2020 San Diego Padres season

On April 18–19, the Padres were supposed to play against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Mexico Series in Mexico City. But due to the pandemic, the MLB cancelled the series.

The Padres started young right hander Chris Paddack against Cardinals lefty Kwang Hyun Kim. The Cardinals got to Paddack early, when Paul Goldschmidt hit a 2-run home run, Yadier Molina singled in Dylan Carlson and Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 Cardinals. The Padres responded with an Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly in the 1st & an Austin Nola sacrifice fly in the 2nd. However, the Cardinals would get those runs back as Paul DeJong singled in Carlson & Carpenter singled in Molina to make it 6–2. Padres responded again with a Tommy Pham RBI single. In the 6th inning, Nola made it 6–4 with a sacrifice fly that ended in a double play as Jake Cronenworth was tagged out at 3rd. Dexter Fowler capped the scoring with an RBI single in the 9th to make it 7–4. Kim only lasted ​3 ²⁄₃ and Paddack lasted ​2 ¹⁄₃.

The Padres gave the ball to veteran right handed Zach Davies, while the Cardinals gave the ball to veteran Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals got to Davies early with a Molina RBI single in the 1st inning. In the 2nd, Harrison Bader singled in Carpenter and Kolten Wong hit a 2-run home run. Davies would only go 2 innings, giving up 4 runs. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright did not fare well either, as he loaded the bases in the 4th inning with nobody out, and Wil Myers would ground into a force play to get the Padres on the board. After a Nola walk, Wainwright was pulled after ​3 ¹⁄₃. Austin Gomber relieved him and out of the jam, but not before allowing another run to cross the plate. In the 6th inning, the Cardinals struck with a Fowler RBI double and a Wong sacrifice fly. The Padres would tie the game in the bottom half of the 6th inning on back 2 back home runs from Fernando Tatís Jr. & Manny Machado. The Padres took their first lead of the series in the bottom of the 7th when Myers homered and Tatis hit his 2nd home run of the night. Back 2 back sacrifice flies got the Cardinals within a run but the Padres put away the game when Myers hit his 2nd home run of the night. Goldschmidt though, would add another home run before Padres closer Trevor Rosenthal shut the door and sent the series to a winner take all Game 3.

The Cardinals started ace Jack Flaherty, while the Padres went with a bullpen game. The game remained scoreless until the 5th inning, when Hosmer doubled in Tatis to get the Padres on the board first. The Padres added two more runs in the 7th inning on a fielders choice & a bases loaded walk. Cronenworth would cap off the scoring with a solo home run in the 8th inning. The Padres bullpen held the Cardinals to just 4 hits & Padres closer Trevor Rosenthal worked a 1-2-3 9th inning to send the Padres to the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Padres will face their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

The Dodgers have announced that Walker Buehler will start Game 1, while the Padres will give the ball to Mike Clevinger. Clevinger only pitched 1 inning before leaving the game with an injury. The Padres would score a run in the 4th inning on an Austin Nola RBI single. The dodgers would respond in the 5th inning when Jake Cronenworth made a throwing error that scored Justin Turner. In the 6th inning, the Dodgers broke up a no-hitter with a double from Mookie Betts. Corey Seager hit a sacrifice fly that gave the Dodgers the lead, then Turner singled in Betts. Cody Bellinger then singled in Turner to make it 4–1. A wild pitch scored Max Muncy to make it 5-1 Dodgers. The Dodgers bullpen pitched 5 scoreless innings.

Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw will start Game 2, while the Padres will start right hander Zach Davies. Wil Myers got the scoring started with an RBI double. The Dodgers took the lead on a Corey Seager 2 run double and a Max Muncy RBI single. Cody Bellinger added a solo home run to make it 4–1. The Padres got back in it with back 2 back home runs from Manny Machado & Eric Hosmer. The Dodgers added two more runs on a sacrifice fly & a RBI single. Mitch Moreland brought in Jake Cronenworth in to make it 6-4 Dodgers and Trent Grisham made it a 1 run game and knocked Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen from the game. Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly then shut the door after that and put the Padres in an 0-2 NLDS hole

The Dodgers gave the ball to flame-throwing right hander Dustin May, while the Padres gave the ball to rookie left hander Adrián Morejón. The Dodgers started the scoring with a fielder's choice RBI from Cody Bellinger in the top of the 2nd. The Padres took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd on a bases loaded walk & a Grisham RBI single. The Dodgers broke it open in the top of the 3rd when shortstop Corey Seager drove in right fielder Mookie Betts, third baseman Justin Turner drove in Seager, left fielder A. J. Pollock singled in Turner & designated hitter Joc Pederson singled in Pollock to make it 6–2. Dodgers catcher Will Smith singled in Betts to make 7–2 in the top of the 4th. Betts hit a sacrifice fly to score Pollock to make it 8–2. Dodgers lefty Julio Urías balked in Manny Machado to make 8-3 Dodgers. Smith drove in Betts & Turner to make it 10-3 & Bellinger tripled in Max Muncy & Smith in to make it 12–3. Dodgers pitching shut the Padres offense down from there as the Padres were swept.