The San Diego Padres moved up in the wild-card standings with a big win over the Miami Marlins
The white-hot San Diego Padres have thoroughly scrambled the NL wild-card race, posting an impressive 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins to put them in a three-way tie with the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies for the three wild-card spots.
The Padres had some issues with Coors Field comebacks against the Colorado Rockies this week, but Petco Park provided a different scenario. Starter Nick Pivetta spotted the Marlins a run in the third on a solo homer from Agustin Ramirez, but the Padres roared back with six runs in the fifth inning to make it 6-1.
The rally started out as one of those “everybody hits” San Diego specials that the Padres have been using to win games lately, as a single from Fernando Tatis Jr. tied the game at 1-1. Dustin Harris continued his hot hitting with a two-run RBI single, and Ty France ended the small-ball part of the evening with a three-run homer to finish off the scoring.
Pivetta was once again surprisingly strong, as he gave up just that one run in five innings on four hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts while throwing 76 pitches. He’s gone from a tenuous late-season addition to a genuine revelation, and Pivetta has become a big part of why the Padres are streaking.
Miami didn’t have much to offer after Pivetta left, with Javier Sanoja singling in a run in the eighth off reliever David Morgan. But Jackson Merrill got that run back in the Padres' half of the inning eighth with a solo shot, and Samad Taylor got in on the scoring action with an RBI single later in the inning.
Cade Gibson took the loss after initially picking up opener Tyler Phillips, but the Marlins are now two games under .500 and fading fast.
The Padres were also able to once again save their top relievers, although Adrian Morejon did have to come in and get an out after Miami scored off Morgan. Wandy Peralta and Griffin Canning also chipped in with scoreless outings as the Marlins got ten hits but couldn’t do much with the traffic
The Padres are now 85-69, and they’re locked in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Phillies in the wild-card race. They’re five games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost 5-0 to the New York Yankees, but the Padres now have their sights set on a higher spot in the playoff standings.
