Minnesota Twins at San Diego Padres

The Padres sure look like a playoff team, don’t they? On Sunday afternoon, they completed a sweep of the Twins with a convincing 8-1 victory \-\- capping perhaps their most complete series of the season. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 with two homers. Jackson Merrill went deep, too. Walker Buehler turned in six quality frames. Over the past month, the Padres’ 21-7 record is the best in the Majors. Here are some takeaways from Petco Park: **An emphatic sweep** This was perhaps as complete a series as the Padres have played all season. They got contributions from up and down their roster. Their stars are playing like stars. Their pitching staff is suddenly a complete unit. “It’s awesome, man, especially this time of year,” said Tatis. “We have struggled … this year. So, cleaning it up and coming together as a team -- it’s huge. It’s right where we wanted to be. For now, it’s a sprint all the way to the end.” Sunday’s game was the epitome. Tatis homered to open the scoring. Buehler was strong in his six innings. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, the dam broke. Luis Campusano, Austin Hays and Xander Bogaerts worked consecutive walks with one out, before Luis Rengifo’s go-ahead two-run double.