SAN DIEGO — Josh Hader was one of the last Padres players to exit the home clubhouse at Petco Park after Wednesday night’s 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels, a result that felt bigger than most victories in July.
Almost 90 minutes after Hader struck out Chad Wallach with an 86.4 mph slider, the closer stood at his locker and described having just completed, for him, a relatively typical post-outing recovery routine. It was far from the first time the five-time All-Star would head home after almost every teammate had left the building.
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“Always,” Hader said as he spoke with a few reporters. He added with a wry grin: “Yeah, that’s why I was happy to see your guys’ faces this late.”
It had not been a typical outing, of course — for the first time since Sept. 24-26, 2021, Hader had pitched for a third consecutive day. And it had not been a typical July victory, even if it came against a severely shorthanded Angels team — for the first time since Aug. 29-31, 2022, the Padres had swept a series of more than two games.
Before Wednesday’s series finale, pitching coach Ruben Niebla had approached Hader to ask if he would go above and beyond his normal usage. Hader agreed. Hours later, he secured the final three outs of the Padres’ 41st win in what, to date, has been a 46-loss season.
“He knows where we are right now,” manager Bob Melvin said. “So yeah, thank goodness, right?”
For the first time since they won the final three games of a four-game series at Atlanta in April, the Padres strung together a trio of wins against the same opponent. Then, at least briefly, they celebrated like it was September 2022. The manner in which they had won felt like a return to the halcyon days of yesteryear — and a sorely needed departure from the lack of clutch baseball and repeated gut punches that have marred their current campaign.
They received a pair of timely hits from Manny Machado, who struck a sixth-inning solo shot to break a 2-2 tie and eclipse Adrián González for sole possession of Petco Park’s all-time home run record. They responded to a game-tying homer in the top of the seventh with a series of poised plate appearances, including a bases-loaded RBI groundout by Xander Bogaerts. They added on in the eighth when Machado did not take his bat off his shoulder during a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk. They tallied a quality start from Seth Lugo, a couple of clean relief appearances from the bullpen, a stolen base from Ha-Seong Kim and a first-inning run from Fernando Tatis Jr. when Angels starter Patrick Sandoval flung a pickoff attempt into center field.
Hey, must be the Manny! #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/oIorkWz0Bo
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 6, 2023
The Padres improved to just 41-46, yes. But they also improved to 15-26 in one- or two-run games and, after a pair of crater-digging months, 4-1 in July.
“This is a really good win for us all the way around,” Melvin said. “We won some games here recently with offense. Today was a total team effort.”
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“There’s no special secret,” said Tatis, who made up for a run-scoring defensive error of his own by scoring twice and collecting three hits. “We’re just going out there, we’re playing good baseball, we’re putting good at-bats, we’re playing defense, we’re stealing bases and then just having better results than the other team.”
“Winning. I think that’s the cherry on the cake,” said Machado, who will celebrate his 31st birthday on Thursday’s off-day.
The upcoming respite, and the team’s record, factored into Wednesday afternoon’s special request to Hader. Almost four years had passed since he emerged as one of the most dominant closers the sport has ever seen. In that time, Hader had rarely pitched on three consecutive days as his former Milwaukee Brewers team carefully monitored the workload of a hard-throwing, wiry-framed lefty. Hader himself had fueled the perception that he was especially particular about his usage with his strict adherence to a one-inning, traditional-closer role.
Last October, he broke from tradition by delivering four outs in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers. Before Wednesday’s regular-season game, the pending free agent made another exception, with the Padres fielding a recently exposed bullpen and yearning for momentum in a season that had been devoid of it. Afterward, he spoke of multiple considerations.
“Health is important,” said Hader, who recorded his 20th save while lowering his ERA to 1.11. “You know, at the time, it’s easy to do things like that, but it’s more thinking about the longevity of it. Like I said, it’s 162 games that we have to play, so if you blow it out too early and you’re not available in the late end of the season, then it’s no use, right? So it’s just reading the body and playing it right.”
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And, a minute later: “Every game is important as well. So it’s a big series for us to obviously get a sweep. But the biggest thing is, like, we just got to get wins, too. So I think all that kind of factors in, but I think, at the end of the day, I felt good enough that I was able to go three.”
“Coming three nights in a row for hitters is huge for us,” Tatis said. “The guy’s showing what he has always done, and it’s just a dogfight when you see the boys standing up and just pitching to the limit. It’s just amazing.”
Hader, speaking late Wednesday, estimated that 50 percent of his in-game adrenaline was still coursing through his body. The average velocity of the nine fastballs he threw was down only 0.2 mph from his season average. He noted that he would not know how he would truly recover until Thursday. It is all but certain that, after pitching three days in a row, he will not be available for Friday’s series opener against the visiting New York Mets. As a general rule, for a reliever as hard-throwing as Hader, consecutive days of subsequent rest are now needed.
And Friday’s game might be as big as any the 2023 Padres have played. They and their next opponent have dueled this year for the dubious title of baseball’s most disappointing team. Steve Cohen’s Mets are 40-46, having started July on a 4-0 roll. Neither club, according to FanGraphs, has a better-than-30 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason.
So, Wednesday at Petco Park felt as big as any other Wednesday in any other July. The Padres got a quality start. They got solid defense and a number of clutch at-bats. They got the ball to their All-Star closer. They got a win and a sweep ahead of their final series before the All-Star break. For three days, it had felt like some of the best days of 2022.
They will be challenged to repeat the formula for the next 75 games. They have already supplied what feels like a season’s worth of inconsistency. More inconsistency and injuries could strike. The odds of the Padres digging themselves out of a self-made crater are not especially high.
At least, after Wednesday’s win, they have more proof they are capable.
“If we keep doing that,” Machado said, “we’re gonna be in a good place.”
(Top photo of Josh Hader: Matt Thomas / San Diego Padres / Getty Images)
