Good morning,

How have the Padres won 19 of their past 22 games for the first time in team history?

Well, they are hitting better than anyone in the league (.289) and scoring more runs (6.1/game) while allowing fewer runs (3.1/game) than any other team during this stretch.

We can’t overlook that as an explanation.

But the deeper answer is because they expected to.

“This is normal,” Jackson Merrill said yesterday. “We are not surprised. We are not blown away by our performances.”

Remember, I wrote a story (here) on the first day of the second half, two days before this 22-game run began, about how and why the Padres expected to be a much better team.

The Padres have solved their bad team problem and their home game problem.

They have weathered the falling sky and the roller coaster. They have gotten better despite the absence of their  top two starting pitchers for most of the season and one of their best players for going on eight weeks and various other injuries and subpar performances.

They have added some key pieces, for sure. They have benefited from strong seasons by as many as a half-dozen players virtually no one expected to perform at the level they have.

It has all come together for the kind of run that only good teams go on.

All but one of the 34 teams to have gone 19-3 or better in any stretch of a season since 2000 have made the playoffs. The team that did not, the 2005 A’s, won 88 games.

Through a rocky first half, in which they were more often below .500 than above it, the Padres steadfastly held themselves as mostly immune to circumstance.

Players acknowledged in June that they had some unacceptable letdowns against lesser opponents. But beyond that, they insisted they would be fine if they merely continued playing the good baseball they were often playing — just more often.

It was manager Mike Shildt’s goal from the start of spring training to “normalize” everything.

The opposing pitcher could turn into a fire breathing dragon and Shildt would say the Padres had expected it, they were prepared for it and winners find solutions.

That is the biggest reason he generally refuses to acknowledge reality in his public comments. Because circumstances don’t matter.

And here the Padres are, playing consistently well (and winning) regardless of who is in the lineup and who the opponent is and where the game is being played.

“It’s something we’ve built over the course of the season,” Jake Cronenworth said. “… The level of intent and work and what we’re trying to do every time we come to the park every day — and that’s win, but with that goal in mind — it’s just that same drive of focus every day on that specific game.”

You can read in my game story (here) about how the Padres jumped out early against the Pirates yesterday to complete a sweep of the season series.

Wild West

The Padres aren’t unaware of how hot the Diamondbacks and Dodgers are. They just don’t care.

“We see what they’re doing, and it’s obviously very impressive,” Cronenworth said. “They’re playing really good right now. And so are we. We’re focused on us and what we’re doing every day and what can we do to win that game each night.”

The Padres have the best record in the major leagues (19-4) since the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks won again yesterday and are right behind at 20-5. The Dodgers have MLB’s third-best record since the break (15-9) despite losing yesterday.

The Padres and Diamondbacks remain tied for the National League’s top wild-card spot, four games ahead of the Braves. And both moved a game closer to the Dodgers in the NL West.

“We’re going to worry about ourselves,” Merrill said. “At the end of the day, whatever the standings are, that’s the standings.”

There is a long time between now and then. But you can’t help but think about the Padres’ only remaining series against the Dodgers (Sept. 24-26) and Diamondbacks (Sept. 27-29) on the road the final week of the regular season.

“Especially at the end of the season,” Cronenworth said, “when we play those two teams, it’s going to be a fun stretch.”

Happy birthdays

I wrote in yesterday’s newsletter (here) how David Peralta was a bright light even before he got hot, always smiling and encouraging and talking about enjoying the moment.

Now that he is making repeated meaningful contributions to a winning team, he is beaming.

“Always fun when you do something special to help the team to win,” Peralta said. “We are having a great time right now. We’re having fun. We’re doing the right thing. We play the way we’re supposed to play. … This is the team. I love it and I’m having fun, and they gave me this victory on my birthday. So that’s good. I’m really excited.”

Peralta later joked that he stopped having birthdays seven years ago. But on the day he turned 37 and his daughter turned 7, Peralta homered for the second consecutive game and the fifth time in 18 games.

