The San Diego Padres are in the thick of the wild-card race, trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by a half-game for the final spot in the National League playoff picture.
Not even two months ago, the Padres sat 6.5 games back, good enough for eighth place in the wild-card race.
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A massive second-half surge has seen the Padres evolve from long-shot contenders to a team that is playing like it belongs in October.
One primary reason for the Padres' resurgence?
"Tatis is back," an anonymous Padres player told ESPN.
Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. wasn't playing up to his usual standards in the first half of the season, with just five home runs, a 23% strikeout rate and a .714 OPS.
Since the Midsummer Classic, Tatis has looked like a completely different player -putting up MVP-caliber numbers as the Padres' wins pile up.
Tatis has an OPS of .987 after the All-Star break, hitting 14 home runs and striking out in just 14% of his at-bats. His 168 wRC+ in that time ranks third in all of MLB.
Tatis attributes his dynamic play to " three months of struggling
" as he worked back to playing some of the best baseball of his seven seasons in the major leagues.
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"It made me know myself better," Tatis said. "To even put a bigger trust in myself and the ability that I have - and building from there."
As Tatis goes from not hitting his first home run of the season until May 30 to powering the Padres towards a playoff spot, his manager sees a more relaxed version of the 27-year-old star.
"He feels good in the box with his swing," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "He feels good with what the hitting coaches' game plan is giving him. ... I think it's freed Fernando up just to go be a baseball player, and use his natural talent to the best of his abilities."
While the Padres have sputtered a bit as of late after an ugly 1-5 road trip, they remain a serious threat to not only get to the playoffs, but make some noise once getting there.
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The Padres are 25-19 since the All-Star break, which ranks fourth among NL teams.
"It's go time," Padres first baseman Ty France said after the team's road trip. "There's nothing else you can really say about it, except we need to play our best baseball now and start winning these games."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi as How the Padres Went From Disappointment to Serious Postseason Threat
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