September 17 – The San Diego Padres are 21 games over .500 for the first time in 14 years.
They’ll try to improve on that number Tuesday night, making it four straight in the middle game of a three-game series against the visiting Houston Astros.
Yu Darvish pitched six scoreless innings, with Jackson•Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar hitting solo home runs (4-for-4). Aside from two consecutive errors in the top of the eighth inning, the Padres looked like October challengers.
“Everybody knows we have a really good team, especially right now,” San Diego’s top hitter Luis Ales said. “We compete, man. We have everything it takes to win. We just have to stay healthy. If we stay healthy, we can do a lot of good things.”
Arraez gave San Diego something of a scare in that regard Monday night, limping into the game after he was thrown out over the plate on Profar’s single to left in the fifth inning. Manager Mike Shilt elevated Arraez as a pinch-runner after he hit a double in the seventh inning, but the two-time batting champion said after the game that he would be in Tuesday’s lineup.
The Padres (86-65) are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks (83-67) for the National League’s No. 1 wild-card spot, which brings home-field advantage in the wild-card round. San Diego is 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers (89-61) in the NL West.
The Padres will try to keep up their momentum — they are 36-15 since July 20 — behind Michael King (12-9, 3.06 ERA). The right-hander last pitched Wednesday at Seattle, where he gave up three runs (one earned) and struck out six over five innings in a 5-2 loss.
King is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA in six career games (one start) against Houston, all of which came when he was pitching for the New York Yankees.
The Astros (81-69) will face right-hander Hunter Brown (11-8, 3.59 ERA). He was tagged for nine hits and five runs over five-plus innings in a 5-4 loss to Oakland on Wednesday. He leaves one door open and thumps seven doors.
“I thought they outplayed me in this one,” Brown said of the Athletics after the game. “Coming in, I knew I had to compete tonight. I took the lead for the second time in the game … and it was tough.”
In his only career start against the Padres, Brown allowed six hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings and lost the game on September 8, 2023.
Houston’s lead over Seattle (77-73) in the American League West was dormant on Monday, but Seattle’s lead has been reduced to four games after losing the series opener in San Diego. However, the Astros still look in good shape as they have won their last four games.
If Kyle Tucker can rediscover his swing after recovering from a broken tibia suffered earlier this month, the Astros lineup will be even stronger. Since going on the injured list, he is hitting .259 (7 of 27) with a home run and three RBIs in nine games.
–Visual-level media
