Padres Weekly Preview: Sizzling August Ahead

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They are coming off a week where they beat probably the two most consistently winning franchises in the National League in the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. They beat the Cardinals twice, swept the Braves, and against both, had a game where they won by over 10 runs. Yes, make no mistake; they are playing very good baseball.

Now, can they keep it going? We have seen this movie before of course haven’t we? A hot second half surge, or a five game surge, maybe even 10, followed by…nothing.

So as the newcomers get acclimated to San Diego, let’s hope they keep hitting, and pitching, like they have been. This week will be a short week for the Padres, with an off-day Monday before a two-game set against the Twins, followed by a set against the Pirates in Pittsburgh over the weekend. 5 games to prove the last 6 haven’t been a one-week fluke.

The Padres lead the NL in runs, BA, and OBP for the second half. Their pitching is still pretty darn good too, and Andrew Cashner has finally made a rehab start to get back to the rotation. What can they prove with two months to go?