The San Diego Padres have a magic number of six going into their series against the Miami Marlins.
The San Diego Padres now have a magic number of six to clinch a postseason berth, and they’ll try to lower that number in game one as they send Nick Pivetta to the mound against the Miami Marlins.
The Padres are the hottest team in baseball right now, having won 11 of 12, and in the process they’ve put themselves in control of their own destiny as a possible wiild-card team. They have a four-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third wild card, and the Diamondbacks have lost four of their last five with the New York Yankees coming to down.
But the Padres are also looking to move up. They’re just a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, who are in a flat-footed tie for the first two wild-card spots. It’s a volatile situation to say the least, with Philadelphia’s 3-0 win over the New York Mets in the first game of their series costing San Diego a chance to move up a half game.
Pivetta’s a story in his own right. He’s made two starts for San Diego after returning from an extended stint on the IL, and the first was stronger than anyone expected as he went five innings against the Washington Nationals on Sept. 7 and shut out the Nats for five innings.
His last start wasn’t quite as good, however. Pivetta gave up two runs in four innings against the San Francisco Giants, so at this point in his comeback he’s somewhere between an opener and a genuine starter who can provide length.
The Padres have prepared for this, however. They were able to get two strong starts in their last two games against the Colorado Rockies from Robbie Ray and Michael King, which in turn allowed them to save their bullpen for this series.
The Marlins, meanwhile, come into this series as their usual streaky selves. They’ve won four of their last five, but before that they lost four straight and seven of their last eight. Their brief wild-card bid is basically over, as they’re now eight games out and a game under .500 at 76-77.
Their start tonight will be Tyler Phillips, who could be classified as an opener who might provide length if he’s pitching well. It’s hard to tell what he’ll bring to the table in this one, but the Padres only know they need a win to lower that magic number.
