Padres-Mariners series moved to San Diego
Doubleheader in San Francisco scheduled for Sept. 25
SAN DIEGO -- The Padres might clinch their first postseason berth in 14 years as the road team in their home ballpark.
San Diego's scheduled three-game series against the Mariners this weekend has been moved from Seattle to Petco Park, the league announced Thursday.
"Due to air quality concerns in Seattle and out of an abundance of caution, the scheduled series between the Padres and Mariners from September 18-20 has been moved to Petco Park in San Diego," a Padres statement said.
Game times will remain the same, meaning the weekend (and probable pitchers) looks like this:
Friday, 6:40 p.m. PT: Chris Paddack vs. Yusei Kikuchi
Saturday, 6:10 p.m. PT: Mike Clevinger vs. Justus Sheffield
Sunday, 1:10 p.m. PT: Dinelson Lamet vs. Justin Dunn
The Padres' magic number to wrap up a place in the postseason was three entering Thursday's games, meaning they needed at most three victories to clinch. They would also be aided by concurrent losses from teams at the fringe of the playoff picture, including the Rockies, Reds and Brewers.
In other scheduling news, the Padres will make up last weekend's postponement against the Giants on Sept. 25 in a doubleheader in San Francisco.
Game 1 will begin at 4:10 p.m. PT, moved from its original 6:45 p.m. start time, and Game 2 will take place immediately afterward. Because the Padres were originally the home team in the game that was postponed, they will be the home team for Game 2 of the doubleheader.
The Padres currently have Clevinger, Lamet and Zach Davies in line to start next weekend in San Francisco. That would put them on track to start the three games of the Wild Card Series, Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
It's unclear who the Padres would call upon to start the other game of the Sept. 25 doubleheader. But they expect to have secured a playoff berth and home-field advantage by then.