![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/standings_2e2bd0.png\")
<\/p>\n
There are 54 games remaining.<\/p>\n
Once the Padres get past Monday\u2019s trade deadline, there will be 50 games to go.<\/p>\n
They play the Diamondbacks four times in a series that begins just a few hours after the deadline. And after that \u2014 even I can do that math \u2014 there will be 46 games remaining.<\/p>\n
You get the point.<\/p>\n
There is time for more twists and turns.<\/p>\n
All their recent success suggests is that they should not be dismissed.<\/p>\n
Multiple winning streaks in a season are generally the purview of playoff teams.<\/p>\n
Of the 48 playoff teams in the four years since MLB expanded the postseason, 46 (96%) had at least two winning streaks of five games or more during the regular season.<\/p>\n
Of the 72 teams that did not make the playoffs in that span, 40 (56%) had at least two streaks that long.<\/p>\n
The Padres won eight in a row from April 8 to 16 and had not won more than four straight since. So this streak is something of a marker. It wasn\u2019t really anything more than that.<\/p>\n
Except maybe confirmation.<\/p>\n
Whatever happens at the trade deadline, the current Padres roster will still make up the core of the team the final eight weeks of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of ups and downs as a group, and the best thing we\u2019ve had is that we\u2019ve been pushing each other,\u201d Manny Machado said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve all been struggling as a group, and whenever you have a group doing that and pulling on the same rope, I think it helps. We can dig each other out of holes, and this group has been doing that all year. I think that\u2019s where you start seeing it as the days go by. We\u2019re striding forward and putting our best foot forward. It has been awesome to grind with these guys all year, and hopefully we\u2019ll continue doing that, put those first two months behind us, move forward, and finish off strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were a struggling team with really good, experienced players.<\/p>\n
They professed that they believed they would eventually come around. They have a long way to go. There will be more tests ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last two months of the year is when good teams separate themselves from teams hanging around,\u201d Mason Miller said. \u201cYou see it every single year. Teams that have a lot of talent, I think that\u2019s what the experience in this locker room offers. Guys have been around for a stretch and have seen what it has taken to play a complete six months of baseball, stay healthy and make the adjustments that need to be made. Whereas guys without lots of experience might kind of see themselves coasting to the finish line \u2014 not by effort, just by output.\u201d<\/p>\n
No illusion, no delusion<\/p>\n
Had the Padres not gained 2\u00bd games in the standings and moved ahead of four teams to the precipice of playoff position over the past five games, that probably would have pushed them toward being willing to offload multiple major league players.<\/p>\n
It appears almost everyone of import will be kept now \u2014 unless the Padres drop back a couple games in the standings over the next four days.<\/p>\n
The Padres expect to be buyers over the next four days leading up to Monday\u2019s 3 p.m. trade deadline, though one person familiar with their discussions explained the end result of being a buyer would likely involve some selling of major league parts.<\/p>\n
But this winning streak is not some sort of shiny fool\u2019s gold that will distract president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and make him think the Padres are better than he thought they were last week.<\/p>\n
He and his lieutenants felt like they had a good handle on what the team was going to need to become a legitimate playoff contender before the series in Miami began. Heck, before the second half began.<\/p>\n
Besides the gain in the standings, what is important is that it appears some pitchers are on the mend and that the offense is as well.<\/p>\n
It was important that Jackson Merrill and Machado have driven in or scored 16 of the Padres\u2019 27 runs during their winning streak. It is even more significant (provided more confidence in the legitimacy of this surge) that they both started heating up in the second week of June and have been scorching almost all of July.<\/p>\n
The Padres know they need starting pitching and could use a left-handed-hitting outfielder and perhaps another back-end reliever.<\/p>\n
But they were never going to win as much as they need to going forward without Merrill and Machado being who they are supposed to be.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mmproduction.png\")
<\/p>\n
Big piece<\/p>\n
Kyle Hart\u2019s second half began with one of the better blown saves a middle reliever could have.<\/p>\n
On July 17 at Kansas City, he took the loss when he allowed four runs in the 10th inning on four singles \u2014 the hardest of them hit at 73.2 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost the game,\u201d Hart said yesterday. \u201cYou can say all you want about how weak the contact was, but we had a three-run lead and we lost coming out of the break. That took a lot out of me because I knew how big of a start that would have been for us. But I felt like I threw the ball well that night. It didn\u2019t go our way, but I feel like there\u2019s been a continuation of that going forward over the last week or two.\u201d<\/p>\n
In four appearances since then, the left-hander has turned in 6\u2154 scoreless innings. That includes his getting two outs deep in the third inning after starting yesterday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
Hart\u2019s versatility \u2014 he has reverse splits, allowing a .197 batting average and .568 OPS to right-handed batters and .239 average and .782 OPS to lefties \u2014 is part of what makes him a lynchpin in the Padres\u2019 current pitching plan.<\/p>\n
