New-look Padres head home on a roll

The Padres’ road trip began 10 days ago with a monster night from Ty France. It ended on Sunday with Trevor Rosenthal pumping 99 mph gas.

A 5-3 victory over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum capped an eventful and hugely successful trip for the Padres, who will return home with a noticeably different roster than the one they left town with. They went 6-3 across three series and sit eight games above .500 with three weeks to play.

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“No matter what happened today, it was going to be a good road trip,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “But being able to win this series and finish on a winning note and go 6-3 on the road trip -- with the Trade Deadline going on -- I guess in short: It’s a great way to finish.”

Garrett Richards worked seven innings of three-run ball on Sunday, and Fernando Tatis Jr. launched his 15th home run of the season, as San Diego moved 4 1/2 games ahead of Colorado for the second automatic playoff spot in the National League West.

The Padres can put a further dent in their quest to end their 14-year playoff drought this week. The Rockies and Giants -- the teams directly behind them in the standings -- visit Petco Park. Here’s a look at three pressing Padres questions for the final three weeks:

Who's in the rotation?

If the Padres reach the postseason, their rotation is probably going to look quite a bit different than what they’d envisioned at the start of the season. For one, Mike Clevinger is on board as the biggest prize of their 10-player Trade Deadline haul. Clevinger is presumably their Game 1 starter.

Behind him, Chris Paddack has fallen into a sophomore slump, and it’s worth asking where his place is on a potential postseason roster. Dinelson Lamet and Zach Davies are both in the midst of breakout seasons, and they seem more likely to start Games 2 and 3 in the three-game Wild Card Series.

Then there’s Richards, who made a strong case of his own on Sunday afternoon. Richards endured consecutive poor starts in which he didn’t pitch past the second inning last month. But he’s bouncing back nicely.

Richards was called upon to make a spot start on short rest Monday, and he pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Six days later, he stifled the A’s with a season-high nine strikeouts. Richards said the issue was mental.

“My stuff’s still the same,” Richards said. “I’m not out there featuring different stuff. I’ve always thrown mid-90s, I’ve always had a slider, and I’ve always had a curveball. For me, it was a mind thing. ... I made the game harder than it was.”

What's the right bench mix?

First order of business: Get Tommy Pham healthy. The veteran left fielder has been taking swings and getting live reads during bullpen sessions. But he’s yet to face live pitching as he eyes a return from surgery to address a broken hamate bone in his left hand.

Even without Pham, the Padres went a long way toward getting better around the edges offensively during the road trip. They traded for Jason Castro, Austin Nola, Mitch Moreland and Greg Allen. Moreland is off to a slow start, but the other three have already provided some important contributions.

“Knowing these guys, knowing their personalities and their drive to win, I’m not surprised at all at how quick everyone has jelled,” Tingler said.

When Pham returns, the Padres will, at long last, have the pieces for a complete starting lineup. The biggest questions for a potential postseason roster come on the bench.

With 28-man rosters, the Padres will have room for specialists. They might carry a third catcher like Luis Campusano (should he return from the IL). They might carry a defensive replacement like Allen. They might carry a stolen-base threat like Jorge Mateo.

The last three weeks will go a long way toward deciding those roles. But the Padres clearly have options.

“We were good before these guys got here,” said Richards, when asked to assess the team’s busy week on the trade front. “We’re looking at it like: We’re getting some guys that are going to help us be even better. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Awards drought over?

It’s been 10 years since any Padre has taken home a major award. This year, they have contenders in all four categories.

Tatis continued solidifying his MVP credentials on Sunday afternoon, reaching base three times. Meanwhile, Jake Cronenworth continued his NL Rookie of the Year push, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Right now, Tatis and Cronenworth are obvious frontrunners for those two prizes.

“It’s an incredible honor even to be mentioned in that conversation,” Cronenworth said.

Tingler should merit consideration for top manager, too, considering the Padres’ drastic turnaround. They finished last season 22 games below .500. Sure, they’ve overhauled the roster -- and Tingler is the first to redirect the spotlight to his players. But the award almost always goes to a skipper from a contender, and generally one who has helmed a turnaround like this.

The Cy Young Award is the Padres’ only long shot, considering the dazzling seasons from Jacob deGrom in New York and Yu Darvish in Chicago. But if they falter down the stretch, that race could break wide open. Davies and Lamet have at least four more starts to throw their names into the mix.