Padres clinch MLB playoff spot with Nationwide League postseason bracket nearly full

The San Diego Padres are returning to the playoffs. The Padres clinched their spot within the match with Monday evening’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park (SD 5, MIL 4, 11 innings). This marks San Diego’s second straight postseason look and their fourth within the final six years. They’d 5 postseason appearances in the course of the franchise’s first 51 seasons of existence.

With the Padres in, 5 of the six Nationwide League postseason spots have been claimed. The Brewers (NL Central) and Philadelphia Phillies (NL East) have received their divisions, and Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched postseason berths. The Dodgers maintain a three-game lead over the Padres within the NL West, plus they’ve the tiebreaker, so it is actually a four-game lead.

The Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets have an identical 80-76 information, although as a result of the Reds received the season sequence, they maintain the tiebreaker and technically occupy the third wild card spot. The Arizona Diamondbacks are nipping on the Reds’ heels along with the Mets. The NL postseason area is shaping as much as appear like this:

• Bye: Brewers and Phillies
• WC: WC3 at Dodgers
• WC: Padres at Cubs

San Diego has leaned closely on run prevention, significantly a bullpen that’s 4 deep in closer-caliber relievers, to get again to the postseason. They’ve allowed the second-fewest runs per recreation this season, although they’re center of the pack in runs scored per recreation, and so they’re close to the underside of the league in house runs. Creating runs is usually a problem at occasions.

Nonetheless, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. are a formidable offensive core, and Xander Bogaerts returned from a foot fracture Monday. Luis Arraez, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, and commerce deadline additions Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn could possibly be very sturdy complementary items, although they’ve hardly ever been scorching (or wholesome) on the similar time this season.

Ace right-hander Michael King has battled shoulder and knee hassle this yr and has been shaky of late, although he’s a secure wager to start out a postseason recreation, possible Recreation 1. Nick Pivetta has been the membership’s most dependable starter all season. Dylan Stop can dominate on his finest days, which he has not had sufficient of this season. A spot within the postseason rotation isn’t assured.

Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and nearer Robert Suarez are nearly as good as any bullpen foursome in baseball. Righty Jason Adam went down with a season-ending quad damage earlier this month, nevertheless, taking away a high-leverage possibility. The plan for the Padres is straightforward: get good beginning pitching, scratch out a number of runs, and smother the opponent with the bullpen.

The Padres swept the Atlanta Braves within the Wild Card Collection final yr, and had a 2-1 sequence lead over the Dodgers within the NLDS. San Diego didn’t rating a run in Video games 4 and 5, ending their season. The Padres have by no means received the World Collection within the franchise’s 57 season. Machado & Co. will attempt to recover from the hump this yr.