Padres' Potential Postseason Game 1 Starter Becomes More Clear

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 24, 2024

Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are staying on turn with their starting rotation sending Michael King to the mound to open the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

It also means that King will be the only pitcher available to start twice this week if needed.

Deciding between King and Dylan Cease couldn't have been an easy decision but the Padres have now set up their rotation for a potential wild-card series that begins on Tuesday.

If San Diego were to compete in that game, Cease would be in line to take the ball.

Said pitching coach Ruben Niebla of the rotation: “We’re in a pretty good spot.”

The Padres are in good shape. They control their own destiny.

Cease, acquired in a March trade from the Chicago White Sox, is 14-11 with a 3.42 ERA in his first season as a Padre. King, acquired in the December trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego, is 12-9 with a 3.04 ERA.

How Can the San Diego Padres Clinch a Playoff Berth?

San Diego has a chance to lock in a playoff spot with a victory on Tuesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That's the only guaranteed path to clinching a playoff berth before Wednesday.

A Padres loss Tuesday would mean the Atlanta Braves (currently the closest team out of the NL Wild Card picture) can still lose their game today against the New York Mets (the final Wild Card team if the season ends today), and all three teams could still wind up in a three-way tie in the standings. In that scenario, the Padres would end up missing out on the postseason by virtue of MLB's tiebreaker rules.

Thanks to their season-series win over the Dodgers, the Padres are in the driver's seat. If they win all of their remaining games, including sweeping the Dodgers in the three-game head-to-head series beginning Tuesday, they'll take the division title.

There's also a chance the Padres could clinch the division by going 5-1, but for that to happen, the Dodgers would need to finish no better than 2-4 this week. The Dodgers go to Colorado to finish the season with a three-game series against the Rockies.

“This is what we set ourselves up for,” Shildt said. “This is what we started — even before spring training — talking about. And this is what we have set our sights on, and we’re pretty clear about it. We don’t talk a lot about it. We’re more of an action versus words kind of team, you know. So now we put ourselves in a position to go and go play for the division. That’s what this is all about, and it’s what we’ve been working towards.”

The Padres want to spoil the Dodgers' fun and will do everything they can to sneak in and win the division that has been in Los Angeles' control all season.

“We want it,” Jurickson Profar said. “We are going there and bringing our ‘A’ game.”