The San Diego Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks for the season series finale at Petco Park. The Padres clinched a postseason berth earlier this week with a win against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Diamondbacks are two games back of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot and need to likely sweep the Friars to make it.
This weekend will be fun to watch to see who makes the postseason in both the NL and AL.
The Padres are getting back star outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. for the final three games. He has been dealing with an undisclosed illness all week. Tatis missed the series against the Brewers and will hope to stay hot before the Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs.
Tatis Jr. returns to the leadoff spot.
The star outfielder is having a dominant season with his glove. He has robbed more home runs than anyone in the league, and that might reward him with his second Platinum Glove. Offensively, Tatis Jr. is hitting 2.67 with an .805 OPS. He has really picked it up as of late in slugging. His WAR is at the second-highest of his career at 5.6 while hitting 23 home runs and driving in only 66 RBIs, which is shockingly the third most of his career. When healthy, there is no doubt that Tatis Jr. is one of the best players on the planet.
His 88 walks this season are the most of his career in one season by 26. His vision has improved a ton. The best news of all is that he has played the most games in a season of his career at 152, and that is important. The Padres need him healthy to be at their best. This team has a shot to do damage in the NL playoff picture, but they need all their weapons healthy to do so.
