The Padres can take comfort in knowing they still lead the race for the third wild card that Major League Baseball adopted this year, despite their offense stinking up Petco Park once again Monday afternoon in a 5-0 loss to a loose Diamondbacks team.
With 26 games left, the Padres are tied with the Phillies for the second wild card and hold both a two-game lead and the tiebreaker on the Brewers. Their rotation that boasts three healthy standouts in Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell looms as a strength, and breathing becomes easier so long as Manny Machado continues to provide the best season of any National Leaguer other than Paul Goldschmidt.
This team can count on other constants, notably Juan Soto's ability to draw walks, and the sturdy middle-infield defense of Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth (provided Kim's sore knee and late-season fatigue can be managed).
