Higashioka (GS, 6 RBIs) helps Padres sweep, make playoff case

SAN DIEGO -- Here come the Padres.

The first half of the 2024 season featured its share of ups and downs in San Diego. There were moments the Padres seemed ready to take off -- and never quite did. There were moments the Padres seemed destined to crater -- and never quite did.

Through it all, the cluttered, wide-open nature of the National League playoff picture afforded them some wiggle room. The Padres were a .500 team entering their series against Washington this week. That was hardly disqualifying. More than half the league found itself in a similar position -- fighting for one of the final two Wild Card spots without seriously staking any claim.

With that backdrop, the Nationals visited Petco Park for a three-game series, trailing the Padres by half a game for the final NL playoff spot. Three days later -- after a wild comeback on Monday, a benches-clearing incident on Tuesday (followed by Jurickson Profar’s statement grand slam) and an emphatic 8-5 San Diego victory on Wednesday -- the Padres have staked their claim.

Yes, it’s June. Yes, there are three months of baseball still to be played. Yes, the Padres have tantalized and underwhelmed before. But if there are two available places in the NL Wild Card race, one of them might just be the Padres’ to lose.

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San Diego capped its sweep of the Nationals with a thorough display of dominance on Wednesday afternoon. Catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a pair of home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam. His batterymate, Dylan Cease, was borderline untouchable, working seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing one hit.

“It was great,” Cease said of the Padres’ 6-1 homestand. “We came out punching every game. Even if we got down, the offense came back. Two really great series.”

“The best stretch of games we've had all year,” added second baseman Jake Cronenworth.

Make no mistake, the Padres’ position is still precarious. They don’t have the luxury of the Phillies, Dodgers and Brewers, each of whom has built a sizable division lead. Even the Braves, at the top of the Wild Card picture, have some leeway. The Padres, meanwhile, have proven already that their season can swing in the other direction -- and fast.

The roster has question marks, too, most of them injury-related. Yu Darvish, scheduled to start Tuesday, had his return from the injured list pushed back due to inflammation in his right elbow. Joe Musgrove has been dealing with the same issue for most of the season. Neither has pitched since May. Rotation help might be required ahead of the Trade Deadline.

On Monday, the Padres announced Fernando Tatis Jr. had sustained a stress reaction in the femur bone in his right leg. The timetable for his return is murky, but it won’t come until after the All-Star break. He joined Xander Bogaerts (left shoulder fracture) on the IL.

All of which makes the Padres’ path significantly more challenging. Then again, San Diego is hardly the only playoff contender with injury issues. None of those players has been ruled out for the season. It’s possible the full contingent of superstars is available for the stretch run. The Padres simply need to steady the ship until then.

“We’re going to figure it out,” said manager Mike Shildt. “I talk about it fairly often: Winners find solutions. It’s something we’ve been able to do for the most part all year. We’ve had some adversity. You’re going to have adversity in this game. … No one’s going to feel sorry for us. You’ve got to step up, play the games.”

So far, so good. Tatis landed on the IL on the same day Darvish was scratched from his scheduled Tuesday start. The Padres’ response couldn’t have been any better: They won the next three games they played, against a team chasing them in the Wild Card race.

“That just speaks to the character of the guys,” Higashioka said. “No matter what adversity we’re going to face, I think we’ve shown in the first half that we’re up for the task.”

Profar, always at the center of everything, has emerged as a stabilizing force, even as he plays through patellar tendinitis in his left knee. Manny Machado, dealing with a right hip flexor strain, homered after Profar was plunked on Tuesday and pounded out two more hits on Wednesday. Higashioka, meanwhile, has done nothing but mash since starting catcher Luis Campusano landed on the IL with a left thumb bruise.

Perhaps these Padres are proving they can endure.