Padres’ star trio is heating up just as their postseason window begins to close

The San Diego Padres have spent most of the season waiting for their biggest names to resemble the superstars they are paid to be. It’s starting to look like that version may have finally arrived this season. Unfortunately, it might have missed the Padres’ window to convince the front office that this roster deserves reinforcements.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill all homered in the Padres 8-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on July 21. It was the first game this season in which all three went deep, offering a glimpse of the offense San Diego expected to have from Opening Day.

Tatis supplied three hits and three RBI, including a 474-foot home run that was the longest hit in MLB this season. Machado homered twice, while Merrill also homered and added two hits.

For one night, the Padres’ stars looked capable of carrying a contender.

“That’s why we got paid,” Tatis said afterward. “That’s what we’re here for.”

The problem is what happened around that performance. San Diego lost 3-2 in Monday’s series opener despite solo homers from Machado and Ty France. The Padres then lost 7-6 Wednesday, falling to 50-52 and three games behind the final NL Wild Card position.

Padres finally get Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill going

They’ve now gone 19-31 over their last 50 games. Wednesday’s loss got another encouraging performance from Merrill, who homered for the fourth time in four games. The Padres also scored five times in the ninth after entering the inning behind 7-1.

Definitely a spirited response. But it was still another loss during a portion of the schedule in which moral victories no longer provide value.

The Padres are running out of time. Preller has acknowledged that buying, selling or attempting some combination of the two is a possibility. That makes the resurgence of the Padres three most important hitters both encouraging and frustrating.

For most teams, getting their three best hitters hot simultaneously would offer a reason for considerable optimism. For the Padres it’s fair to ask why it took so long.

San Diego entered the All-Star break with the worst team OPS and fewest runs in MLB and none of its position players represented the team in the All-Star Game. The Padres stayed near .500 largely because their bullpen repeatedly protected narrow leads while the lineup supplied minimal support. Now that the offense is showing signs of life, injuries and overuse have weakened that same bullpen.

They no longer have the luxury of merely showing what they could become. They need to start winning immediately, both to remain in the Wild Card race and to influence Preller’s deadline plans.

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