SAN DIEGO -- The Padres sure look like a playoff team, don’t they?
On Sunday afternoon, they completed a sweep of the Twins with a convincing 8-1 victory -- capping perhaps their most complete series of the season. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 with two homers. Jackson Merrill went deep, too. Walker Buehler turned in six quality frames.
Over the past month, the Padres’ 21-7 record is the best in the Majors. Here are some takeaways from Petco Park:
An emphatic sweep
This was perhaps as complete a series as the Padres have played all season. They got contributions from up and down their roster. Their stars are playing like stars. Their pitching staff is suddenly a complete unit.
“It’s awesome, man, especially this time of year,” said Tatis. “We have struggled … this year. So, cleaning it up and coming together as a team -- it’s huge. It’s right where we wanted to be. For now, it’s a sprint all the way to the end.”
Sunday’s game was the epitome. Tatis homered to open the scoring. Buehler was strong in his six innings. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, the dam broke. Luis Campusano, Austin Hays and Xander Bogaerts worked consecutive walks with one out, before Luis Rengifo’s go-ahead two-run double.
But the Padres didn’t stop there. Tatis added a two-run single. Merrill mashed his 21st homer an inning later and Tatis launched his second homer of the game in the eighth. They poured it on. Not only did they win, but the Padres also managed to preserve their bullpen in the process.
“Good series for the San Diego Padres,” said manager Craig Stammen. “For the entire organization, it was just a good collective way to win a series.”
Scorching Tatis
Remember when Tatis couldn’t hit a home run earlier this season? Now, he can’t stop hitting them. Tatis launched his 16th and 17th of the season, a laser off the Western Metal Building to put the Padres on the board in the third, then a laser of a solo shot in the eighth.
Twelve of those 17 home runs have come in the second half. That's tied with Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong for the Major League lead since the All-Star break.
“Right mechanics, right approach at the right time,” Tatis said.
These were precisely the types of swings that eluded Tatis during the first half. Bailey Ober hung a slider on the inner half. Tatis pulled it in the air -- and out of the ballpark. In the eighth, Taylor Rogers left another slider over the heart of the plate, at the knees. Tatis went down and lifted it to the first row in left-center.
“He feels good in the box with his swing,” Stammen said. “He feels good with what the hitting coaches’ game plan is giving him. … I think it’s freed Fernando up just to go be a baseball player, and use his natural talent to the best of his abilities.”
Revamped rotation
At last, the Padres’ rotation is where they’ve wanted it to be all season.
It doesn’t need to carry the team. The San Diego bullpen is the best in baseball. The offense is a top 5-10 unit now that the stars are hitting and they’ve found the right balance from their role players.
The Padres were only asking for quality. And that’s precisely what their rotation has given them. Take Casey Mize’s injury-shortened start out of the equation. (Mize spoke Sunday morning, saying he expects to make his next start.) Aside from that one, the Padres have thrown six straight quality starts. Buehler has three straight.
Buehler pitched six innings of one-run ball on Sunday afternoon. He struck out four and walked none, while allowing four hits. The Padres will take that every time from Buehler, who probably qualifies as their No. 4 starter at this point.
“He smells the postseason,” Stammen said. “That’s one thing that’s a part of his career -- being a part of that every year.”
Indeed, Buehler has pitched for a playoff team in every season he’s spent in the big leagues. (The Padres would probably like to forget about a few of those.) He likes the trajectory of this group.
“We’re doing a lot of things that help you in the postseason,” Buehler said. “You’ve got to hit elite relievers. You have to beat big-boy starters. We’re doing a lot of things really well.”