Padres alone atop NL West as showdown looms in LA

SAN FRANCISCO -- Six weeks ago, the Padres were reeling. They returned to San Diego having dropped both series on a road trip through Cincinnati and Philadelphia. On the ensuing off-day, the Dodgers beat the White Sox to move nine games clear in the National League West.

On July 4, when the Padres showed up to Petco Park, the division race was barely an afterthought.

“We weren’t really looking up at that point,” star third baseman Manny Machado said. “We were just trying to get back in the win column.”

In the six weeks since, the Padres have been in that win column plenty. Enough to overturn that deficit entirely. In fact, after an 11-1 demolition of the Giants on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park -- and the Dodgers' loss to the Angels a few hours later -- San Diego will enter its weekend series in Los Angeles in sole possession of first place.

The turnaround has been stunning. The Padres are 23-12 in that span. In the middle of that stretch, they significantly upgraded their roster, making five deals on Trade Deadline Day involving a whopping 22 players.

Now -- with a showdown atop the NL West looming in Los Angeles this weekend -- it's the Dodgers playing the role of chasers. The Padres hold a one-game edge, marking the latest in a season they've held sole possession of first place since 2010.

How, exactly, did the Padres overturn that deficit -- gaining 10 games of ground on the reigning champs in the span of six weeks? Well, it helps that the Dodgers are 12-21 in that span. But the Padres are taking full advantage of those struggles.

“We know how special a group we had over here, especially after the Deadline,” said right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. “Our GM went all out. … We’re going out there confident every single day, playing good baseball, clean baseball. That’s what we’re capable of.”

The Padres haven’t won the NL West since 2006. Coincidentally, that’s also the last time the Padres and Dodgers played any game with first place on the line so late in the season. (Separated by half a game in mid-September that year, they split a four-game series. Dave Roberts, now in his 10th season managing in L.A., batted leadoff for San Diego in all four games.)

The Dodgers currently hold the edge for a potential tiebreaker, having won five of the seven meetings between the two clubs in June -- including three of four during a particularly feisty series in L.A. But these are clearly not the same Padres.

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The addition of Mason Miller has turned the team’s biggest strength -- its bullpen -- into an unstoppable force. Meanwhile, the additions of Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and Freddy Fermin have turned the team’s biggest weakness -- lineup depth -- into a certifiable strength.

“Every player that has come in has contributed and been really, really big factors,” said Tatis. “They’re a really big part of this team. Hopefully, we can keep bringing it together.”

In Wednesday’s victory, O’Hearn and Laureano combined to reach base six times in 10 trips to the plate. Fermin didn’t start -- it was a day game after a night game, and Elias Díaz has emerged as Nick Pivetta’s personal catcher. But Fermin has otherwise emerged as the regular behind the plate and is batting .355 since his arrival.

Those additions have changed the complexion of the Padres’ offense. At the Deadline, they had the lowest OPS in the Majors from the bottom third of their lineup. Now?

“The lineup is probably the best lineup I’ve ever been a part of,” O’Hearn said. “And I was on some really good offensive teams in Baltimore. We have great hitters up and down the lineup. Freddy Fermin in the nine hole has been extremely productive. [Jake] Cronenworth, great hitter, hitting in the eight hole. You look up and down the lineup, there’s not a weak link.”

That was the plan, of course. In the immediate aftermath of the Trade Deadline, general manager A.J. Preller boldly declared, “If you want to win a championship, you can’t have any weak links.”

Preller held onto pitcher Dylan Cease, despite plenty of trade interest, stabilizing a starting rotation that has also seen the recent returns of Michael King and Yu Darvish. And Miller joined what was already viewed as the sport's best ’pen. But there was no guarantee the new guys would acclimate so smoothly.

“They’ve won us some games,” said Machado -- who was traded midseason himself, from the Orioles to the Dodgers in 2018. “Our lineup is a lot different now, and obviously the bullpen has been coming up and doing their job.

“I’ve been in their shoes before. It’s tough to make that adjustment -- the change of scenery, learning new names, new faces, new league, different division. It’s all tough. It takes you a little bit of time to get acclimated to your new surroundings. To see them adjusting how they are, [they’re] fitting perfectly in.”

O’Hearn gave the credit to “the big dogs.” Superstars like Machado, Tatis and Darvish, he said, “have been extremely welcoming.” And with the host of newcomers on board -- including pitcher Nestor Cortes, who was sharp in his start against the Giants on Tuesday night -- the Padres have thrived.

They’ve now won 14 of their last 17 games, while the Dodgers have floundered. Which sets up a fascinating next two weekends. After three games in L.A. beginning Friday, the Padres host the Dodgers the following weekend at Petco Park. The 10-day stretch might decide the division.

“It’s huge,” Tatis said. “That’s what we’re playing for. … Now it's a matter of fact: It’s in our hands.”

And who could have imagined that six weeks ago?