SAN FRANCISCO -- With 42 games to go, the National League West is entirely up for grabs.
In the moments after the Padres’ 5-1 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park, the Angels walked off the Dodgers in Anaheim, leaving San Diego and L.A. with identical 68-52 records. It marks the latest point in a season the Padres have held at least a share of first place since Sept. 25, 2010.
“A lot of games to go,” said center fielder Jackson Merrill, who iced the game with his opposite-field homer in the eighth. “There’s nothing we can control over there. We’re all in the moment here.”
Maybe so. But the TVs in the visiting clubhouse at Oracle Park were tuned to the conclusion of Dodgers-Angels, nonetheless. A smattering of cheers went up when Jo Adell chopped a walk-off single over third base.
“Always fun watching baseball games,” Merrill added, wryly.
On July 3, a Padres off-day, the Dodgers beat the White Sox to move nine games clear in the NL West. San Diego’s division-title drought seemed destined to stretch to 19 seasons. Since then, while L.A. has floundered, the Padres have gone 22-12. In the middle of that stretch, they made a handful of major upgrades at the Trade Deadline.
The Padres and Dodgers will meet six times in the next 12 days -- including a three-game series that begins Friday night in Los Angeles. But first the Padres have business to take care of in San Francisco.
Their win on Tuesday was their 13th in the last 16 games, and at this point, their reality is: Any win is ground gained … somewhere. The Padres also moved into a tie with the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot and home-field advantage in their first playoff series. They moved within a game and a half of the Phillies, who currently occupy the league's second first-round bye.
“Just enjoy it,” said shortstop Xander Bogaerts. “We all know what we’re doing is pretty special. You can’t take anything for granted. Keep showing up, doing the same thing we’re doing. It’s pretty nice and fun to come to the park every day.”
The Padres have crafted quite a formula since a Deadline day in which they made five trades involving 22 players. Their newfound lineup depth gets them a lead; their lock-down bullpen holds it in place.
They did it again on Tuesday, grabbing a two-run lead in the second on Jose Iglesias’ two-run homer (on the day it was announced that Iglesias will be performing at Petco Park’s Gallagher Square alongside the music group La Adictiva, no less.)
Staked to an early advantage, left-hander Nestor Cortes -- acquired in one of those trades -- pitched 4 2/3 sharp innings. He allowed one run and struck out six. But the Padres have an embarrassment of riches in their bullpen, and they’re going to use it. So with the tying run at the plate in the fifth, manager Mike Shildt called on David Morgan to escape a jam.
“Obviously with this bullpen, you can’t take chances,” Cortes said. “What skip did there was the right call, bringing in Morgan for a righty. [Willy] Adames has already seen me two times. Just happy we got out of it and obviously happy with the win.”
Even if it wasn’t technically Cortes’ win.
“He threw the ball really well,” said Shildt. “He’s going into the fifth, and he can smell that win. But at this time of year, he was a really good teammate, knowing it’s about the team win.”
Morgan froze Adames with a slider for the final out of the fifth. When Morgan ran into trouble in the sixth, All-Star setup man Jason Adam cleaned up that mess. After Merrill’s homer gave San Diego a four-run lead in the eighth, Shildt remained aggressive, going to All-Stars Adrian Morejon and Robert Suarez for the final six outs. (And he had Mason Miller in reserve, if needed.)
Once again, the depth of the Padres’ pitching staff -- and, really, their entire roster -- was on full display.
“I’ve only been here for 10 days,” Cortes said. “Obviously there’s a really good team here, there’s a special team here. … It’s fun. It’s a good group. It’s a good mix of guys. We’re going to continue to play as hard as we can, and hopefully we can stay on top.”
Where they haven’t been at this juncture of a season in 15 years.