October baseball is more fun with the Padres advancing to the NLDS

The San Diego Padres are advancing in the postseason for the first time since 1998.

How could we have the most fun NLDS ever without the San Diego Padres being part of it?

It might be going down over in Texas, but the Slam Diego Padres punched the eighth and final ticket into the League Division Series. By winning back-to-back elimination games at home over the St. Louis Cardinals, the No. 4-seeded Padres will now take on the top-seeded division rival Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Baseball is more fun with the San Diego Padres advancing deeper into October.

A rough Game 1 outing from Chris Paddack had the Padres’ 2020 season hanging in the balance. They battled back in Game 1, but didn’t have enough offensive firepower to beat the Cardinals in the first game of their best-of-three series. Game 2 was all about the long ball and Game 3 was all about the bullpen, as the Padres went with Craig Stammen as their opener to advance in 2020.

The last time the Padres won a postseason series, they defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1998 NLCS to reach the World Series for the second time in franchise history. This year has been one of ending streaks for the Padres. They snapped a 14-year playoff drought, reaching the postseason for the first time without Bruce Bochy involved in any capacity whatsoever.

Because they were the higher-seeded team over the Cardinals, yes, the Padres were expected to advance. However, this was uncharted territory for everyone involved. The Cardinals are adept historically at winning postseason games as the underdog. Though they gave a valiant effort, the bullpen let them down in Game 2 and defensive lapses hurt them the most in deciding Game 3.

As for San Diego, the Padres have given us at least three more games of primetime gold vs. the Dodgers. Though every ALDS and NLDS series will feature two division rivals squaring off, the one between the Dodgers and the Padres might have the most juice to it. There may be visceral hatred between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros, but Oakland doesn’t have the star power.

So in the best-of-five series between the Dodgers and the Padres, we will have the presumptive favorite to win it all in Los Angeles and one of the flashiest teams in baseball with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. on the left side of their infield. Every game these two rivals play will be must-see television. Maybe the series winner will end up winning the whole shebang?

It wouldn’t have felt right without the Padres taking on the Dodgers in the NLDS anyway.