After struggling offensively and patching together a pitching staff, the San Diego Padres hit their stride shortly after the All-Star break. Playing under .500 baseball up to July 23 (50-53), the Friars have a 39-17 record since then. The MLB trade deadline brought in two starting pitchers who have not dominated since their arrival but have helped stabilize the rotation. Nick Pivetta’s return gave the organization a third starter, joining Michael King and Walker Buehler as bulldogs at the start of the rotation.
With that, the offense figured it out, and the stars are playing like stars, with the role players making big contributions. Sweeping the Miami Marlins to start the week, the Padres took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine to clinch a Wild Card spot for the third straight season and for the fifth time in the past seven seasons.
They now return home to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, but not for a playoff spot. Their results against the D-backs will be part of a series of games to determine ranking in the Wild Card race and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Chicago Cubs played a day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox in Boston, with the threat of a nor’easter complicating their games. The Cubs were swept by the Red Sox in those two games. Heading into the weekend the Padres had to match the Cubs in wins to hold onto their top Wild Card spot and host the Wild Card round for the NL.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are playing for their playoff lives, still one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies with two games left to play. The Padres could have clinched home-field for the Wild Card Series had they beat the Diamondbacks in the first game of their series.
Primetime Ethan Salas
The Padres did what many in baseball thought was a bad idea. They promoted 20-year-old top prospect Ethan Salas to the major leagues on Sept. 1. Bringing a rookie into a playoff race is a gamble at best. Bringing a 20-year-old catcher into a playoff race could be viewed as foolhardy.
Salas went 0-for-15 to begin his big league career. He struck out, flew out, and grounded out through those at-bats while making adjustments to MLB pitchers. Since that inauspicious start, Salas is 8-for-20 with a triple, two home runs, and five RBI. He has also guided the pitchers through some sticky at-bats while being more effective than he has any right to be with his ABS challenges.
Salas played 17 games with Triple-A El Paso before being summoned to San Diego. That was his only exposure to the ABS system before starting for the Padres. In his 14 challenges, he has won nine while saving his pitchers from multiple tight spots. He flipped base-on balls three times and got a strike call on a previously called ball in a very important spot.
Challenging a David Morgan called ball that would have walked Shohei Ohtani in a bases-loaded situation, Salas correctly identified a strike, and Morgan ultimately struck Ohtani out. That was a turning point in the win on Wednesday.
Far from being in a situation too big for him, Salas is now prompting many to think he should be the starting catcher for the first round of the playoffs.
The youngest player in the major leagues, Salas was not legally allowed to drink the alcohol poured on him during the Padres postgame celebration in the Dodgers’ visiting clubhouse after clinching their spot. Sparkling Martinelli’s clutched in hand, Salas was doused in beer and champagne as his teammates celebrated with him.
His first hit on Wednesday night broke the no-hitter that Tyler Glasnow had going in the sixth inning, scoring on a Dustin Harris sac fly. He followed that up by driving in the winning run in the seventh inning with a single, Xander Bogaerts scoring. He was a key contributor in the series win with his bat and his defense. His teammates celebrated his first playoff experience during their postgame party.
Big-time Tatis
Fernando Tatis Jr. has had a remarkable season for the Padres. After infamously going until May 30 without a home run, Tatis caught fire. Hitting 25 homers since then, Tatis sits third on the team behind Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. His 82 RBI is also third, behind the same two players. Since the All-Star break, Tatis is hitting .308/.386/.615 with a 1.001 OPS.
Pushing the envelope, Tatis has upped his stolen base total to 38, the most on the team. Like many of his teammates, Tatis has scorched the baseball in September. His batting average of .341 is his best for any month this season, with a 1.088 OPS while hitting two doubles, a triple, eight homers, and amassing 15 RBI.
Second-half offense
Tatis and Jackson Merrill have led the team offensively in the ceremonial second half. They have been supported by multiple standouts around them. As a result, the Padres offense has gone from being the worst in MLB for a large portion of the first half to being a top two team since the break while hitting .267 with a .777 OPS.
The pitching has three strong starters, more than enough for a short series. The bullpen, with the return of Jason Adam to supplement the already lethal arms, could be considered the most accomplished in the playoffs.
The Padres rank third in the majors since the break with 5.12 runs scored per game. The offense’s remarkable turnaround highlights the organization’s philosophy of playing better as the season goes on. Although hard on the Friar Faithful, the first-half Padres have consistently struggled while the second-half Padres inevitably turn it on.
The last hurdle to leap is sustaining that offense through the playoffs. All Padres fans remember the remarkable lack of offensive production that has occurred at some point in the playoffs over the past two seasons.
Home field advantage
The Padres are 49-30 at home. Their road record is 40-41; that is a significant improvement over their eight games under .500 from just a month ago. Only the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Dodgers have better home records, all of them division winners. There is no better home environment in baseball than Petco Park. The team thrives on the energy sent to them from the stands filled with the Friar Faithful.
Mason Miller, speaking with reporters after the win against the Dodgers on Wednesday, acknowledged their desire to play their Wild Card series at Petco Park.
“Just trying to get a home playoff series at Petco. We know how special that place is.”
There is also a big financial advantage to the team with a home series. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune detailed the expense of a traveling party for a Wild Card series away from home versus the benefits reaped from playing at home.
Sending the team and the party that accompanies them is about a $1 million expense. Playing at home, with the accompanying revenue created, equals an approximate $3 million profit for the team. It’s not too difficult to figure out which the Padres prefer.
Pitching preferences
Michael King told the hitters he didn’t want to pitch this weekend. Quoted by Kevin Acee in his Thursday Padres newsletter, King made his preference clear.
“I told them I’d be really mad on Sunday if I had to pitch. So it’s very fun to not have to gameplan for the Diamondbacks and plan for whoever we got.”
Casey Mize and Walker Buehler were slated to start the first two games versus the D-backs. The game on Sunday will likely be a bullpen game that should include Rándy Vásquez. Mize has been less than dominant for the Padres with a 6.64 ERA and that continued with the series-opening loss on Friday.
King will start the first game of the Wild Card Series, with Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler lining up nicely to follow, as needed.
Roster moves and injury updates
Jason Adam returned to the team for the Dodgers’ games and pitched on Thursday for three outs. Manager Craig Stammen stated a desire to find a soft landing spot for Adam but that wasn’t possible with the Dodgers’ series. Coming in to get the last out in the fifth inning with one pitch, Adam got two more outs in the sixth before leaving the game after throwing five pitches.
Griffin Canning was sent to the Arizona complex while Alek Jacob was DFA’d to make room on the 40-man roster for Adam.
Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar were both with the team in LA for the clinching of a playoff spot. Both are ready to be activated, and the Padres have signaled that Sheets will be the first to see action. No roster moves have occurred yet.
Luis Rengifo, who had surgery on his torn ACL, was in the clubhouse celebrating with his teammates on Thursday night. Sporting a crutch while he danced and partied, Rengifo had plastic wrap on his surgically repaired leg.
Joe Musgrove reportedly is throwing on a regular basis but has not been able to ramp up to bullpens. There is no stated plan for what is ahead for Musgrove.
Rámon Laureano has been in Arizona working on his rehab but will not be ready for any playing time this season.
