Here's how the Padres leapfrogged six teams in a month in the NL playoff picture

SAN DIEGO -- It was only a month ago that the Padres’ front office convened at Petco Park for the Draft. Following Day 1, general manager A.J. Preller spoke with reporters on a Zoom call and was asked about his team’s direction at the upcoming Trade Deadline.

Preller needed to give it a few days. He truly didn’t know. His focus was on the Draft, but the Deadline direction? That would be up to the team itself. And on July 10, the Padres were 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, sitting in 11th place in the National League.

What a difference a month makes.

On Wednesday, the Padres completed a sweep of the league-leading Brewers with a dramatic walk-off victory, 4-3 in 11 innings. They’ve since reinforced their rotation -- at the time their biggest weakness. And in the span of a few weeks, they’ve leapfrogged six would-be contenders in the NL Wild Card race.

By the time Sung-Mun Song slid in safely under the tag of Brewers catcher Gary Sánchez -- by the time Luis Campusano was mobbed on the infield after his first career walk-off hit -- the Padres were squarely in playoff position, having passed both the Phillies and Diamondbacks, who each lost on Wednesday afternoon.

“We have come together as a ballclub, as a team,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. “Obviously, a sweep -- against a team like this -- it keeps boosting our confidence all the way up.”

There’s still plenty of baseball to be played. About a quarter of the season, to be precise.

“Now it’s that 40-game sprint,” said Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth.

But the fact that the Padres made it to this point is somewhat remarkable. Their offense was the worst in baseball through mid-June. Their rotation was crumbling amidst injuries and inconsistent performance.

In the month leading up to the Deadline, the Padres would play a stretch of 17 games in 17 days before the All-Star break, then begin another with 26 games in 27 days. It was hard to see a way through.

And yet, somehow, they’ve made it through even stronger.

“It’s actually invigorated us,” said Padres manager Craig Stammen. “It’s shown us we can handle anything.”

To hear the players tell it, the Deadline itself might’ve been just the spark they needed. They all knew the deal with Preller. His preference is always to win now. He wants to go for it. They needed to give him a reason to.

“Obviously, it was kind of a race to the Trade Deadline for us,” Cronenworth said. “All the pressure on us to go out and perform and let A.J. do what he does.”

In the nine games leading up to the Deadline, the Padres left no doubt. They won eight of them. But it went beyond that. Their offense -- dreadful for so much of the first half -- began to mash. Their bullpen got healthier and continued to dominate.

Not only had the Padres established themselves as contenders -- they’d minimized their Deadline needs. And made the biggest need abundantly clear.

The Padres needed starters. A couple weeks after he’d considered the unthinkable (actually selling at the Trade Deadline) Preller was back in position to do what he usually does. He traded three of his top nine prospects for a pair of veteran starters -- Casey Mize and Robbie Ray.

“We’re trying to win,” Preller said afterward. “We don’t apologize for it. We’re trying to win championships. We’re trying to get to the postseason, and do it year after year.”

Among other things, those moves -- and that mindset -- energized the Padres’ clubhouse. They’d spent weeks sitting with rumors of Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller, their two stud back-end relievers, potentially being traded. Other names were bandied about as well. Instead, Preller didn’t move a single player from his big league roster. He added two.

“The front office’s approach to the Deadline does nothing but help us,” said Walker Buehler.

“After that, it’s like, man, this is the group we’ve got,” Cronenworth said. “Let’s go out and take it.”

They’ve done precisely that. While other contenders in the Wild Card race have floundered, the Padres are playing their best ball. They’ve won 15 of 19 and currently occupy the fifth seed, a game ahead of Philly and Arizona.

Jackson Merrill, whose resurgence has been one of the biggest keys to this turnaround, was informed about those standings after Wednesday’s game, while he and his teammates packed for a flight to Cleveland. He wanted no part of it.

“Screw it … when the time comes to play the Diamondbacks again, we’ll look at that,” Merrill said. “But not right now. We’re focused on the Guardians. And on getting after it every day.”

Merrill nailed it. The way the Padres are playing right now, they might not have to worry about what’s behind them for very long. Their offense has gone from one of the worst in baseball to one of the best. Their bullpen has been lights out -- and is about to reap the benefits of extra rest. The rotation has been solidified in a major way.

This not only looks like a playoff team. It’s starting to look like a team capable of doing damage in October. What a difference a month makes.