SAN DIEGO -- Would you look at that? The Padres have won two in a row, and are back to .500.
San Diego poured it on in a 10-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, tying a season high in runs scored. Luis Campusano went deep, and Miguel Andujar became the first Padre with three doubles in a game since Donovan Solano in September 2024.
Here’s some reaction from Petco Park:
Have the Padres righted the ship?
A few days ago, things looked bleak. The Padres had dropped eight straight, their longest losing streak since 2013. It came at the outset of a stretch in which they would play 17 games in 17 days. Something needed to change. And quick.
Looks like it has. The Padres have played much better -- and cleaner -- baseball the past couple of nights. They’ve played complementary baseball, too. The offense poured it on late, scoring twice in the fifth, four times in the sixth and twice more in the seventh.
“Nice to get the lead and add on,” said manager Craig Stammen.
That afforded Michael King some breathing room for the sixth inning, then allowed Stammen to use some of his lower-leverage relievers to cover the seventh, eighth and ninth. Even when they’ve won, the Padres generally haven’t been able to do it like this.
“Just good baseball all the way around,” said Fernando Tatis Jr., who reached base three times.
Their problems aren’t solved, of course. There are still major rotation questions, and offensive performances like this one have been few and far between. As a result of those two things, they’re still 4 1/2 games out of the National League playoff picture.
But for the first time in a long time, it feels like the Padres are trending upward.
King ends first half on a high note
King can be hard on himself. He deeply believes he should be an ace. When he doesn’t live up to those standards, he’s usually his harshest critic.
So, no, King isn’t all that satisfied with his first-half performance. In 19 starts, he’s posted a 3.41 ERA. His strikeout rate is down, and his walk rate is up.
“[It’s been] a grind,” King said. “I don’t know if there was a single game where I felt like I had everything. So hopefully they come in bunches in the second half. There were some decent results in games where I felt like I didn’t have anything. But ultimately it’s got to be a lot better second half.”
A lot better? But his numbers were still pretty good, weren’t they?
“You said it yourself right there,” King said. “Pretty good’s not good enough.”
And yet … most of the time, King seems to find a way.
He did again on Wednesday, working six innings of one-run ball. The third time through the order has been particularly tough on King this season. But he faced the top of the D-backs’ lineup for a third time in the sixth and worked his way in and out of trouble.
The reality is this: King might not love his performance so far this season. But the Padres do. At times, it’s felt like the rest of their rotation was crumbling. But King has been just the steadying presence they needed.
Campusano’s return has been an impactful one
Finally, Campusano was having the season the Padres envisioned for him. He’d started strong at the plate. He was adequate behind it. He gave the San Diego offense a dimension at catcher that had been lacking.
And then he got hurt.
Campusano fractured his toe on a foul ball in early May and would miss nearly two months. Since his return last week, it’s become abundantly clear just how badly the Padres missed him.
On Wednesday, Campusano reached base three more times, including a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. He’s now hitting .317 with a 1.022 OPS in 23 games. And while those numbers almost certainly won’t sustain over the course of a full season, Campusano’s mere presence lengthens the Padres’ lineup in a major way.
“That’s what we hoped for from Campy, getting a chance this year and bringing his bat into the lineup,” Stammen said. “The last few years with our catching situation, we’ve had great catchers, but offense hasn’t been their No. 1 thing. Campy is bringing the ability to leave the yard, to get a big hit any time he comes to the plate.
“He’s swinging with confidence, playing with confidence. It’s fun to see.”