'Good team baseball' has Padres back at .500, confident at break

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres played like a .500 team for most of the first half, and wouldn’t you know it …

That’s exactly what they are, as they enter the All-Star break. The Padres rallied for a 5-4 victory over Toronto in their first-half finale on Sunday, and they’ll head into the break sitting squarely at 48-48.

It’s not the first half they wanted. It also won’t define their season. That comes next.

Here’s some reaction from Petco Park, where the Padres wrapped up a winning homestand:

Two crucial victories this weekend

This wasn’t the first half the Padres envisioned. They spent much of the first couple months squarely in the playoff picture, but faltered over the past few weeks, including an eight-game losing streak that marked their longest since 2013.

But things sure feel a whole lot better after two victories over the reigning American League champs this weekend.

“It’s a long season,” said Manny Machado, who pounded out three hits on Sunday. “A lot of baseball still left to be played. I think our best baseball is still ahead of us.”

Maybe so. But the Padres would be wise to start playing that baseball soon. The Trade Deadline looms three weeks away. General manager A.J. Preller made it clear on Saturday that pretty much every option -- buying, selling, some combination of both -- is “on the table.”

If the Padres want to approach the Deadline as buyers, they need to start winning. This weekend was a major step in that direction.

Coupled with a pair of Marlins losses, the Padres have narrowed their gap to the final National League Wild Card spot from 5 1/2 games to 3 1/2.

“It’s just a good taste in our mouth that we can think about for the next four days,” said manager Craig Stammen. “And then get back after it on Friday.”

Machado’s strong first-half finish

It was a rough first half for Manny Machado. He spent a sizable chunk of the past 3 1/2 months with an OPS around .600 and, quite literally, the worst batting average in baseball. (Among qualifying hitters, at least.)

But the way Machado finished the first half, you’d expect him to look more like himself in the second half. He went 8-for-16 across the final four games, including 3-for-4 on Sunday afternoon. With his sixth-inning single, Machado raised his batting average above .200 for the first time since the start of play May 8.

“I was kind of stuck at .180 there for a long time,” Machado said with a wry smile. “Definitely better to start the second half with a ‘2’ up there.”

Machado followed with an RBI single in the eighth, tying the game at 4. Put simply: The Padres need Machado hitting like this. Power-wise, he remained somewhat productive with 19 first-half homers. But they need more than what he’s given them overall. And it looks like they might be getting it.

“It’s a game-changer,” Stammen said. “The Padres have always gone how Manny goes.”

A resilient rally

It’s only one game, sure. But things would’ve felt very different if the Padres had dropped Sunday’s finale -- and entered the break below .500, even further back in the playoff picture.

The margins were fine on Sunday -- and the Padres won on those margins.

They fell behind in the top of the eighth inning when Adrian Morejon -- asked to cover two innings -- surrendered Jonatan Clase’s go-ahead single. But the Padres answered instantaneously.

Xander Bogaerts singled and stole second to start the frame. Machado followed with an eight-pitch at-bat, ending it with his game-tying single to center. When Gavin Sheets’ groundout advanced Machado to second, Stammen was left with a decision to make. He lifted his hottest hitter in favor of a pinch-runner.

“Great decision,” Machado said -- and in the aftermath, it sure looked like it.

Machado has been dealing with a balky left big toe after fouling a pitch off his foot. So Stammen inserted pinch-runner Jase Bowen, who took off for third and swiped the bag cleanly.

“Definitely makes my job easier,” said Ty France, who was at the plate at the time. “I just have to get the ball in the air.”

France did exactly that. His sac fly plated the go-ahead run, before Mason Miller nailed down his 25th save.

“That’s just good team baseball,” France said. “This series specifically, we’ve done a lot of that. And I feel like that was really important to have going into the break -- where we feel like we did everything right and we came out on top.

“Now we feel like we can reset, relax and, when we get back, get back to playing our game.”