BALTIMORE -- The Padres picked quite a time to be playing their best baseball of the season.

The Trade Deadline looms on Tuesday (3 p.m. PT), and there’s no longer any doubt about their status as postseason contenders -- or their status as Deadline buyers. With a 9-4 victory over Baltimore on Saturday afternoon at Camden Yards, the Padres extended their season-long winning streak to seven games and moved a season-high seven games above .500.

Really, their biggest trade-related question is: How much of an upgrade does this roster need? Right now, it’s firing on all cylinders.

Michael King pitched 6 1/3 dominant innings, allowing two runs (both of which scored after his departure). He’s posted a 1.82 ERA across his past four starts -- and he’s been the Padres’ second-best starting pitcher in that span. Behind King and Dylan Cease, the entire rotation is thriving. In eight games since the All-Star break, Padres starters have a 1.44 ERA.

“Hey, if Cease is throwing no-hitters, we’ve all got to go out there and compete with him,” King said.

The offense? Same deal. The Padres are getting production up and down their lineup.

Xander Bogaerts hit two doubles and a triple on Saturday afternoon, and he’s hitting .512 since his return from the injured list. Manny Machado, back where his career began, launched a three-run homer in the seventh, accounting for his 998th, 999th and 1,000th career RBIs.

“Doing it where it all started,” Machado said. “I got my first one here. And I got my thousandth here -- it’s crazy.”

Before the Deadline, the Padres have one game left on their road trip. But it’s already an unmitigated success.

Look for San Diego to add at least one relief pitcher in the coming days. There are question marks at the back end of the rotation, too. Another outfield/bench bat couldn’t hurt. Still, based on recent evidence, the Padres feel their current 26-man group is a strong one.

“We can compete with anybody,” King said. “We’ve just got to continue to hold ourselves accountable to that level of play.”

The Padres have made light work of a trip that once appeared daunting. They’ve won series against the two best teams in the American League -- Cleveland last weekend and now Baltimore. In between, they swept the Nationals.

“It’s starting pitching and relentless at-bats, one through nine, regardless of who we’re facing,” said manager Mike Shildt. “And, again, we’re playing clean baseball.”

The Orioles sure didn’t on Saturday. Their defense presented the Padres with four early runs, the first two of which scored when shortstop Gunnar Henderson and third baseman Ramón Urías collided, going after a routine pop-up. Further miscues by Urías and Henderson led to the next two runs as well.

In a way, that’s how it’s gone for the Padres lately. They’ve gotten some breaks. They’ve gotten some bounces. They’ve also capitalized on nearly all of them, and in the top of the seventh inning, Machado left no doubt. He swatted an opposite-field three-run blast to right-center, giving the Padres a 7-0 lead.

“That,” Shildt said, “was a big-boy swing.”

In the hitter’s meeting prior to the series, Machado stressed that right-center field served as the ballpark’s power alley. Then, he used that alley. Machado, of course, would know, having called Camden Yards home for parts of seven seasons.

In 2019, Machado returned to Baltimore during his first season with the Padres. He homered then, too, but hasn’t been back since.

“This is close to my heart,” Machado said. “Always going to be good memories and always good to come back. … When I came here in ‘19 it was a little too quick. I didn’t really have time to process it.”

Machado seems to be enjoying himself this time around. And why wouldn’t he? With Saturday's win, the Padres sit just behind the Braves by a minuscule percentage point for the top Wild Card spot. They’re presently closer to hosting a Wild Card Series than they are to missing the postseason.

And if you’re the type who likes to peek at the National League West standings … the gap to the first-place Dodgers shrunk to six games as of Saturday’s final out. Los Angeles visits Petco Park for two games this week beginning Tuesday.

With first pitch shortly after the Deadline, it’s worth wondering what the Padres’ roster might look like then. It’s a pretty good one already -- and maybe about to get better.