Padres Keep Rolling, Sweep Rockies

Aug 3, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Alexi Amarista (5) celebrates after the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves in ten innings at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Where They Stand

The Padres are hot. They are the hottest team in the National League. They are winners of 5 straight and are now 10.5 games back of the first place Dodgers. They put some distance between themselves and the last place Rockies, a gap of 11.5 games. The Friars are now just 6 games back of a Wild Card spot and only 5 games under .500. They now have a better record than 10 MLB teams. The Padres have gone from completely out of the picture altogether to clipping the heels of the teams still hoping to make the postseason. Will the Padres make the playoffs? Nothing is impossible. They are not yet mathematically eliminated therefore it is possible.

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The Friars have to be happy with the way their new players and rookies are performing. Solarte, Almonte, Liriano, Hahn and Despaigne were all key cogs in this series sweep. The hot Friars now head off to St. Louis to face a Cardinals team they beat up on at Petco Park two weeks ago. They are a confident, young team on a hot streak. If they continue to play with this confidence and swagger, there is no team in the league they cannot beat.