Padres take care of business vs. Sox, turn sights to clinching berth

SAN DIEGO -- If there’s going to be a dogpile on the pristine Petco Park lawn this year, it’s going to have to wait until October. Which isn’t to say the Padres can’t clinch before their final road trip of the 2024 regular season.

The Padres’ 6-2 victory over the White Sox on Saturday night at Petco Park kept alive the possibility the team could clinch a postseason spot on Sunday. The following scenario must happen:

• The Padres win to complete a sweep and hand Chicago its record-tying 120th loss of the season.
• The Braves and Mets both lose.

“We’re not talking about down the road,” veteran Xander Bogaerts said. “What we’ve been talking about down the road is pretty much right there. It’s right in front of us. We’ve got to come in here and take care of business.”

Thing is, the Mets play the final game on the MLB schedule on Sunday. They face the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball, meaning that even if the Padres take care of business in their home finale, they won’t know for some time after their game concludes whether they’re officially in the playoffs.

• Complete coverage: Padres' clinch scenarios, tiebreakers, key games and more

In the NL Wild Card race, the Padres have a three-game lead on the Mets, who hold the final playoff spot. The Braves are another two games back, but they also have three games left against the Mets, complicating the clinch scenario.

Meanwhile, the Padres moved within three games of the Dodgers in the NL West standings. With a three-game series at Dodger Stadium starting Tuesday, the Padres could take the division title by winning the seven games ahead, no matter what the Dodgers do in their other games. (The Padres hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, having clinched the season series.)

These are details for the here and now. The Padres, at this point, have bigger goals than simply qualifying for the postseason. Their goals involve playing baseball in late October/early November.

With each day, they continue to demonstrate on the field that World Series aspirations are reasonable. They downed the White Sox with stellar starting pitching from Martín Pérez (5 1/3 innings of two-hit ball, six strikeouts) and home runs from Bogaerts, David Peralta and Elias Díaz to improve to an MLB-best 39-17 since the All-Star break.

“We’re not done yet,” Pérez said. “We’ve got to finish it off and go on to the playoffs.”

Perhaps it’s fitting those four were central players in the Friars’ latest victory. Pérez, Peralta and Díaz weren’t on the team to start the year, and Bogaerts endured an excruciatingly slow start before a long stint on the injured list with a left shoulder fracture.

But the 2024 Padres who are zooming into October only slightly resemble the team that opened the season in mid-March in Korea. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller never stopped building a roster.

Ace pitcher Dylan Cease arrived on the eve of that trip to Korea. Two-time batting champ Luis Arraez joined the team in May, as did veteran backups Donovan Solano and Peralta.

Preller addressed a couple lingering weaknesses before the Trade Deadline. Pérez provided rotation depth. Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing shored up the bullpen. As late as this month, the Padres were still adding, as Díaz joined the squad to share catching duties.

Scott earned a five-out save vs. the Sox, though closer Robert Suarez was warming as the game ended.

How have the Padres jelled while undergoing continual renovation?

“A lot of it goes back to injuries,” Bogaerts said. “A couple of guys got injured, and other guys got opportunities to play and prove themselves. And they’ve been doing a really good job.”

Bogaerts himself falls in that category, in a way. With regular shortstop Ha-Seong Kim’s shoulder injury slow to heal, manager Mike Shildt moved Bogaerts back to the left side of the infield for the stretch run. There have been hiccups, including errors in back-to-back games this week.

But on Saturday, Bogaerts’ defense contributed to the victory. In the second inning, he ranged to the right of second base and dove for a ball for a highlight play. In the eighth, he charged a dribbler and backhanded it at the edge of the grass before making an accurate, off-balance throw to first.

“I think he’s been tremendous,” Shildt said. “He’s really gotten back to it. There have been a couple balls -- he’s human. But he made some really nice plays tonight. He’s getting that rhythm, getting comfortable again on the left side.”