San Diego is close to clinching a third straight playoff berth after a 39-12 run since July 17. The Padres are tied with the Cubs atop the Wild Card standings, but Chicago won the season series; San Diego must finish one game ahead to host the three-game round.
At the All-Star break, San Diego was 48-49, with three-fifths of its starting rotation out for nearly three months, and 13.5 games behind in the NL West. The 39-12 run tied the Padres with Milwaukee for the best record since the second half began. San Diego is 49-29 at home this season, compared with 38-40 on the road; all three Wild Card games are played at the higher seed’s stadium.
Since the All-Star break, the lineup has posted a .348 on-base percentage, 373 hits and 153 walks. Fernando Tatis Jr. is batting .290 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs, while Ty France is at .324 with nine homers, 30 RBIs and a .924 OPS. In his five starts before his latest outing, Michael King went 4-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 32 innings.
