Playoff Bound
The San Diego Padres limped in, or backed in, but they're still headed to the playoffs and they can erase all regular season criticism if they can find their offense when the postseason begins.
The San Diego Padres are headed to the playoffs for the first time (in a full-length season) since 2006. They’ve won 87 games and have an outside shot at winning 90. These are things to be celebrated, for sure.
The Padres have also lost 4 of their last 5 games, scoring just 6 runs over that span. Still, after losing a game (and series) to the lowly White Sox, the Padres clinched their playoff berth on the back of a Milwaukee Brewers loss to the Miami Marlins. It was the clear-cut definition of “backing into the playoffs”.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that the team will start their first playoff series on the road, as offense seems to be easier to come by away from Petco Park.
The team starts a three-game home series against the San Francisco Giants tonight, but I imagine the theme of this series is going to be rest for the Padres (especially the pitchers). While it would be arbitrarily nice to see the Padres sweep the series and win 90 games, it’s much more important now to position the team well for the start of the postseason.
Part of that positioning is giving guys days off and reordering the starting rotation so that Darvish/Snell/Musgrove are ready to pitch games 1-2-3 on full rest. Another part of it is about seeding.
Right now, the Padres are the 5th seed in the NL. If that holds, they are very likely to play the 100-win (and defending World Series champion) Atlanta Braves. I don’t think the Mets will catch them for the NL East division crown, but it is still mathematically possible.
Not to get too ahead of ourselves, but the Padres would face the 110-win Los Angeles Dodgers should they get past the Atlanta Braves in the first round.
Now, if the Phillies were to go on a little run here (trying to keep the Brewers at bay) and the Padres were to lose all or most of their games against the Giants, San Diego could drop down to the 6th seed entering the postseason. That would give them a first round series against the St. Louis Cardinals and a potential second round series against the New York Mets.
So, the Padres are stuck in the middle of an existential question. Play hard and ride momentum into the playoffs? Or, half-ass it and know that you have an easier path at a lower seed?
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