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.