The San Diego Padres are in a fight with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West title. Their weekend series with the Minnesota Twins saw the Padres lose ground as they dropped two of three games against the American League Central opponent.
However, it was more than just the results that concerned Padres manager Mike Shildt, the players and the team's fans. The Padres learned that shortstop Xander Bogaerts suffered a broken foot that is likely to keep him out the rest of the regular season.
He fouled a ball off the top of his foot in Wednesday's game against the Seattle Mariners and the Padres learned how serious the injury was during Friday's game against the Twins. Prior to that, the Padres had lost Jackson Merrill to injury.
The Padres can't afford any more serious injuries, and there was some concern Sunday when Fernando Tatis Jr. left the game as the Twins built a 7-0 lead. However, while fans all over San Diego were holding their breath, Tatis revealed that he was fine and he would be in the lineup Monday when the Padres return home and host the Baltimore Orioles.
There was a thought that Tatis had injured himself while chasing a fly ball because he put his hand on the back of his leg after the play was over. However, he told reporters after the game that he would not be forced to sit out and that he only felt a little tightness and that it was not a situation that would cause him to miss games.
Padres fighting for Wild Card positioning as well as division title
The Padres find themselves two games behind the Dodgers in the National League West as the pennant race enters the last month of the season. It is clear that the Padres would certainly want to overtake their rivals and finish with the second-best record in the National League behind the Milwaukee Brewers (85-53). That would give them a bye in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Currently, the Dodgers are 78-59 while the Padres are 76-61. The Padres are in the No. 2 Wild Card position behind the Chicago Cubs (78-59) and ahead of the New York Mets (73-64).
The Padres will be looking to Tatis, Manny Machado and Gavin Sheets to provide the power to their lineup during the season's home stretch. Machado leads the team with 21 home runs and 79 runs batted in, while Sheets and Tatis both have 18 home runs.
Bogaerts had 10 home runs at the time of the injury. Jake Cronenworth also has 10 long balls and he is the only other Padre with double-digit home runs.
