These are the consistent results the Padres have hunted for, thirsted for, failed too often on, for nearly a season and a half.
Since the All-Star break in a wild-card race as congested as the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby, the wins have come against the Guardians and Nationals, the Orioles and Dodgers, and now the Rockies.
Pedigrees. No pedigrees. Front-runners. Languishers. Home and away. Early barrages and late comebacks. Pitching for days.
The Padres have found the type of footing that has allowed them to ignore records and street addresses and what’s between their ears.
They’re a blistering 11-3 since the break and have won five series in a row, the latest because of a 10-2 win Sunday against the Rockies at Petco Park.
“I think it’s just business time now,” said starting pitcher Matt Waldron, who got them two-thirds of the way through the sixth inning with two hits, seven strikeouts and two walks. “Once that All-Star break hit, we all got the little fun or break we needed. It’s time to go.”
There does not need to be anything particularly pretty about a Rockies win for the Padres right now. As long as it’s a win, given that the NL West basement bunch has won six of eight when the series sprouted wings.
They’ve hit: The .275 average is fifth best in the game with a second-best strikeout rate.
They’ve pitched and pitched and pitched: They stand No. 1 in hits allowed, 18 less than the next-up Twins as the day began. The team ERA and home runs allowed after the break are tied for the tops in baseball.
They’ve sprung few holes. They’ve bunted and lifted sacrifice flies when needed. They seem a team, a bigger and more sustainable thing than they’ve been in the past.
The Padres are inching forward, creating some cushion and building belief that finally has reached a routinely skeptical fan base.
“We’ve been pretty confident about what we’re able to do and the way we’re going about it,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of the season-long guidebook about playing consistently in all areas that is paying dividends now. “I appreciate the dedication to that identity. We talk about that word, use it a lot, used it early on the first couple games of the season, about establishing it, showing it and then staying true to it.
“Sometimes the game doesn’t reward you and you need to have some kind of identity to be able to hold onto and go back to. … Once you strengthen it, it becomes more consistent.”
A sure sign of confidence swelling is when the wealth is shared. Six Padres finished with extra-base hits Sunday. Six drove in runs.
The more instruments, the richer the song.
“Everyone’s contributing, so I guess that makes it feel much better,” said Xander Bogaerts, who singled twice and scored twice. “It’s not just one or two guys doing it. It just feels like everyone is contributing. That’s a good feeling.”
The three-run sixth inning began with Bogaerts being hit by a pitch. The three-run eighth? It began with a one-out walk to Kyle Higashioka.
The little things become big things. The wins pile up, too.
The Padres effectively have closed the wild-card gap, listed as tied for the top spot after the Braves lost Sunday. They sit a percentage point behind, but own the season tiebreaker.
“We’ve been able to do a lot of things very well consistently,” Shildt said.
Bogaerts came around to the All-Star break thinking.
Coming into the pause, the veteran was hitting .231 with a .597 OPS. Now he stands at .423 across the last 14 games with a 1.033 OPS. He has nearly half of his season hits since the break in nearly a quarter of the at-bats.
“I was in a different situation. I was hurt,” Bogaerts said. “But the break can always be good for everyone, you know, as it seemed to be the case with me.
“Sometimes you want to do it so bad, so maybe a break is a good way to refresh and get you back on track.”
The diversity of the wins and the ways the Padres have gone about it have made this stretch feel different and potentially significant.
Wheels can pop off, as they often do when teams think they have things figured out. The trade-deadline additions of relievers Tanner Scott and Jason Adam, along with another starter in Martín Pérez, buoy confidence, though.
The Padres also are closer to getting back All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and starter Joe Musgrove.
Arrows up, in almost all directions.
“Clicking,” Bogaerts said.
In a way that has felt like a long time coming.
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