The good news for the Padres is Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting the ball hard again. The bad news for the Padres is ... well, it's a lot.
The Friars split a doubleheader with the Giants in San Francisco, losing the first game 5-4 but taking the second one 6-5 with a truly unique (even in 2020) ending.
Chris Paddack started the first one and struggled, allowing three home runs in just 3.2 innings. It was not the kind of start the Padres needed to see from Paddack, especially given the uncertainty surrounding Mike Clevinger.
The crown jewel of the Padres trade deadline bonanza took a cortisone shot to try and help the irritation of his sprained pitching elbow. There's an outside chance he could be available for the Wild Card round. There was at least a modicum of comfort, though, knowing the Padres could rely on another ace.
Now Dinelson Lamet might not be healthy, either.
Lamet, who was battling with Trevor Bauer for the strikeout title, is in line to start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card series at Petco Park on Wednesday. He left the second half of the doubleheader in the 4th inning. Lamet threw a slider then called catcher Jason Castro out to the mound. Castro summoned the Padres coaching staff and Lamet left with a trainer.
Manager Jayce Tingler said Lamet was feeling tightness in his biceps area but the club is optimistic it's not a serious setback, but it's now possible that the Padres won't have either of their top two starters for the playoffs, meaning Paddack ... who was on the brink of making the roster for the first round of the playoffs ... might be a Game 1 or Game 2 option with Zach Davies taking the other start. If it goes to a Game 3, things will get extremely interesting but the Padres will cross that bridge if they get there.
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Lamet left with a 3-2 lead and was replaced by Emilio Pagan, who tossed 1.1 scoreless innings. The guy who struggled is the guy who hasn't struggled.
Drew Pomeranz, who hadn't allowed a single earned run all season, served up a 3-run home run to Wilmer Flores that gave the Giants a 5-3 lead.
If it's possible to find a silver lining in all this it's that Fernando Tatis Jr. seems to have gotten back to his MVP form and the Padres won with a walk-off in the Bay Area.
Tatis had a few hard outs before ripping an RBi single in the 9th inning of the first game (it cut the lead to 5-2 and the Padres nearly came back to win it). In the second game El Nino hit a mammoth 2-run home run to give the Friars a 3-1 lead, his 16th bomb of the year but the first since September 6 in Oakland.
Game 2 was a makeup game from a recent series in San Diego that was interrupted by a false COVID-19 test in the Giants organization so the Padres were designated the home team. With San Francisco leading 5-3 in the final inning Trent Grisham ripped a 3-run home run to give the Padres a 6-5 walkoff win in another team's ballpark.
The Padres have two more regular season games, then two days off, before hosting a post-season game for the first time since 2006.
