SAN DIEGO — Winners of 22 of 28 games, the San Diego Padres have acquired an air of inevitability amid one of the best regular-season stretches in franchise history. Consider what left fielder Jurickson Profar said late Tuesday after hitting a decisive three-run homer in a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins that marked San Diego’s 32nd comeback win in an increasingly charmed season.
Two pitches before his go-ahead swing — with two on, no outs and the Padres trailing by two — Profar had shown bunt before pulling back on a fastball well outside the strike zone. Had it not missed, would he have really tried to bunt?
“Yes,” Profar said. “I would bunt.”
Considering what happened next, was he glad the first pitch had been a ball?
“No,” Profar said. “I’m Profar. And Profar play really good baseball. So, if I bunted, I will be safe, 100 percent, and it’s going to be bases loaded, no outs for Jake Cronenworth. Yes.”
Perhaps. Or, maybe, yes indeed. The Padres seem to do little wrong these days — at least when it matters most. Monday, they rebounded from their first series loss since the All-Star break on the broad shoulders of 21-year-old rookie Jackson Merrill. Tuesday, they lassoed their ninth series win in 10 tries with the blend of magic and resilience that has come to define the majors’ hottest team across the past month.
That one went very ProFAR 😉 pic.twitter.com/OTnQ8snrgJ
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 21, 2024
Down two runs in the top of the seventh, they got a tying home run from third baseman Manny Machado.
In the bottom of the inning, setup man Tanner Scott surrendered a rare multi-run hit. On the same play, Profar made an athletic, on-the-move throw from left to cut down a runner at third. A pitch later, Scott fielded a bunt attempt and fired to first to end the inning without further damage.
Then, up came Profar in the eighth. A career-high-tying home run ensued. And afterward, his self-assuredness remained fully intact.
“I was with (Michael) King,” Padres starter Martín Pérez said. “And Profar was trying to bunt, and we said, ‘No, no, swing the bat.’ And I told King, ‘King, this is gonna be No. 20.’ And he hit a homer.”
“I play baseball with a lot of confidence right now,” Profar said. “And if I bunted right there, I was gonna be safe. One hundred percent.”
It’s understandable. Exactly nine weeks ago, the Padres were a 37-40 team that had flashed their late-game capabilities but more often disappointed. Now, no lead feels safe against them, especially inside Petco Park, where San Diego improved Tuesday to 9-1 in its past 10 home games.
In a season-long theme, eight of those games were sold out. The other two were near-sellouts.
“I remember early on we were getting booed all the time,” second baseman Xander Bogaerts said. “Now, knowing how good we’re playing, these people are showing up expecting us to win, and after all that we’ve done on road trips, the second half, these guys are paying the money, and they want you to come back regardless. We’ve also had some comebacks early on, some big ones. But now, knowing the schedule, knowing how far we are in the season, it’s like these guys are showing up to see really good baseball, and that’s what they expect of us, and that’s what we expect of ourselves.
“But now, every game, this is what they expect. And that’s a great thing. That’s a great feeling to come to a ballpark that you know that that’s what they want. You know, it’s tough when you have a losing season and you’re not playing really good baseball. It’s tough. Maybe they get a little used to that and, ‘Oh, you know, you’ll get them next year.’ But this is something special, and they feel it. And we know it and they feel it, so it’s a great combination.”
It’s become palpable. The Padres have won at the best clip in baseball since the second half began. Now they are 72-55 and one of six clubs within three games of the majors-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Everything is in front of them, especially because no deficit feels insurmountable.
Would anyone have been surprised if the Padres’ most productive hitter laid down a bunt and it all worked out anyway?
“Just believing in each other,” Profar said. “We know that everyone in the lineup is capable. We build innings. We build a lot of innings.”
(Photo of Jurickson Profar: Denis Poroy / Getty Images)
