The Padres accomplished some significant positives on Friday night, things they can feel good about going into the postseason.
Fernando Tatis Jr. returned from his three-day bout with a flu-like illness and hit a grand slam. Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn continued to hit. Xander Bogaerts began to hit. So did Gavin Sheets and maybe Manny Machado.
And for at least another day, the Padres kept alive hopes of hosting a wild-card series by beating the Diamondbacks 7-4 in the opener of the regular season’s final series.
The Padres, who eliminated Arizona from playoff contention with the victory, need to win twice more to have a chance at hosting the Cubs. And that might not be enough. The Cubs winning even one of their two remaining games would assure the teams are playing at Wrigley Field.
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