“You want to be hot at the right time and this is the right time": Surging Padres eye home playoff series; tie Cubs, Phillies for top WC spot

SAN DIEGO — The "magic number" is down to four and the Padres, suddenly, have a legitimate shot at hosting a potential National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park.

The Brown & Gold went down a run early to the Miami Marlins Friday night in the Gaslamp Quarter before bursting out for six runs in the fifth inning against Fish relievers Cade Gibson and Tyler Zuber. The Friars hashed out five hits and three runs off the two arms before Ty France clubbed a monstrous three-run homer into the second basket of the Western Metal Supply Co. building to cap the frame.

The blast was France's 21st longball of the season, a new season career high for the San Diego State product.

"It’s pretty special," France said postgame. “It’s been a journey to get to this point in my career, but I’m grateful for every step of the way. It’s nice to get over that one."

France's moonshot not only gave San Diego and starter Nick Pivetta a five-run cushion to work with, but it's what was simultaneously happening in Phoenix and around the league that had just about everyone invested in the out-of-town scoreboard.

As the Phillies and Cubs both lost their respective contests, the Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a third consecutive loss, this time at the hands of the New York Yankees. 

Philadelphia and Chicago's losses brought the Padres even with both clubs for a three-way tie atop the NL Wild Card standings. Arizona's defeat now separates the two NL West rivals by a full five games with eight left to play in the regular season. 

"I think the biggest thing is the guys’ focus and their attention to detail throughout this whole process," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "It would have been really easy to be satisfied after a few of these games and a few of these sweeps, to take a game off, and we just haven’t taken any of the games off. None of the players have. They’ve been giving their full effort on every single play this entire stretch.

"And I think it shows how good a team that we can be when the games are on the line."

To Stammen's point, the Padre bats have been relentless and unforgiving.

They'd tack on two more runs in the eighth, courtesy of Jackson Merrill's 26th home run of the year and a Samad Taylor RBI knock. 

Since July 24, the Padres sport a 35-16 record, the best in the Majors. They've won 11 of 12, and show no signs of slowing down. Their postseason hopes seem to be a forgone conclusion more than anything at this point.

If everything lines up in their favor this weekend, they could be popping champagne as early as Sunday.

The three-game set resumes Saturday, as Casey Mize counters Eury Pérez. First pitch is slated for 5:40 p.m. PT from The Gaslamp.