The San Diego Padres are turning the wild-card race upside down, and they'd love to continue doing that.
The San Diego Padres hit their own unique version of a trifecta on Friday night against the Miami Marlins, as they trounced the Marlins, 8-2, while the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks all lost.
Can they do it again? The odds of hitting that kind of parlay are definitely against them, but the Padres are hoping to take care of business once more in Game 2 when they square off against Miami.
They’ll send Casey Mize to the hill to get it done, and that bet with him is getting better with each passing game. Mize seems to be finding his footing as a Padres starter after having a rough go early on, but his last two starts have been solid.
Mize conquered the Coors Field demons against the Colorado Rockies in his last start as he gave up just two runs on eight hits with a pair of walks, but the Padres are looking for better now that they’re back in the spacious confines of Petco Park.
The answer to whatever issues Mize might have against the Marlins would be for the Padres to hit the way they did in their initial win over Miami. The Padres lineup is formidable when they hit as a group, and San Diego has been doing a lot of that lately, which is one reason why they’re currently the hottest team in baseball.
Mize’s mound opponent will be Eury Perez, who’s going through a rough stretch right now. He was tough through the middle of the season, but Perez has given up 14 runs in his last 13-2/3 innings, and he’s been a big part of why the Marlins are now playing out the string. The Marlins also need to hit as a group to win, but being down 6-1 after five innings in the first game was too deep a hole for their lineup.
The Padres will doubtless do plenty of scoreboard watching, but some of the important results will already be in the books when San Diego takes the field. They’re in a flat-footed tie with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, with both teams playing early, but the Pads will be playing in parallel with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are five games behind all three teams.
It should be a fun night given everything that’s going on in a topsy-turvy race that promises plenty of entertainment value as the madness continues.
