Padres cling to final playoff spot

The starting pitching, which had been so unreliable leading up to the trade deadline, has been a strength for this team over the past two weeks.

Of those nine games, there were six quality starts for the Padres pitchers, with one of those shorter starts due to a Casey Mize injury. Fortunately, the injury to Mize's ankle is not severe and he is listed to make his next start tomorrow against Tampa Bay.

Left-hander Robbie Ray, the other acquisition at the deadline (with Mize), tends to walk batters but has learned to pitch around traffic on the bases. Despite walking 13 in his 20.1 innings pitched for the Padres, Ray had a quality start in his outing against the New York Mets (the only win in New York).