The San Diego Padres’ underwhelming summer continued on Monday night when the team lost a 6-5 heartbreaker on the road to the Colorado Rockies.
The defeat marked the Padres’ fifth loss in six contests, and to make matters worse, all of the games in that span have come against losing teams.
Needless to say, frustrations are boiling over for many folks in San Diego.
MLB is likely rooting hard for the Padres to turn things around.
We’ll talk about why in just a minute.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at where the team stands in the playoff picture.
Still On The Right Side Of The Bubble
The Padres would still make the playoffs if the season ended today.
The team currently holds a one-and-a-half-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
That’s far from a comfortable margin, but it feels a whole lot better to be on the right side of the bubble versus the wrong side.
The race figures to be a close one for the remainder of the season.
The Reds have a ridiculous amount of talent, and it seems like you simply can’t count that club out.
Plus, Cincinnati is playing with house money.
The Padres might have been playing with house money at the start of the season, but expectations have changed.
After their dominant start to the year, fans bought stock in San Diego.
Therefore, the Padres’ season would be regarded as a massive disappointment if it didn’t end with a playoff bid.
Why It Would Be Awful For Baseball If Padres Missed Playoffs
The Padres are arguably the most exciting team in the Majors.
Their roster features tons of rising stars, and they play a brand of baseball that appeals to almost everyone.
At the end of the day, MLB fans want to see players like Fernando Tatis Jr. in the postseason.
That’s how the game grows.
The 22-year-old is the most exciting player on the most exciting team in baseball.
He is batting .299 on the year with league-bests in slugging (.673), OPS (1.050), OPS+ (186), home runs (33), and stolen bases (23).
He also has a 5.4 WAR, and he figures to be a major factor in the NL MVP race.
Fernando Tatis Jr. came back like yeah that MVP is mine hope you guys didn’t forget pic.twitter.com/Lcex5PMOCw
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 15, 2021
The youngster is the whole package.
It’s not just Tatis, though.
The Padres play with an infectious level of energy, starting on the field and carrying over into the dugout with their endless shenanigans (i.e. the swag chain).
GIVE THAT MAN THE SWAGG CHAIN! TRENT GRISHAM TIES IT WITH TWO OUTS IN THE 9TH! 🤯#HungryForMore | @Padres pic.twitter.com/bz4dF1fBCT
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) August 17, 2021
Baseball needs fun teams, and San Diego epitomizes that.
It would be a shame to see the team sitting at home in October.
Wrap-Up
The Padres’ schedule is going to get very tough from here on out.
If they want to prove that they belong in the postseason, they’re going to have to take care of business against some of the league’s best teams.
Taking a series from the Philadelphia Phillies or the Los Angeles Dodgers (the two teams next up for San Diego) could go a long way for the Padres’ mojo and confidence.
That seems like a really good place to start.
NEXT: Injuries Starting To Catch Up With Padres At Worst Possible Time