The Padres kept rolling with their fourth straight win, but this one carried a little extra punch for a lineup looking for signs it can keep delivering in October-type moments. San Diego outlasted the Miami Marlins in a walk-off victory in the 10th inning, a result that not only extended the winning streak but also pushed the club into the No. 5 seed in the National League playoff race.
Ethan Salas provided the latest reason for optimism, coming off the bench as a pinch hitter and delivering his first career walk-off. With the Padres now at 86-69 and holding a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies with seven games left, every timely hit feels bigger, and this one added another layer to a lineup that seems to be finding confidence at just the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Face A Ty France Decision That Could Get Expensive
Ty Frances return to San Diego has worked out about as well as the Padres could have hoped. Signed to a minor-league deal before earning a major-league roster spot, he has turned that opportunity into one of the best seasons of his career, batting .301 with 21 home runs while carving out a real role in the middle of the lineup.
Now the question is whether the Padres can keep him from getting too expensive. France has made clear he wants to stay, and contract talks are expected as the club looks ahead, but the timing and terms of any new deal are still unclear. For a team that found value in a low-risk reunion, the next step could be the tricky one. [Read more 🡒]