This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Good teams show the ability to win games in different ways.
The Houston Astros and San Diego Padres are doing that as they collide to start a three-game series Monday night in San Diego.
Both are coming off weekend series sweeps of losing teams that moved them closer to securing postseason berths.
Houston (81-68) posted a 6-4 win Sunday at the Los Angeles Angels to maintain a 4 1/2-game lead on the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. The Padres (85-65), in turn, nipped San Francisco 4-3 in 10 innings to stay 1 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League’s first wild-card spot.
San Diego’s 4-1 road trip through Seattle and San Francisco also has put it in play for the NL West title, thanks to a recent slump by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although the Dodgers won 9-2 Sunday night in Atlanta, their once-healthy lead is down to 3 1/2 games with three games remaining next week against the Padres. And San Diego owns any tiebreaker on the Dodgers since it’s already won the season series.
“This team is on a mission and we definitely want to get there,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said of clinching a playoff berth. “This is just what it takes for us to get there. So keep it with the same mentality, same approach and coming every single day just to win.”
Tatis did his part Sunday on the only pitch he saw, ripping a pinch-homer that gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning. While Robert Suarez blew the save in the ninth, he got the win anyway when San Diego scored twice in the 10th.
The Padres will send right-hander Yu Darvish (5-3, 3.52 ERA) to the mound for the series opener.
Darvish is coming off a 7-3 win against the Mariners on Tuesday night in which he allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings. In his career against the Astros, Darvish is 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 15 career starts, striking out 123 hitters over 94 innings.
Houston will send rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.72) to the hill.
Arrighetti last worked on Tuesday night in his team’s 4-3 loss in 12 innings to Oakland, giving up two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. This will be his first outing against San Diego.
The Astros bring a four-game winning streak to Petco Park, largely because of their newest acquisition. Right fielder Jason Heyward went 3-for-3 with his eighth homer of the year and knocked in two runs. He joined the team on Aug. 29 after the Dodgers released him.
He’s batting .300 in September.
“It’s nice to have a job with a team competing to win and wanting to win a World Series,” he said. “That really does make a difference because that is hard. It’s hard to be the last team standing. So it’s just nice to step into another clubhouse with that mentality, that mindset and experience.”
–Field Level Media