His previous appearance saw him take over for Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez with one out in the third inning and get the next six outs on Friday. The day before that, he threw one inning as the opener for Griffin Canning. And on July 20, he worked the eighth inning in a game the Padres trailed by a run.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, Craig has had some different thoughts in mind for my role,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI definitely feel comfortable early. I feel comfortable in that mid-leverage role and even in that high-leverage situation in Kansas City, I felt good. I\u2019m just coming in and executing to the best of my ability whenever Craig wants me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Use him, not lose him<\/p>\n
Miller acknowledged last week<\/a> that he was rusty from lack of use and said he badly wanted to pitch more.<\/p>\n The Padres have not had to manufacture ways to get him in games since.<\/p>\n And he is clearly he has knocked the rust off.<\/p>\n Another 1-2-3 inning yesterday kept him perfect over his four outings in the past five games. He has retired those 12 batters in a total of 52 pitches. And that is with seven of those outs being strikeouts.<\/p>\n \u201cStuff is sharper, body feels better,\u201d Miller said after earning his NL-leading 28th save.<\/p>\n Miller averaged 102.8 mph on his 10 four-seam fastballs yesterday. It was the second-highest average of his career and highest when throwing more than five four-seamers.<\/p>\n He has thrown a season-high five pitches at least 103 mph each of the past two days. On Tuesday, he reached 104 mph for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ball is coming out well, crisp,\u201d he said. \u201cMy body feels good, so everything is syncing up. I like where we\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Krasovic\u2019s column (here<\/a>) from yesterday\u2019s game recounts how the Padres covered nine innings, focusing on Canning\u2019s role and how dominant Miller was.<\/p>\n Kras said it would be \u201cinsane\u201d to trade Miller.<\/p>\n The Padres plan to go with two more all-staff games before Walker Buehler starts Friday and Michael King goes Sunday.<\/p>\n \u2018Jack\u2019 Cronenworth<\/p>\n Jake Cronenworth is batting .305 with a .374 on-base percentage in July, which has provided a significant boon to the Padres offense.<\/p>\n But yesterday was the kind of day that truly illustrated what the Padres value in him.<\/p>\n He was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt, scored a run and made one of the better plays a second baseman can make.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s capable of doing a lot of things,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cIs he the best at anything? You could argue he\u2019s pretty good at defense. He\u2019s pretty good at laying a bunt down. He\u2019s pretty good at hitting. He\u2019s pretty good at base stealing. He\u2019s pretty good at running. He\u2019s good at everything. He\u2019s a jack of all trades. That is a good player to have on a baseball team, because we\u2019ve got a lot of other players that are very exceptional at specific things, and he kind of rounds it all out together with being able to do all the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n On the spectacular play he made, which got the second out of the first inning, Cronenworth was playing shaded toward the bag on a ball Cole Carrigg hit over Hart that bounced to the shortstop side of second and onto the grass. After a run of about 10 feet and a dive, Cronenworth stopped the ball, picked it up off the grass and while still on a knee and leaning toward third base slung a throw across his body to Ty France at first base.<\/p>\n \u201cOff the bat, when I was kind of sizing it up, I figured he might get to the ball,\u201d Hart said. \u201cBut with how fast Carrigg is and the position he found himself in on the ground, I didn\u2019t expect him to be able to get a throw off. That was the fascinating part to me, was the throw.\u201d<\/p>\n You can’t hit it in the Crone Zone \u274c pic.twitter.com\/ull4BMEqWZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MLB (@MLB) July 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n Reliever Jeremiah Estrada was activated off the injured list, where had been for nearly two months due to knee inflammation. The right-hander walked the first batter he faced in the eighth inning before striking out the side. To make room for Estrada on the active roster, Matt Waldron was designated for assignment. You can read about that (here<\/a>) in Jeff Sanders\u2019 game preview. All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n Talk to you tomorrow.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miller730.png\")
<\/p>\n
\nYesterday, Xander Bogaerts made an error for a second consecutive game, a third time in four games and fourth time in 10 games. Before this rough patch, Bogaerts had the highest fielding percentage of any qualifying shortstop in the major leagues this season.
\nAnnie Heilbrunn wrote (here<\/a>) about what Miller and Adrian Morej\u00f3n are thinking as their names have been among those most mentioned in trade rumors.
\nMachado was 1-for-4 yesterday and is batting .338 with a .412 OBP during a 19-game on-base streak.
\nTy France was 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch yesterday. He has at least one hit in 15 of the past 16 games, a span in which he is batting .387 with five doubles and six home runs.
\nFernando Tatis Jr. extended his hit streak to six at-bats with a double in yesterday\u2019s first inning. It was the fourth time in his career he had a streak at least that long. He hit in seven consecutive at-bats in 2019 and in eight straight in 2024.
\nYesterday was just the second time in the past 19 games the Padres never trailed.<\/p>\n