With sweep of Marlins, Padres doing all they can to prove themselves before Deadline

MIAMI -- Yes, the Padres are keenly aware of the stakes riding on every game they play these days.

There’s no telling what direction general manager A.J. Preller might choose ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. But performance will have a lot to do with that decision -- and this weekend the Padres sure looked like buyers.

In case there were any doubt, here’s what Jake Cronenworth said, following a dramatic 5-3 victory to cap an emphatic sweep in Miami:

“If we keep playing like this,” he said, “we’re going to put ourselves in a position to make A.J. help this team.”

Hard to argue, based on Preller’s Trade Deadline track record. Here are some takeaways from loanDepot Park, following perhaps the biggest win of the Padres’ season:

This offense has come all the way to life

You can’t just ignore the first 2 1/2 months of the season. The Padres had the worst offense in the Majors during that stretch. But if you do ignore it -- and, again, you can’t -- the Padres have been a legitimate top-five offense since around mid-June.

They showed why on Sunday. Their struggling superstars are struggling no more. Manny Machado drove in the game’s first run with an RBI double, then tied the game in the eighth with a two-run shot. Jackson Merrill followed two batters later with the go-ahead blast.

“They’ve picked themselves up off the mat,” manager Craig Stammen said of his offense overall. “They were getting beat up from everywhere and anywhere. Including internally, with, like: ‘We’ve got to get better.’ They put the work in.”

For most of the first half, the Padres wondered what it might look like if they could get their superstars -- namely Machado, Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. -- swinging hot bats at the same time. Well, here we are …

“Listen, it’s a long season,” Machado said. “We preach it here a lot. It’s about doing your consistent work. … We’ve had our ups and downs. We started off hot. We got really bad. Then, things are starting to kind of fall in place for us right now.”

It’s more than just the superstars, too. Cronenworth had three hits on Sunday and has been excellent since returning from the concussion IL. Machado, Merrill, Ty France and Luis Rengifo all had two hits. This suddenly feels like a fairly complete offense -- precisely what the Padres need, considering all the question marks in their rotation.

The heightened importance of Walker Buehler

In case you missed it, the Padres are trying something new in their rotation. They have, essentially, 11 relievers on their 13-man pitching staff. A handful of those relievers can fill the vacancies in the rotation when they arise. But when they do, they’ll be used more like long men.

There are now only two regular starters in the San Diego rotation: Michael King and Buehler. King, of course, has been the Padres’ ace all season. Buehler is a more interesting choice.

He’s been a starter his entire career. Given his elbow troubles, it’s clearly best for his health for him to pitch on a more regular routine. But as much as anything, it’s a vote of confidence in Buehler (who was strong for most of the first half, then finished it in abysmal fashion).

The Padres are going to need Buehler to hold his own and keep some of the burden off the bullpen. As such, this was a fine outing. He allowed three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings, tying a season high with seven strikeouts.

“He looks a little shaky early with some walks, and then, boom, he just figures it out and hammers it in,” Stammen said. “That veteran presence comes through.”

A crucial week ahead

Ultimately, this wasn’t the road trip the Padres were hoping for. But they salvaged it in a major way this weekend, finishing 5-5 after dropping series in Atlanta and Kansas City.

“I said it before the game, I said: ‘We win today, we sweep a series, off-day tomorrow -- it’s going to be the best flight of the year,” said Merrill. “We got down, but came back. That’s our team right there.

“It’ll be a happy flight. Back to work on Tuesday.”

A crucial homestand awaits. The Padres host the Rockies and Giants at Petco Park this week, and those six games might go a long way toward determining their Deadline fate.

It’s a crowded National League Wild Card picture. With the Diamondbacks’ loss, the Padres now sit only two games back of the league’s final playoff spot. They’ll spend the next week playing two sellers at the bottom of the standings. If there were ever a time to make up ground -- and to assert themselves as buyers -- it’s right now.