SAN DIEGO -- The Padres mashed their way to a 7-2 victory over the Astros on Sunday night, getting home runs from Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., Gavin Sheets and newcomer Austin Hays.
In the process, San Diego kept pace with Arizona and Philadelphia and remained one game back of both in the National League Wild Card race. Here’s some instant reaction from Petco Park:
Stars hitting like stars again
For the first 2 1/2 months of the season, the Padres had the worst offense in baseball. The solution was always a simple one: Their stars needed to hit like stars again.
There were no guarantees it would happen. Certainly, Tatis, Merrill and Manny Machado wouldn’t spend the entire season struggling like they did through early June. But could they be counted upon to be serious difference-makers? All three of them?
Yes, as it turns out.
That trio is mashing again, and the Padres have been a top-five offense over the past two months as a result. On Sunday night, Tatis homered and doubled. His homer was the 163rd of his career, moving him into a tie with Nate Colbert for second on the Padres’ all-time leaderboard, behind only Machado (217).
It took Merrill a little longer to get going than Tatis and Machado. But he’s been red-hot through the entire second half. And he homered for the second straight night on Sunday, a solo shot in the second which opened the scoring for the Padres.
Sheets joins the fun
Here’s the funny thing about the Padres’ offensive renaissance: As the team has turned its fortunes around, so has Sheets. Only not in a good way.
When the Padres weren’t hitting, Sheets was. He was their best hitter through mid-June. Over the past couple of months, however, he’s been mired in a seemingly endless slump, while dealing with a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis.
Sheets entered play Sunday hitting just .155 with a .477 OPS since the start of July.
But Sheets tacked on a crucial insurance run with a solo blast in the seventh -- his first home run since June 30. He also worked an early walk. If the Padres’ stars can keep mashing -- and match it up with Sheets getting hot again -- this offense suddenly looks terrifying.
A dominant -- and deep -- bullpen
Mason Miller is the scariest part of this Padres bullpen. Then, Adrian Morejon. But Sunday’s game offered a reminder of why this ’pen might be so valuable come October. It has weapons everywhere, top to bottom.
Morejon and Miller got the night off. In a game that was still close in the middle innings, Kyle Hart worked a perfect sixth. Bradgley Rodriguez covered the next six outs. Jeremiah Estrada nailed down the ninth, after Hays’ home run put the game out of Miller’s purview.
In an ideal world, the Padres get Jason Adam back in a few weeks, and he returns to his high-leverage role. Hart, Rodriguez and Estrada -- in that scenario, at least -- aren’t really even high-leverage options.
But they’re pitching like it right now.