The San Diego Padres are red-hot as of late. After a bit of a slow start to the 2026 season, they have now won five consecutive games and come to within 1 1/2 games of first place in the National League West, which is currently occupied by the back-to-back defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres struggled out of the gate under new manager Craig Stammen, but appear to have figured things out midway through the month of April, and there is a lot for them to look forward to, especially with the way closer Mason Miller has been pitching.
Will Leitch of MLB.com recently released his weekly power rankings. He had the Padres at No. 5 after having them at No. 19 last week.
“For all the great pitching going on in baseball right now, there continues to be no one better than Mason Miller, who on Friday night ran his streak to 28 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, five short of the franchise record,” Leitch wrote. “His 79.2 % strikeout rate was the highest by a pitcher in his first seven appearances of a season since at least 1900.”
San Diego Padres Jump 14 Spots in Power Rankings
This is a massive jump for the Padres, and a lot of it has to do with the performance of Miller, who has been virtually unhittable out of the bullpen. The Padres have been red-hot as of late and have a chance to potentially take the top spot in the NL West at some point this season.
The 27-year-old has yet to allow an earned run this season and has already recorded four saves in seven appearances and struck out 19 batters over 7 1/3 innings of work. The Padres acquired Miller at the trade deadline last season from the Athletics for a haul of prospects that included young shortstop Leo De Vries.
As long as the Padres have Miller racking up saves at the back end of their bullpen, they should be in good shape as they focus on staying competitive after losing the NL wild card series last October to the Chicago Cubs.
There is a lot for fans to be excited about after a hot week and a long winning streak, which the team will hope to extend on Tuesday night when it faces the Seattle Mariners. The Padres resurgence shouldn’t come as any surprise after they put together a very strong team yet again for the 2026 season.
What This Means for the Padres
The Padres may be the team in the NL West that is best equipped to take down the Dodgers. While that is a longshot, they should remain a threat to Los Angeles and should still at least be contending for a spot in the postseason, even if it is just as a Wild Card spot.
Miller’s dominance is certainly helping, and as long as he continues, the Padres should be in good shape the rest of the season and be in a good position to potentially challenge the Dodgers. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the season holds for them.
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