Padres might’ve just forced Pirates out of wild card race with another manic comeback

The San Diego Padres have been putting on a clinic for several weeks now. They've epitomized "how to play with purpose." They have certainly blown some teams out of the water, but what has been remarkable during this Padres run since the All-Star break is the sheer number of ways they have found to win close, hard-fought games along the way.

Case in point is this recent series against the Pirates. The first game was a bit of a laugher as San Diego's bullpen was untouchable after a long rain delay (and Donovan Solano handled the rest). Wednesday night's contest was much closer, but some late heroics from Jackson Merrill as well as a couple tiny implosions from the Pirates' bullpen allowed the Padres to sneak away with a win.

On Thursday, San Diego found themselves in another tight game with the Pirates, down by one in the ninth. Right on cue, Pirates closer David Bednar put himself in real trouble. However, what should have been a game-ending double play instead turned into a total disaster for Pittsburgh thanks to some more questionable defense from Oneil Cruz and that allowed San Diego to rally once again and secure another key win.

Padres cement status as wild card frontrunner while all but crushing Pittsburgh's playoff hopes

Aside from the fact that winning is much better than losing, San Diego's sweep of the Pirates has some real ramifications. Not only did the win allow the Padres to at least keep pace at the top of the NL wild card picture with an advantageous Marlins series coming up, but it sent one of their chief competitors in Pittsburgh spiraling to four games out of a playoff spot.

Furthermore, it allows this Padres team to continue to build confidence in high-leverage situations. The games where the opposing starter doesn't have it and Dylan Cease can't be hit are the ones that every team should win. What is difficult is to continue to play at a high level when the pressure is on late in games.

For this Padres team, that has been where they've excelled. They have multiple guys in their lineup that thrive in clutch situations (looking at you, Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar) and now they have a bullpen after the trade deadline that should, in theory, be able to keep any game from getting out of hand.

All of sudden, San Diego is looking like a team that no one wants to run into when October arrives.

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