SAN DIEGO -- The Padres anticipate a summer-long battle in the National League West. It’s been the sport’s most competitive division through April. The four teams at the top will spend the next five months vying for a division crown -- and multiple Wild Card spots, potentially.
This week brought the first meeting between any two of those clubs -- the Giants and Padres playing a two-game appetizer of what’s to come this summer.
Advantage Padres.
San Diego completed a two-game sweep of the Giants with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. Michael King continued his excellent start to the season with 5 2/3 sharp innings. Batterymate Elias Díaz had two hits including a solo home run.
“We’re going to have a lot of really good NL West battles throughout the whole season,” King said. “Those tests, you’ve got to put your big-boy pants on and play these guys. We’re going to get them 11 more times throughout the year.
“Obviously a good start. But you’ve got to make sure you bring it the next 11 against them, and then the 13 against the Dodgers and the 13 against the Diamondbacks.”
Ought to be quite the summer out West.
“Really good teams out there that came out of the gate hot, just like us,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. “They have played really good baseball with good pitching and defense. The best baseball being played is on this side.”
Wednesday’s win was the Padres’ 19th of the season, tying a franchise record for victories through the end of April. The only other time they won 19 games before May was 1998 -- also the last time they won the National League pennant.
Nonetheless, April presented its share of challenges. Injuries took a major toll on the San Diego offense. But that offense has suddenly come back to life. It's no coincidence that the Padres got significantly healthier this week.
They welcomed Luis Arraez and Jason Heyward back to the lineup on Tuesday. They also inched closer to the return of Jackson Merrill, who is expected back from his right hamstring strain at some point on the upcoming road trip. After the game, manager Mike Shildt noted that Merrill “is towards the finish line” of his rehab.
“Health’s an important component to the success of a team,” said Shildt. “But it’s also that mentality of what you have that given day. … When we have our brothers leave us for a little period of time, we’re going to support the heck out of them, we’re going to love on them, we’re going to be there for them. But we’re going to figure out a way to move forward.”
The Padres appear to have done exactly that, weathering a significant early test. Other challenges await this summer. But despite injuries to five hitters from their Opening Day roster, they ended April with a 19-11 record, behind only the Mets and Dodgers for the best mark in the Majors.
“We’re capable of doing really good things,” Tatis said. “But at the same time, we can’t sit back, relax, see everything unfold. We’ve got to go out there and make it happen, stay consistent.”
Much of the Padres’ early season success can be attributed to their run prevention. Their offense was excellent until it was beset by injuries. Their pitching has been excellent throughout.
Only the Mets have a better team ERA than San Diego’s 2.86 mark. Nobody has a better bullpen ERA than the Padres at 1.77.
On Wednesday, King wasn’t quite at his dominant best. He still pitched scoreless ball into the sixth. The only run King allowed came into score when Jung Hoo Lee’s sharp two-out grounder in the sixth inning caromed off Arraez’s glove at first base. It was the last batter King faced.
As usual, the Padres’ bullpen locked it down. For a second consecutive night, their back-end quartet of Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez secured the victory.
The defense behind them was flawless. Manny Machado made two brilliant plays, including a diving stop and a throw from his backside to get a forceout in the sixth. Two innings later, Heyward covered some serious ground to make a sprawling catch down the left-field line.
Pitching. Defense. And high-quality at-bats that wore down the Giants’ pitching staff.
“That’s the recipe,” said Shildt.
A recipe the Padres will look to use for a summer’s worth of showdowns in the sport’s toughest division.