Can Soto's 5-hit game spark the Padres' turnaround?

SAN DIEGO -- First, a bit of perspective:

Each of the past three full-season pennant winners in the National League found themselves five games below .500 in June. The 2022 Phillies entered the month 22-29. The ‘21 Braves were 30-35 on June 16. Precisely four years ago today, Juan Soto’s Nationals visited Petco Park and fell to 28-35 when Padres catcher Austin Hedges hit a walk-off single against eventual playoff hero Sean Doolittle.

The lesson? It is eminently possible to come back from what feels like a dire situation in June to play for a World Series title.

Which brings us to these 2023 Padres. It’s June, and things have mostly felt dire around here. They’ve clearly underperformed the talent level of their roster, particularly on offense. San Diego entered play Wednesday at 28-33, five games below .500.

Then, with an emphatic 10-3 victory over Seattle at Petco Park, the Padres offered a reminder that maybe it’s OK to hold onto those dreams of October.

To be sure, the Padres have a long way to go -- 100 regular-season games, to be exact. A season ago, the final Wild Card spot in each league went to teams that won 87 and 86 games, respectively. With 100 games remaining, San Diego might need to approach 60 more wins to reach the postseason.

Based on the evidence of the first two months, that feels like a tall order. Based on historical precedent, when a team is talented enough, it’s doable.

On Wednesday afternoon, at least, these Padres sure looked talented enough. They pounded out 17 hits. Soto notched the first five-hit game of his career. Gary Sánchez hit his fourth home run since he joined San Diego on May 29. Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth and Matt Carpenter all had multihit games as well. On the mound, Michael Wacha turned in six scoreless innings.

“There’s 100 games left, that’s a lot of baseball,” said Padres manager Bob Melvin. “We have plenty of time to get where we want to go. We have to understand that, and our guys do understand that. It’s going to be more games like this. We have the ability -- offensively, defensively, pitching-wise -- to go on a roll.”

And yet, for whatever reason, they haven’t. In fact, the series finale was the latest in what's been a maddening roller coaster. The Padres have now alternated wins and losses for 10 straight games. In the past nine of those games, they've alternated between scoring five-plus runs and exactly one run.

It’s tempting to look at Wednesday’s breakout as a turning point. But the Padres have played this type of game before, and they haven’t yet been able to build on it. It’s been two weeks since they last won consecutive games and more than a month since they’ve won three straight.

“I mean, we have a great lineup,” Soto said. “We’ve just got to keep the confidence up there, try to go each at-bat, each pitch.”

For the first time since April, Melvin moved Soto back to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, and it paid dividends, with Soto setting the table for several big innings. He expertly used the entire field for his five-hit performance, and afterward was genuinely surprised to learn it was the first of his career.

“Couldn’t believe it,” Soto said. “But most impressive is the win we got today.”

It was Soto’s third-inning single that changed the complexion of the game. He’d fallen behind 0-2 to Mariners right-hander George Kirby. Then, Soto worked the count full, fouled off a pitch and shot a single down the left-field line. It was the first of five straight two-out hits by the Padres.

The biggest of those was Sánchez’s three-run homer, which broke the game open. Sánchez has been let go by the Mets and Giants already this season, and he is playing for his fifth organization in the span of two calendar years.

Suffice it to say, this is as comfortable as he’s looked. Sánchez has homered four times in his first nine games and has posted a 1.168 OPS.

“Obviously I’ve had my highs and lows,” Sánchez said. “But I’ve maintained my head high, and I’ve never really given up or quit. I really just attribute that to the hard work I’ve put in, trying to get back to who I know that I am.”

These Padres could find a lesson in that. They’ve had their highs and lows, too. Perhaps a few too many of the latter. But they have 100 games to change the narrative. And they wouldn’t be the first to do so.