The San Diego Padres were absolutely staring down the barrel after a brutal road trip, right? Their backs were totally against the wall, especially after squandering chances to put some distance between themselves and the other Wild Card hopefuls. It was all on them to crush this home stand at Petco Park to stay in contention for a playoff spot. Good thing their home/road split has been a story all season long because, let’s be real, this team is not a good road team. Their 32-39 road record, seven games under .500, is pretty rough, the worst for any winning squad besides the Chicago White Sox. Even the Pirates, another winning team, are only three games under on the road.
Petco Power and Pitching Pains
During this crucial home stretch, facing off against the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals, the Friars stepped up big time. They took two out of three from the Yankees, then swept a three-game series against the Nats. Going 5-1 over that set was exactly what they needed to keep pace with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also played solid ball last week. Just a bit ago, the Padres were 1.5 games behind Arizona in the Wild Card standings, but now they’ve battled back to lead by a half-game! That’s clutch. However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The offense has been notoriously streaky, suffering through several long slumps. And let’s not forget the frustration from fans, who’ve even been booing the team at times over the past month. That’s especially true when some of the newly acquired starters, like Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, have really struggled in multiple starts since coming over. Everyone was hoping for a boost at the trade deadline, but the combo of the streaky offense and issues with the rotation has definitely kept this team from reaching their initial season expectations.
Campusano’s Comeback Story
While some guys have struggled, one player has been an absolute bright spot: catcher Luis Campusano. He started the year as the primary backup to Freddie Fermin, and honestly, a lot of people were skeptical about manager Craig Stammen’s confidence in him. Campusano just hadn’t been valued by the two previous Padres managers. His focus was seen as inconsistent, his defense unreliable, and despite scouts always thinking he’d hit in the big leagues, those managers had zero confidence. But Stammen, who actually pitched to Campusano early in the catcher’s career, believed in him, and the new manager and his coaches put in the work to mentor and support the young backstop. Even after getting sidelined for a chunk of the middle season with injuries, Campusano has absolutely broken out in the second half. In his first 16 games of the season, he was crushing it, hitting .366 with a 1.178 OPS and 10 RBI. He missed most of May and all of June with a broken toe and an oblique injury. Coming back in July, he still hit .326 with an .869 OPS. After an August slump that saw him hit .250, his overall performance has been a huge reason this team is still fighting.
With Campusano raking and the team finding ways to win at home, the Padres are right where they need to be heading into the late season. Every game from here on out is massive. Let’s see if they can keep that Petco magic rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply