The wake-up call?

After being called out by their manager, it looks like the San Diego Padres have finally started to perform up to expectations.

Since the last time I wrote on this here blog, a lot has happened.

On Thursday, the Padres did what they’ve been doing a lot of. They looked apathetic and lost to the Diamondbacks by a score of 4-0. Their manager, Bob Melvin, called out the team for seeming like they didn’t really care that the playoffs were slipping away.

It was the first real time that Bob Melvin had said anything negative about his guys all season long, and it seems to have woken them up. After scoring 3 runs over their previous 3 games, the Padres scored 20 over their last 3 games.

Even Juan Soto looks like he’s waking up a bit, chipping in 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 RBIs and a home run over the last 3 games.

Unsurprisingly with those numbers, the Padres are now on a 3-game winning streak. They’ve also moved from the 3rd Wild Card spot to the 2nd. They’re now a half-game up on the Phillies and 2.5 games up on the Brewers, who have won 7 of their last 10.

San Diego gets a day off today before taking on the St. Louis Cardinals, a team they are likely to face in the playoffs, in front of the home crowd at Petco Park. If this is when the Padres are going to get hot and go on a run, it’s going to be a wild series.