The hottest team in baseball is racing toward a playoff berth, and the San Diego Padres can complete the chase as early as Tuesday’s opener of a three-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres (87-69) have won 13 of their last 14 games to not only climb out of wild-card uncertainty but also give themselves a legitimate chance at clinching the National League’s top wild-card spot over their final six regular-season games.
They can clinch a playoff spot Tuesday with a win and an Arizona Diamondbacks loss to the Colorado Rockies.
A postseason appearance would be the third consecutive for San Diego, which has never delivered a similar run in franchise history.
“This is so fun,” said Jake Cronenworth, who had two home runs and five RBIs for San Diego in its 7-3 home victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. “It’s hard to compare each (of the past three playoff chases). Each one’s so fun in its own way and unique. But this one’s been really awesome.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. added a home run, his 25th, and is batting .310 with 12 home runs and a 1.016 OPS over his past 30 games since Aug. 18.
Against their Southern California rival, the Padres are expected to send right-hander Michael King (12-9, 3.03 ERA) to the mound.
King is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA over his last five starts and is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers this season, including an outing in May when he went seven scoreless innings. That start included a season-high nine strikeouts.
The Dodgers (96-60) also have plenty to play for after clinching the National League West title last week. They are two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the NL but do not hold the tiebreaker between the teams.
Los Angeles is 14-3 since Sept. 3 and has a magic number of three to clinch a top-two spot in the NL and a bye into the NL Division Series.
While the Padres are on a five-game winning streak, the Dodgers have won four in a row after completing a three-game home sweep of the San Francisco Giants.
Tommy Edman hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning for Los Angeles on Sunday, while Enrique Hernandez had a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh.
While right-hander Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.60) is set to return from a blister issue, he will have an abbreviated outing and not necessarily as the starter. Manager Dave Roberts characterized the pitching plan as more of a bullpen game.
The Dodgers are also expected to see the return of center fielder Andy Pages for the series opener against the Padres. Pages has not played since Aug. 21 because of a broken hand.
While the Dodgers have found some success over the past three-plus weeks following a lackluster two months, their 14-3 run has not come against teams who are in playoff contention. A visit from the Padres changes that.
“I think it’s going to be a good kind of primer,” Roberts said. “They’re a very talented team. They’re playing as good as anyone in all of baseball. I’m looking forward to playing those guys and just kind of ramping it up a little bit more for our guys.”
–Field Level Media
