The San Diego Padres have become one of the hottest teams in baseball, and Roundtable's Lucas and Bob break down how we got here.
The San Diego Padres got hot when the club needed it the most.
On June 30, the Padres were third in the National League West behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, the latter who has been in control for the majority of the season.
Now, entering Thursday, Aug. 20, San Diego is a game up on Arizona and just nine games behind the Dodgers in the division. Looking at the Wild Card standings, the Padres are the third WC team, with a single-game lead over the Diamondbacks but two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the second spot.
Taking a look at how San Diego got here, Lucas and Bob discuss the club's offense, which has been red-hot post-All-Star break.
As a team, before the AS game, the Padres had a combined .226 batting average and a .672 OPS -- both of which ranking dead-last in Major League Baseball.
Post break, the club has a 2.72 batting average and a .793 OPS, which come in at a tie for first and outright second in MLB, respectively.
As for starting pitching, the Padres have been relatively middle-of-the-pack throughout the season. Pre-AS Break, San Diego had a combined 4.23 ERA and post, a 3.49 ERA.
The bullpen, however, has been stellar all season long -- posting a 3.58 combined ERA on the year.
Our hosts give flowers to outfielder Jackson Merrill for helping right the ship, who struggled out of the gate this season but turned it around in his last 30 games. The 23-year-old is hitting .325 with 15 extra-base hits including nine home runs, 25 RBIs and a .975 OPS since July 19.
Merrill is just one of the many reasons that San Diego has been able to win as of late, with Lucas and Bob also highlighting stellar performances from OF Fernando Tatis Jr., third baseman Manny Machado and right-handed closer Mason Miller, all doing their part as well.
There's still a long road ahead for the Padres, who are still set to face the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Dodgers and Diamondbacks before the end of the 2026 regular season.
Lucas says San Diego is a team to reckon with in the postseason and still has viable World Series aspirations, but it will be a tough task achieving that goal.
Listen to the full episode for the entire breakdown of how the Padres got here, plus a preview of what's to come.
