In their flurry of moves at the MLB Trade Deadline, Martin Perez was the last guy the Padres acquired in a last-minute swap with Pittsburgh. At the time it seemed like a superfluous move to get a little depth in the starting rotation.
That deal has turned into a major reason San Diego is on the brink of the playoffs.
Perez was fantastic again in a 6-2 Padres win over the White Sox on Saturday night at Petco Park, working 5.1 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Perez has made nine starts since the trade. San Diego has won eight of them. In his 13th big league season, the lefty has inserted himself as a legitimate candidate to start a postseason game for the Padres.
Oh, yeah, since the Braves beat the Marlins the Padres Magic Number is down to two, meaning they can now officially lock down a playoff spot any day. In fact, if they finish a sweep of the Sox and Atlanta loses their series finale to the Marlins, there will be a heck of a party in the clubhouse at Petco Park on Sunday night.
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Perez got some offensive help from some big blasts. In the 2nd inning Xander Bogaerts detonated a Chris Flexen cutter 426 feet into the bullpens in left-centerfield, a 2-run blast that put the Friars on top 2-0. In the bottom of the 4th another veteran left the yard. David Peralta lofted a solo shot to deep right field to make it 3-0, which was more than enough for a win.
But scoring runs is fun so, really, why stop?
Jurickson Profar led off the 5th inning with a double and came home on an RBI single by Jackson Merrill. It's the 89th RBI of the year for the Padres rookie, who has done more than enough to warrant winning the National League Rookie of the Year award. Things got a little more dicey than the Friar Faithful would have hoped in the 8th inning.
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Jason Adam, who has been tremendous out of the bullpen since coming over at the deadline, had a rare bad outing. Adam gave up a single, a walk, and hit a batter to load the bases, then walked Bryan Ramos to bring in a run and make it a 4-2 game. With one out and the bases still loaded manager Mike Shildt brought in the other high-leverage relief asset from a deadline deal.
Tanner Scott did just what the doctor ordered. It took him two pitches to get Dominic Fletcher to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning another new guy let the sellout crowd breathe a whole lot easier.
Catcher Elias Diaz, signed after the Rockies let him go, unloaded on his first homer in a Padres uniform. The 2-run shot made it 6-2 and let Scott cruise through a scoreless 9th inning to give the Friars a series win. They can sweep the series (which would be the 22nd time the White Sox have been swept this season) on Sunday afternoon behind Yu Darvish.
