Padres' near-collapse reveals Mike Shildt can't allow blind loyalty to cloud judgment

There's a fine line between being lucky and good. While the results on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers were very good, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt got very lucky.

Thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Manny Machado and a nicely executed 5-4-3 triple-play by the San Diego infield, the Padres secured the 4-2 win over the Dodgers and punched their ticket to the MLB Postseason for the second time in three years.

But the Padres were about a half-step away from Shohei Ohtani walking into the batters' box with the game-tying or game-winning run aboard. And that's why Shildt needs to remove Robert Suarez from the closer role before the playoffs begin next week.

If there was ever a scenario in which Shildt should have been able to trust his closer, it was Tuesday night. The Padres entered the ninth inning with 4-1 lead and the 6-7-8 hitters of the Dodgers lineup coming to the plate. Surely a pitcher with 35 saves on the season and a 100-plus MPH heater could dispatch of Will Smith, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernandez with ease, right?

Mike Shildt can't continue to run out Robert Suarez as the Padres closer

Unfortunately, after Will Smith's leadoff single, Suarez allowed base hits to both Edman and Hernandez, and were it not for a tremendous defensive play behind him, the Padres' reliever would have been facing the most dangerous hitter in the sport with a chance to tie or end the game.

Robert Suarez has become a liability in late situations for Padres

Suarez has become synonymous with blowing saves and leads of late, and Shildt cannot allow his blind loyalty to his player to cloud his better judgment. Why did AJ Preller make a splash at the MLB trade deadline in order to bring in Tanner Scott and Jason Adam only to see them used in the seventh and eighth innings over and over again?

Suarez's fastball is electric, but the right-hander has faced more than the minimum in eight of his last nine appearances. Suarez has an 8.00 ERA and 7.27 FIP during that stretch, not to mention a strikeout rate below 18% alongside a 10.3% walk rate.

If Shidlt continues to take this approach once the playoffs begins, the Padres skipper is setting himself up for ridicule. Suarez showed on Tuesday that Shlidt can't trust him in the big moments, and San Diego's manager has to remember this going forward. Shildt has more options than just Suarez in the ninth with the lead and he needs to utilize them.

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