San Diego looking for consistency after commanding opener win

TORONTO -- Not for the first time this season, the Padres began a series with renewed vigor. They arrived in Toronto this week vowing that it was time to reset, time to regroup, time to, at long last, put their wayward 2023 season on course.

Having lost three of four in Philadelphia, the Padres found themselves precariously close to exiting the playoff picture entirely. The Trade Deadline looms two weeks away, and what once seemed unthinkable suddenly feels like a possibility: San Diego as a seller approaching the Deadline.

But first thing’s first: The Padres have a chance to make their case otherwise. The club’s brass has made it clear it would love to near the Deadline as contenders looking to buy. But if San Diego wants to be buyers, it needs to play like a team worthy of that label.

It'll take more than one game, but Tuesday was at least a start. The Padres thumped the Blue Jays, 9-1, at Rogers Centre. Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Gary Sánchez and Trent Grisham all went deep. Joe Musgrove pitched six innings of one-run ball.

All in all, it was a tantalizing performance from a team that has delivered plenty of those this season -- and too often failed to back them up. (Take Friday night’s 8-3 win in Philadelphia, followed by three straight defeats, for example.)

“We’ve just got to be consistent,” said Soto, who finished 2-for-4 with a walk. “It’s been like that the whole year. We have games like this, then we come back and we don’t do anything. We’ve just got to keep the same pace every day. Just come to do the same thing.”

The Padres turned in a feisty offensive performance from the start, making Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah throw 41 pitches in the first inning. Every hitter worked a plate appearance of at least six pitches -- except for Xander Bogaerts, who walked on four.

It was Soto who put the Padres on the board. After Fernando Tatis Jr.’s one-out walk, Soto looked at a 2-2 changeup that appeared to be at the knees for strike three. Plate ump Malachi Moore ruled it ball two.

Lucky break? Maybe. But baseball is full of those. The Padres haven’t capitalized often enough this season. Their opponents have. Which made what happened next such a welcome sight: On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Soto smacked an opposite-field two-run homer into the first row in left-center. San Diego had an early lead, and Musgrove didn’t seem to mind the long wait.

“I’ll take the runs over a wait any day of the week,” said Musgrove. “Any time they give me an early lead, that gives me all the confidence in the world to go out there and really just attack.”

Musgrove battled a bout of adductor tightness prior to his start Tuesday, but he said he feels fine. Hard to argue after he threw 109 pitches, his highest pitch count since last August. He struck out seven and scattered five hits, all singles.

Quietly, Musgrove has reverted to the All-Star-caliber version of himself. After a slow start in which he dealt with injuries, Musgrove has now posted a 1.76 ERA across his past 10 starts.

“To get some consistency,” Musgrove said, “is the biggest thing.”

Meanwhile, the Padres continued to work Manoah, prompting his exit after three-plus innings. Once into Toronto's bullpen, Machado and Sánchez went deep in the fifth. Grisham hit a solo shot in the eighth, before San Diego tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth. Rookies Tom Cosgrove and Alek Jacob combined for three scoreless relief innings.

“It wasn’t so much about the runs early,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “It was about adding on a little bit later. And then: No drama at the end.”

The Padres would never quibble with a drama-free victory. Though, as Melvin later pointed out, it’s their record in close games that has landed them where they reside: five games below .500 at 45-50.

And that's a perilous position, with the Deadline fast approaching. Not that they’re paying too much attention to that landmark.

“We have a good team as is, we just haven’t performed very well,” Melvin said. “This team is good enough to do well in any scenario. I don’t get too caught up in that.”

Added Musgrove: “I mean, honestly, I don’t think a whole lot of guys in here have thought a lot about buying or selling. I feel like whether we buy or sell, we’re a really good team regardless.”