The 38-24 San Diego Padres have caught the Los Angeles Dodgers (37-23) in the standings, without their best player.
The Dodgers and Padres are currently tied for first in the NL West 👀 pic.twitter.com/tJeNaThSGY
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 14, 2022
It seems hard to believe, yet here we are: San Diego could be a legit World Series contender if they can get the best version of Fernando Tatis Jr. back when he returns from a wrist injury.
The Dodgers still hold a minimal advantage in winning percentage (.617 to .613), but San Diego did what not many people thought they could do: have the same record as their arch rivals well into June.
Tatis has missed the whole 2022 season to this point with a fractured wrist that was reported and treated once he reported to spring training, but he suffered it much, much earlier in the offseason.
However, since teams couldn’t communicate with players due to the lockout, he had no way to tell the Padres about the ailment.
The Padres Have Managed To Overcome Adversity
Imagine being the Padres and learning that your best player would be out for about three months.
Instead of letting that single piece of news derail their season, the Padres worked hard to get the best out of their players and compete.
They are doing just that.
The pitching staff is the fifth-best in the league by ERA, with 3.27.
The rotation, in particular, has been awfully impressive with a 3.08 ERA, the third-best mark in the league.
Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, MacKenzie Gore, Sean Manaea, Nick Martinez, Mike Clevinger, and others have done an amazing job holding down the fort while Blake Snell was out with an injury.
Manny Machado, however, has been behind the resounding success that has been the Padres’ season so far.
He is hitting .322/.391/.530 with 10 homers and seven stolen bases, with his usual stellar defense at third.
Once Tatis and his 40-homer potential return to the lineup, this team could be scary.
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