Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres stay hot, taking series from Astros

SAN DIEGO – This is the San Diego Padres (62-57) team that most players and coaches have been waiting for and talking about all season.

Not only did they beat the Astros on Sunday 7-2 to take the three game series but it was one of the most complete games they've had all season and they've continued to stay red hot during their 14-9 stretch since the All-Star break and have four of the last seven series.  

There is still 43 games left on the schedule but if the Padres continue this type of play, they'll not only clinch a playoff spot, but there is chance they could be a dark house team to make a run in October. 

And taking on a team that is also turning it around at the right time (13-5 since July 20), it shows that they've turned a corner and are finally meeting their standards as a team that believes that they could make run. 

"It was a pretty good game for us," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "We've played a lot of games here lately that resembled that. That was probably the best version of that… Hopefully, it carries on as we keep going."  

Both teams started trading runs early on in the second inning. After Taylor Trammell's single, center fielder Daulton Varsho sends Randy Vásquez (8-6, 4.16 ERA) eighth pitch of the at-bat out to right center field for his eighth homer of the season. 

Continuing to stay hot, Jackson Merrill cut the deficit in half nine pitches later with his his 18th home run of the season off Cristain Javier (1-3, 6.68 ERA) . The Padres put two runners on base but were left stranded after Fernando Tatis Jr. flied out to center. 

Since July 18, Merrill is tied with CJ Abrams for the most homers in the league and he has scored a run in six consecutive games.  

Generally, the Padres have not hit a lot home runs with runners on base this season, but having already failed to do so back in the second inning, Tatis Jr. needed a swing to get his team back in the game.   

Following a pair of singles by Luis Rengifo and Freddy Fermin earlier in the fourth, Tatis Jr. got ahold of a low changeup from Javier and blasted it 421 ft out to left field for his 11th home run of the season and to give San Diego a 4-2 lead. 

After labeling the ball 110 mph off his bat, he stood there at the plate and admired the moment that he is historically so used to creating. 

"Amazing, beautiful," Tatis said. "That's what you dream of when you're a kid." 

Gavin Sheets, who hasn't homered since June 30, barreled home a four-seam fastball out to right field to extend the lead to 5-2 after his solo shot off reliever AJ Blubaugh. 

What's even crazier is that outfielder Austin Hays, who literally signed the afternoon before the game, pinched hit for Sheets in the eighth and displayed his veteran abilities by hitting a two-run homer out to left field. 

From the Padres perspective, everything is clicking; even their pitching. 

Last night Michael King allowed one earned run on three hits through six innings. Vásquez delivered in a big spot for San Diego, tossing another gem and has continued to improve over his last four starts.    

Vásquez was replaced before the start of the sixth inning after throwing 62 pitches (41 counted for as strikes). In five innings of work, Vásquez allowed two earned runs on two hits, no walks and a strikeout, and he ended his night retiring 10 batters in-a-row. 

Left-hander Kyle Hart entered the game and threw a seven pitch shutout inning. Bradgley Rodriguez replicated Hart's efficient inning with his own seven pitch frame in the seventh and a 10 pitch shutout in the eighth.

Relievers Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller had a very deserved day off after pitching in two of the last three games. The Padres turned to Jeremiah Estrada in the ninth and he continued the pitching's dominance on the mound. 

"Kyle Hart… is definitely someone we can rely on right now," Stammen said. "And Bradgley he's turned into one of the best relievers in all of baseball… And then Estrada, getting him back from the IL, he's a huge addition to our team. To be able to put somebody like that in the ninth inning without Mason Miller and feel pretty comfortable that we're going to get the job done." 

Following the two-run shot by Varsho in the second inning, the Padres retired 22 in-a-row and only allowed two hits. It is the 25th time that they've kept an opponent to 5 hits or fewer in a game and own a 19-6 record when doing so. 

With the Diamondbacks taking two of three against the Dodgers, they are still ahead of the Padres by a game for the last NL Wild Card spot. 

Tomorrow the Brewers head into town for a three game series, which will be a tough and true test to see where the Padres are at nearing the end of the season. On the mound, right-hander Casey Mize (4-7, 3.40 ERA) will look rebound after his rough Padres debut on Wednesday, and right-hander Logan Henderson (6-1, 2.70 ERA) will make his 11th start for Milwaukee.