
Hearts, Celtic & Rangers fans discuss title race and what winning league would mean
Hearts, Celtic & Rangers Fans Weigh In on Title Race Dynamics
As May begins, the Padres are closely trailing the Dodgers in the NL West, with a record of 19-11 compared to the Dodgers' 20-11. The Padres aim to challenge the two-time defending champions for the division title, which they haven't won since 2006.

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The calendar will turn to May on Friday, giving us our first full month of the 2026 regular season in Major League Baseball. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers will sit atop the NL West at 20-11, but it's only a half-game lead over the Padres at 19-11.
The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers are the easy and obvious pick to win the division again, but do the Padres have staying power here? Can they keep pushing the Dodgers and contend for the division title?
The Padres haven't won the NL West since 2006 and the odds say it's an uphill battle. That doesn't mean it can't happen. So what do they need to do to keep this a race with the mighty Dodgers and what could they change?
The Padres are hitting .235/.309/.384 as a team. That's not going to cut it. Yes, they play in a pitcher-friendly park, but the adjusted OPS+ for the team is 92, or eight points below league average. Credit needs to be given to Xander Bogaerts for a good start to the season, and they've also gotten fine work from Ramón Laureano, Miguel Andujar and Ty France.
Some of the guys being counted on to be the big guns of the offense just aren't getting it done. If the Padres wish to push the Dodgers this season, we'd need to see a lot more from these guys:
The Dodgers lead the NL West with a record of 20-11, while the Padres are just behind at 19-11.
The Padres last won the NL West in 2006.
The Padres face an uphill battle against the two-time defending champions, the Dodgers, who are favored to win the division again.
The Padres need to maintain their performance and possibly make strategic changes to keep the race competitive against the Dodgers.

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If that foursome starts hitting in line with career norms, and there are plenty of reasons to believe that'll be the case, the Padres take steps forward.
By defensive efficiency (the percentage of balls put in play converted into outs), the Padres rank 22nd in baseball, a decent mark below league average to this point. Last year, they were third with similar personnel. Even if the unit as a whole takes a step backward, I'd expect larger samples of play end up showing the Padres as a good defensive team due to the presence of players like Tatis and Machado, though there are concerns with Bogaerts' range at shortstop.
The Padres rank 17th in rotation ERA and also 17th in WAR (FanGraphs version). It's actually impressive that it isn't worse, given how it looks on paper with Nick Pivetta sidelined and Joe Musgrove's setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Michael King has been great and the expectation here is he'll continue to be. Randy Vásquez has a 2.94 ERA this season in six starts, though he's been touched up in two of his last three and had a career 4.08 ERA before this season.
Still, there's enough here to believe the Padres have two good starters. Germán Márquez hasn't been awful, but he shouldn't be trusted long-term. Walker Buehler and Matt Waldron have been bad.
Can the Padres really replace three starters? They're going to try. They've got the three names.
If the Padres end up with a rotation of King, Vásquez, Giolito, Pivetta and Musgrove before the end of the season, that's a group that could do quality things. There are major questions hovering over at least Pivetta and Musgrove, though, if not also Vásquez and Giolito.
Padres relievers sit 18th in ERA, but third in WAR. The upside is the key here because the Padres have some stellar late-inning arms that can shorten the game. Mason Miller is arguably the best reliever in baseball and is likely to remain that throughout the season. Jason Adam is a very capable setup man who could also close on many teams. Adrián Morejón has nasty stuff and was an All-Star last season. His ERA is ugly right now, but I'm not worried about it. Throw in crafty lefty Wandy Peralta and young righty Bradgley Rodriguez and the Padres have an excellent stable here.
There's every reason to believe it'll be one of the best bullpens in baseball moving forward.
The projection systems still love the Dodgers. SportsLine has the Dodgers winning 99.8 games and the Padres 88.0. PECOTA has the Dodgers at 101.1 and the Padres at 83.2. FanGraphs projects the Dodgers with 97 wins compared to 84 for the Padres.
The Padres would need an awful lot to go right with their rotation, meaning the best possible outcomes from the health of Pivetta and Musgrove while Giolito returns to All-Star form and Vásquez holds things together. Offensively, Tatis, Merrill, Machado and Cronenworth would need to return to at least mostly their best versions of themselves.
And it still might not even be good enough.
The Padres look like a playoff team, but I'm not buying their chances to keep up with the Dodgers, even though I love that bullpen and there are obvious areas where the offense can improve.