Padres pull even with Dodgers in NL West, claiming latest share of first place since 2010

New York Times

15 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — The Padres no longer loom in the rearview mirror. They are hurtling toward October, now abreast with the defending World Series champions.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers were walked off for a third consecutive loss, the Padres kept surging Tuesday. They beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-1, to win a fifth straight series and move into a tie atop the National League West.
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In a vacuum, that might not mean much. It's Aug. 12. But there is this, too: It's the first time San Diego (68-52) has held at least a share of first place after any All-Star break since 2010. And with a pair of weekend series coming up against Los Angeles, the Padres will soon have the opportunity to speed past the Dodgers.
So far, San Diego's stars and supporting players have aligned in what could go down as a second half to remember. A secondary drought ended in Tuesday's second inning when Jose Iglesias sent a long fly ball to left. That gave the Padres a lead they would not yield. It also gave Iglesias, the veteran reserve infielder, his first home run in 269 at-bats.
The two-run drive, which bounced off the top of Oracle Park's outfield wall, was representative of a collective reversal of fortune — and, more importantly, production.
Before the Padres acquired Ramón Laureano, Ryan O'Hearn and Freddy Fermin on July 31, the team ranked last in the majors with a .584 on-base plus slugging percentage from the seventh through ninth spots in the lineup. Since the trade deadline, the bottom third of the order has shaped up.
'If you're going to win a championship, you can't have really any weak links,' A.J. Preller, San Diego's president of baseball operations, said on a deadline day in which he shipped out 14 young players and brought in six big leaguers.
'We know that the pressure is on other teams just with the bullpen we have,' left fielder Gavin Sheets said after Monday's series-opening win against the Giants. 'And I think that when you use a bullpen like that as a weapon, and then you have a really deep lineup, it just puts a lot of pressure on the other team.'
Sheets, an everyday player before the trade deadline, spoke after providing two hits in his first start in a week.
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'Guy's a gamer,' center fielder Jackson Merrill said. 'He's been playing out of his mind all year. He's been a great human being, too. So, I'm just happy to see him in there again, and obviously, he comes through usually when he's in the lineup.'
A day later, Sheets returned to the bench as other players started the Padres' latest complete performance.
Deadline addition Nestor Cortes tossed 4 2/3 innings, holding the Giants to their lone run. Standout rookie David Morgan, All-Star setup man Jason Adam, All-Star setup man Adrian Morejon and All-Star closer Robert Suarez combined to record the final 13 outs.
On offense, Laureano singled ahead of Iglesias' home run. The newcomer doubled in his next at bat, stole third base and scored on a single by Jake Cronenworth. Merrill, who struck out in each of his first two at-bats, doubled his next time up and homered in the eighth. The Padres, in all, collected 10 hits, and later that night, a share of first-place.
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