Padres eliminated from playoff race: 'We're going to grow from this'

The San Diego Padres are officially out of the NL wild-card race after the Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

San Diego won't make the postseason despite boasting the third-highest payroll in MLB thanks to a lineup that featured Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatís Jr., and Xander Bogaerts. The rotation was led by NL Cy Young favorite Blake Snell.

The club made a late playoff push by winning 12 of 15 games heading into the last weekend of the regular season. However, the odds were against San Diego after the team underachieved for the majority of the 2023 campaign.

"We did what we were supposed to do, but a little too late," Machado said. "We're going to grow from this. ... We're capable of playing better baseball than we did this year."

Only seven teams in all of baseball have a higher run differential than the Padres in 2023.

San Diego also has a better run differential than the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, as well as likely NL postseason clubs such as the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins.

The Padres' big issue was failing to hit with runners in scoring position despite a loaded lineup, as they amassed the fifth-worst average as a team in that situation.

A 1-12 record in extra-inning games was also a glaring problem.

"We know we had a tough year and left a lot on the table," manager Bob Melvin said. "All we can do at this point in time is win games and create a good feeling."