San Diego still has a chance to improve its playoff position
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The San Diego Padres punched their playoff ticket with an 11th inning walk-off win against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park, Monday. With five games remaining in the regular season, Padres Manager Mike Shildt will have to determine if his team should try to improve its playoff standing or rest players as they prepare for the postseason.
San Diego could end up with a home Wild Card Series if they can pass the Chicago Cubs, who currently have a record of 88-68, while the Padres stand at 86-71. For much of the past two weeks, the belief was that San Diego would travel to Chicago to play the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Additionally, the NL West Division title still has yet to be decided and that too could ensure the Padres play at home, but they would have to surpass the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a record of 88-68.
If the Padres manage to finish the season with the same record as the Cubs, San Diego would get the higher playoff seed because it has the tiebreaker over Chicago. If the Padres can catch the Dodgers and finish with the same record, nothing would change because Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker over San Diego.
All of these things have to be considered as the Padres prepare for their final five games of the season. So if you, the Gaslamp Ball reader, were calling the shots, would you rest stars like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, etc. or would you go for it? This is to assume the teams stay close as the season comes to a close. If any one of these teams struggles or pulls away the answer to the question becomes easier to answer. But at the time of this post, each of these teams has something to play for.
Category: General Sports
