Padres gearing up for 'fun September' as August grind nears end

ST. LOUIS -- The Padres are almost there. Monday is Labor Day, the unofficial start of the stretch run in the baseball season -- and that sentiment rings particularly true for these 2024 Padres.

They're in the midst of a grueling stretch with 18 games in 18 days that ends Monday. So far, San Diego has mostly been able to withstand the grind, going 7-7 through the first 14 of those games, following Thursday afternoon’s 4-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

"It's the hardest part of the season, these last two weeks of August -- especially with the schedule we have," third baseman Manny Machado told reporters at the outset of a four-game split in the brutal St. Louis heat.

Sure, the Padres would prefer to have played better than .500 ball in this stretch. In doing so, they've lost ground on the red-hot Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the National League West race.

But manager Mike Shildt has, in the past, alluded to "schedule wins" -- games in which his bullpen has been particularly fresh or his starter has been able to go deep, because of the way the schedule lined up.

The counter to that -- which Shildt would never say out loud -- is that there must also be "schedule losses." And these past couple weeks have been brutal on San Diego’s rotation and 'pen. So while 7-7 isn't ideal, it's certainly better than some of the alternatives.

Not to mention, the Padres still own the sport’s second-best record since the All-Star break, at 26-11. They’ve earned themselves some leeway.

“I’m super proud of what we’ve done since the All-Star break,” said right-hander Michael King, who allowed two unearned runs across 4 1/3 innings in the series finale. “We were kind of hanging on in the Wild Card for a long time.

“Then, obviously the Diamondbacks have gotten really hot, and we’ve stayed just as hot as them. So it’ll be a very fun month of September. I know we’re ready for it.”

Indeed, September ought to be a different story. After Thursday's finale, the Padres made the trip to Tropicana Field for the first time since 2016. They’ll play a weekend series against the Rays, before a Labor Day tilt against the Tigers at Petco Park.

And then, finally, an off-day. An exhale. A chance to reset.

What follows is the fun part. The Padres only need to get there first.

“They’re all getting after it,” Shildt said. “But those everyday guys are carrying that lunch pail pretty darn well.”

The September calendar lines up more favorably. Across the final 27 days of the regular season, the Padres have five off-days. Although they currently trail both the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the West, they’ll play both during the final week of the season -- meaning it’s only necessary they stay within striking distance.

Of course, there are other reasons the Padres should be optimistic about September. Fernando Tatis Jr. is currently at the team’s Spring Training complex in Peoria, Ariz., taking at-bats against live pitching every day. He could be on track to return next week.

Yu Darvish, meanwhile, has been activated from the restricted list but he remains on the injured list (left groin strain) and is building his way back toward a return. He threw three innings in a simulated game setting on Sunday in San Diego. The next step will be a four-inning start in Peoria. If all goes well, he should rejoin the rotation by mid-September.

Ha-Seong Kim hasn’t been absent nearly as long, but he’ll be back soon enough as well. The Padres are getting healthier, and their schedule is easing up at just the right time. Plus, on Sunday, rosters will expand to 28 players, giving Shildt another bench option and another bullpen option.

Down the stretch, San Diego will be able to manipulate its pitching staff in ways the club just couldn’t during its current stretch of 18 games in 18 days.

King, in his first full season as a starter, could use the extra time between starts, too. In a way, he’s the only Padre who has already made it through that stretch. He won’t pitch again until after Tuesday’s off-day.

“Everybody calls it angry August, because you’re not in that playoff push yet,” King said. “Everybody always looks forward to September, because now it’s crunch time. Then, us having to go 18 in a row at the end of August -- it’s a little test of our endurance.

“But I think, like I said, it’ll be a very fun September.”