This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The San Diego Padres own the best record in the major leagues since the All-Star break, 21-6, after earning a 5-3 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Monday.
The Padres will try to continue their run on Tuesday against Minnesota in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Monday result allowed San Diego to maintain a one-game advantage on Arizona for the National League’s first wild-card spot.
With the Diamondbacks going 21-8 since the break, the majors’ second-best mark in that span, San Diego’s fine form has not only been satisfying but necessary to maintain playoff positioning.
“We see what they’re doing and it’s obviously very impressive,” Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth said of the Diamondbacks. “They’re playing really good right now. So are we. We’re focused on us — what we’re doing every day and what we can do to win each game.”
The Padres’ latest victory featured a big hit — Jackson Merrill’s three-run double in the third inning that snapped a 2-2 tie — as well as five-hit pitching from starter Michael King and three relievers.
San Diego will run Martin Perez (3-5, 4.62 ERA) to the mound Tuesday night. Perez got his first win with the Padres on Wednesday, when he allowed one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings in an 8-2 rout of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out a season-high eight and walked one.
The veteran left-hander has pitched well in his first three starts for San Diego after being acquired from the Pirates on July 30. He is 1-0 with a 1.95 ERA, and the team has won all three of his starts.
Perez is 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 12 career outings against Minnesota, seven of them starts. The Twins have hurt Perez with home runs, as he has yielded 10 in 48 1/3 innings.
Minnesota will try to even the series behind its best starter this year, right-hander Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.49 ERA). He is coming off a solid performance Thursday in Texas, where he battled through six innings during a no-decision in the Twins’ 3-2 win. He surrendered seven hits and two runs with three walks and three strikeouts.
Ober has faced the Padres once in his career, permitting three runs over six innings while fanning six in a no-decision on May 11, 2023. In his past five starts, Ober is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA, whiffing 34 batters and yielding only 16 hits in 34 innings.
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound right-hander enters play Tuesday with 10 straight quality starts, the longest such stretch by a Minnesota hurler since Johan Santana put together 21 in a row during a Cy Young Award campaign in 2004.
“I didn’t really have it the whole game,” Ober said of his outing on Thursday night, “but I was able to get by, and that was good enough.”
The Twins are tied with Kansas City for the American League’s second wild-card spot, 4 1/2 games clear of the Boston Red Sox. However, Minnesota is playing short-handed with center fielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list due to an inflamed right hip. Buxton could be back next week.
–Field Level Media
