Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado face playoff pressure after Padres’ supporting cast saved the season

The Padres’ stars didn’t exactly carry this team to October like many expected. They chose to catch up with it. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill could likely receive most of the credit if San Diego makes a deep postseason run. That’s how star power operates. But before we turn this into another story about a loaded Padres core finding its swagger, let’s remember who got them here.

Ty France, Samad Taylor and Luis Rengifo.

San Diego had one of baseball’s worst offenses during the first half. Tatis didn’t hit his first home run until May 30. Machado and Merrill were stuck in their own extended funks. By late July, the Padres were three games below .500, buried in 11th place in the NL and giving A.J. Preller a legitimate reason to consider selling. The season was wobbling on its last legs and the most expensive names weren’t holding it up.

Somehow, the clearance aisle saves the luxury shelves. France finished the regular season slashing .295/.363/.502 with 21 home runs, 72 RBI and an .865 OPS. Taylor arrived without much fanfare and hit .316 with a .390 on-base percentage while stealing 13 bases in 47 games. Rengifo hit .291 with a .375 OBP in 38 games before a torn ACL ended his season. They weren’t empty calorie hitters. They were bailing out the stars.

The Padres’ stars have no place to hide against the Cubs

To be fair, it’s not like the stars didn’t contribute. They each hit a stride in different parts of the season.

Tatis rediscovered his power and hit 20 of his 25 home runs after the All-Star break. Merrill finished with 26 homers and 27 stolen bases. Machado reached 30 home runs for the eighth time in his career. The Padres’ offense eventually surged from one of baseball’s worst units to a group tied for the MLB lead in wRC+ during September.

The point is that France, Taylor, Rengifo and the rest of San Diego’s supporting cast gave them enough runway to do it. They turned what could have been a lost summer into a third consecutive postseason appearance and helped bring the Wild Card Series back to Petco Park.

Now the responsibility has to flip a little. The Padres cannot enter another series against the Cubs asking their role players to drag the offense across the finish line. The Friars have home-field advantage. They have Michael King lined up for Game 1 with a bullpen capable of shrinking nine innings into six. It also has a lineup that finally looks dangerous again.

What they need now is for their best players to be their best players.

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