The Padres have gone all-in to compete not only against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West but also challenge for that elusive first World Series championship in the franchise’s 52-year history.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Padres’ rise to perennial prominence, namely the Dodgers, who once again have flexed their muscle and left San Diego in their dust. Los Angeles has won the first two games of their crucial head-to-head series in San Diego, including a 5-3, 16-inning epic Wednesday that was the longest in the majors this season and left Padres fans feeling downright despondent.
It all started so promising for general manager A.J. Preller, manager Jayce Tingler and the San Diego faithful. During the 2018 offseason Preller landed the big fish when he lured prize free agent Manny Machado to San Diego during the 2018 offseason to add to a core that included budding superstar Fernando Tatis Jr., former World Series champion Eric Hosmer and a talented Wil Myers.
The result was an exhilarating run to the postseason in 2020 in “Slam” Diego—born from the team’s record-breaking stretch where they hit grand slams in four straight games. They made the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons, and although they lost to the eventual-champion Dodgers in three straight in the NLDS, the idea was they were building a roster that could compete with their loaded neighbors from the north.
The Padres had an offense that could compete with the Dodgers’, but pitching was their Achilles heel in 2020. So Preller traded for ace-level starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Blake Snell on the same day, December 30.
“I think everybody in the organization is fired up from top to bottom,” Preller said at the time. “I think ultimately our team last year was a talented team that played into the playoffs, but we know we have to get better, and we feel like the moves of the last couple of days continue to put us forward toward those steps of getting better next year.”
The moves paid big dividends in the first half as Darvish started 7-2, and the Padres beat the Dodgers in seven of their first 10 head-to-head meetings—including a statement sweep in late June at Petco Park where Darvish and Snell each outdueled his Dodgers counterpart. San Diego was flying, and with the pesky San Francisco Giants seemingly locked into the top spot in the NL West, the Padres and Dodgers appeared destined to lock horns in the NL wild card game, where San Diego could be considered the favorite.
But the Padres have wilted since, going just 19-26 since July 1 and winning just two of their past 13. That span, coupled with the rise of the Cincinnati Reds, has left San Diego a game out of the second wild card and with a 17 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Reference.
“We just haven’t been able to execute right now,” Tingler told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Wednesday.
Making matters worse, when Preller sensed his team needed a boost and tried to land another big fish in starter Max Scherzer, the Dodgers swooped in to land him from the Washington Nationals, making up an ace-laden rotation that includes former Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw and David Price as well as this year’s Cy Young favorite Walker Buehler.
That dominant pitching has been on display this week in San Diego. Through two games, Los Angeles starters have allowed just seven base runners and one extra base hit in 11 2/3 innings. Snell had outpitched Buehler, striking out 10 in a season-high 7 2/3 innings, until he allowed a game-tying homer to Will Smith in the eighth, then the Los Angeles bullpen stymied the Padres in five straight extra innings with a man on second, no one out and the chance to win the game.
“Frustrating not being able to execute; get guys over, get them in late in the game,” Tingler said after the 5-hour, 49-minute thriller. “We certainly had our opportunities and had our chances, and we weren’t able to execute different pockets, especially late in the game.”
Even when the Padres finally showed signs of life Wednesday, on Tatis’ dramatic, game-tying home run in the 15th inning, the Dodgers quickly squelched that by answering with a two-run homer of their own from A.J. Pollock.
All is not lost for San Diego, and a playoff rematch with the Dodgers—in either the wild card game or NLDS—is within reach. Darvish, who has been on the 10-day IL with lower back tightness, will return for the series finale against the Dodgers on Thursday.
But the Padres have the toughest remaining schedule according to Tankathon, with 10 games still left to play against the Giants, seven against the Dodgers and three-game series against the first-place Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.
