The San Diego Padres may have missed an opportunity to clinch the National League’s No. 4 seed Friday night, but one lopsided loss did little to dampen the confidence of a club that has spent the past two months transforming itself into one of baseball’s hottest teams. Just one day after secu ring their third consecutive postseason berth with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres fell 11-4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, delaying their bid to lock up home-field advantage for the Wild Card Series. Still, San Diego remains firmly focused on the bigger picture. The Padres entered September clinging to a Wild Card spot before turning in a major league-best 16-5 month, surging into position to potentially host a postseason series at Petco Park. What once looked like a team headed toward disappointment has become one that nobody is eager to face in October. Friday’s loss, however, highlighted one potential concern heading into the playoffs. Right-hander Casey Mize allowed seven earned runs over four innings and afterward acknowledged the frustration of battling through an ankle injury while the rest of the team is trending upward. “We have so much good things going on this team, and for me to be going the opposite direction is tough,” Mize said. “I feel like I’m just grinding through and trying to do what I can, but obviously it’s nowhere close to good enough.” The Padres have relied on a second-half turnaround fueled by stars such as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, improved starting pitching and a dominant bullpen. Since late July, the club has gone from below .500 to one of the National League’s most dangerous postseason teams. That’s why manager Craig Stammen wasn’t interested in treating Friday’s defeat as anything more than a temporary setback. “[Losing this game] doesn’t really complicate anything, we [just] got to go out and win a baseball game,” Stammen said. “Getting blown out, we were able to get some of those guys off their feet a little bit. So a version of our best lineup will be in the game tomorrow.” Now, the Padres will try to turn the page quickly, with Walker Buehler set to start Saturday as San Diego gets another opportunity to secure home-field advantage for the Wild Card Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. ...read more read less