Blake Snell continued his sensational play Sunday afternoon to lead the Padres to a series sweep. Snell threw five innings of one-run baseball today with nine strikeouts. He should be the leading Cy Young candidate in the National League as he lowered his ERA to 2.50. 

Nick Martinez came on in relief and struggled, giving up two runs to keep the Rangers in the game and give them a chance in the ninth inning. In that ninth inning, the Rangers almost completed a comeback and got a rally going against Josh Hader. Hader loaded the bases and didn’t look like his dominant self but eventually got Josh Jung to fly out to Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the game and give the Padres the 5-3 victory.

Here are my three takeaways:

Ha-Seong Kim Injures Shoulder

In the third inning, Kim scored the Padres first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Xander Bogaerts but immediately grabbed his right shoulder. He seemed to jam it on the head first slide and it did not look good initially. Usually slides like that are why coaches preach a feet-first slide into home plate, but Kim scored with his crafty slide and inevitably came up hurt. He had to leave the game which is never a good sign, and if the Padres lose him it could be a huge hit not only to their offense, but to their defense. We will provide updates as we get them.

Blake Snell Continues To Dominate 

Blake Snell was on today once again, and more impressively, he dominated a Rangers lineup that is loaded with offensive talent. Since the Rays traded Snell, he hasn’t really looked like the Cy Young winner the league saw in 2018. This year, after a shaky start to the season, he has re-established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league. With an ERA of 2.50, he is most certainly the ace of a loaded staff that the Padres have and you can most certainly shut those trade rumors down. 

The Padres Should Push For The Playoffs 

Padres fans have surely heard the “sell” rumors around this team for a while now. I am here to tell you that they should absolutely not do that. This is a team that coming into the season was regarded as one of the most talented rosters in all of baseball on both ends of the ball. Sure, it has probably been one of the most disappointing seasons for the Friar Faithful in a long time, but there is reason for optimism. They just swept one of the best teams in the American League and looked very much like the team everyone thought they would be. I have always said that all it takes is one hot stretch or one run and this team looks primed to make that jump soon. 

The Padres hit the road to take on the Colorado Rockies as Seth Lugo faces Austin Gomber for Colorado. First pitch is set for 5:40 PM PST.