When MLB play on the West Coast concluded on the night of July 3, the San Diego Padres found themselves in a familiar position. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that had won 11 of the last 12 NL West division titles, sat nine games ahead of their Southern Californian rivals in the standings.
In the month-and-a-half since, the Padres have closed down the Dodgers — and then some.
The Padres head into Friday’s action in sole possession of first place in the division for the first time since 2010. Between July 4 and Aug. 14, San Diego have put together a 23-12 stretch in their last 25 games. That, coincided with a 12-21 slump for Los Angeles during that same time frame, has resulted in a 10-game swing.
Third baseman Manny Machado admitted that the Padres, coming off consecutive road series losses to the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, were not concerned about chasing down the Dodgers before their recent run of wins began.
“We weren’t really looking up at that point,” Machado said, via MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. “We were just trying to get back in the win column.”
They have done exactly that in droves — especially since the league’s July 31 trade deadline. The Padres have lost just three of 12 games since the club had, arguably, the most active trade deadline of any contending team, bolstering their roster with depth as they look towards a deep run in October.
That active trade deadline came at a cost — the Padres now have the weakest farm system in the league, according to MLB Pipeline — but with the team in win-now mode, Machado believes his newly-acquired teammates have played a significant role in helping San Diego reach this point.
“They’ve won us some games… Our lineup is a lot different now, and obviously the bullpen has been coming up and doing their job,” Machado said. “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.”
Two players the Padres traded for — third baseman Willy Wagner and starting pitcher JP Sears — are currently playing for the El Paso Chihuahuas, the organization’s Triple-A affiliate. But most of the other five have put up strong numbers for the big-league squad since being acquired:
- catcher Freddy Fermin: 9 G, 11-31 at plate (.331 AVG), 1 HR, 5 RBI, .878 OPS
- outfielder Ramon Laureano: 12 G, 15-45 at plate (.333 AVG), 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1.000 OPS
- first baseman Ryan O’Hearn: 10 G, 5-27 at plate (.185 AVG), 1 HR, 4 RBI, .676 OPS
- relief pitcher Mason Miller: 5 G, 0-0 record, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 5.1 IP, 12 K, 2 BB
- starting pitcher Nestor Cortes: 2 G, 0-0 record, 2.89 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 9 K, 4 BB
The eyes of the baseball world will be placed on the Padres and Dodgers over the next two weeks, as both squads begin stretches of 10 games during which they play each other six times. Momentum is firmly on the side of the Padres, who are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants; conversely, the Dodgers head into the series having been swept by the Los Angeles Angels over a similar number of games.
The last time these two teams faced off, hit-by-pitches caused tense confrontations and flared tempers. But now, the latest chapter in the Dodgers-Padres rivalry will have much more at stake.
