The Padres haven't cared much about any of that the last three days. Manny Machado went deep twice and Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed the longest home run in the majors this season, a 474-foot bomb, in Tuesday's 8-3 rout. San Diego has now taken 4 of 5 from Atlanta this year, and that recent form is doing a lot of work to keep the Padres relevant in a series they have no business being competitive in given the standings gap.
Atlanta still has the far better record and the deeper roster, sitting at 59-42 to San Diego's 50-52, but both sides are banged up in ways that shape this one. The Braves are still waiting on Ronald Acuna Jr., who's working back from a hamstring issue and could return before the homestand wraps, while Sean Murphy, Ha-Seong Kim and a chunk of the pitching staff — Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver — remain sidelined. San Diego's absences run just as deep, with Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada and Miguel Andujar all out on top of the rotation holes.
Whichever way the standings gap and injury reports get read, the story of the last three days has been San Diego's lineup refusing to go quiet against a team with a much better record. Atlanta wants Sale to be the answer to that, and if he's anywhere close to his recent form, this figures to be a much different game than the slugfests the two clubs have traded through the first three.