David Peralta homers in back-to-back games and the Padres are on a ROLL pic.twitter.com/yig6G0k6uS

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 14, 2024

Peralta has been a godsend for the Padres, as he has assumed the starting job in right field against right-handed starting pitchers since Fernando Tatis Jr. has been on the injured list.

Here is how Peralta’s season has flipped:

Pérez too

The Padres got Martín Pérez at the right time.

In the days before his final start with the Pirates, Pérez was shown a report that illustrated where the damage against him was being done.

“Everybody is ready to hit the fastball,” said Perez, who was allowing a .300 batting average on at-bats ending on sinkers.

He had for a few starts been throwing his sinker almost 50 percent of the time and was at nearly 40 percent for the season. In that final start for the Pirates, he dropped it to 37 percent while almost doubling his curveball usage to 18 percent.

He held the Cardinals scoreless over six innings that day. Six days later, he was traded to the Padres and in three starts since has allowed four runs in 18⅓ innings while continuing to vary his pitch mix.

Yesterday, over the course of allowing one run, striking out eight and walking one in 5⅓ innings, he was as balanced as in any game in his career. He threw four different pitches at least 22 percent of the time.

“I think it was the way I mixed my pitches,” he said. “I was using everything.  …. I’m pitching different. I’m using different pitches, using different sequencing. I think that’s why you guys can see the domination now.”

Wade steps up

Tyler Wade started for the first time in a week and went 2-for-4.

The utility infielder, who was at shortstop while Ha-Seong Kim got the day off, is batting .278 with a .350 on-base percentage in his 31 starts.

That is practically at the level of Donovan Solano, who has hit .298 with a .340 OBP and nine doubles and four home runs in 49 starts.

Their contributions further the story regarding the Padres being a more complete team in 2024.

“We’ve talked quite a bit about the contributions from the entire 26(-man roster),” Shildt said. “Again on display today. … We really just have one through 26 dedicated. Those guys that aren’t getting everyday at-bats or as many innings, they’re staying ready. Their pregame work is really crisp, their mental preparation is good, and they’re just going in there ready to go compete and then trust themselves. It’s really nice.”

It might surprise you to know that the Padres are 19-12 in games in which Wade starts.

Move over, Jake

Cronenworth has led the Padres in triples each of the past four seasons.

It appears Merrill is going to run away with the team’s triples crown this year, as he hit his fifth of the season (and fourth in the past 31 games) yesterday.

Jackson Merrill is on an absolute heater 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cSITv8ZH04

— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2024

The triple is sometimes called the most exciting play in baseball. But Merrill will take his 17 home runs.

“Homers, then I don’t have to sprint,” he said.

Tidbits

• The eight runs the Padres scored in the first three innings yesterday were as many as they scored in the first three innings of their previous eight games combined.
• The Padres’ four-run third inning was their 42nd inning with at least four runs. That is tied for third-most in a season in franchise history.
• The Padres never trailed in the series against the Pirates. Their 27 consecutive innings without trailing matches their season high.
• Bryan Hoeing worked 1⅔ scoreless innings yesterday and has not allowed a run in his five appearances (nine innings) with the Padres. He also did not allow a run in his final three appearances (4⅓ innings) with the Marlins.
• Luis Arraez was 2-for-4 yesterday and has multiple hits in five of his past seven games. His NL-leading batting average is up to .307, as he has gone 12-for-31 in those seven games.
• Cronenworth has one hit in six straight games. He is 6-for-23 with seven RBIs during that span. His home run yesterday was his first in 75 at-bats. He averaged one every 22.7 at-bats from April 8 through July 20, a span in which he hit 14 homers.
• Pitcher Carl Edwards Jr., who appeared in one game for the Padres before being designated for assignment on Monday, cleared waivers and elected free agency.

All right, that’s it for me. For four days.

The next newsletter will be in your inbox Tuesday. I am taking the weekend off. Jeff Sanders will be in Denver and will have the daily coverage of the team on our Padres page.

Talk to you Tuesday.

Originally Published: August 15, 2024 at 6:30 a.m.