The San Diego Padres were tasked with playing in Atlanta this weekend, against the tough Braves.
They won three games, including a makeup game on Monday afternoon.
Slowly, but surely, the Padres are leaving behind a recent sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies and have been accumulating lots of wins in recent weeks.
In fact, they have a 11-6 record in their last 17 games according to the league’s official Twitter account.
That includes victories against the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Cincinnati Reds.
The Padres had a rather confusing offseason, but their recent Luis Arraez trade (for a few prospects) signaled their intentions: they want to compete this year and have a path for doing so.
In fact, they are doing it now: with a 25-24 record, they are second in the NL West behind the Dodgers and firmly in the race for a Wild Card spot.
If they want to have any chance at all, they ought to find a way to get Manny Machado going.
The former MVP candidate is hitting a poor .224/.279/.341 with a .620 OPS so far.
Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. have also been worse than expected, and the same can be said about pitcher Joe Musgrove.
If those players can offer at least a modest rebound, the Padres could seriously aspire for more.