Padres continue to make playoff push vs. Twins

Paying Jurickson Profar $1 million might be the best money San Diego Padres have spent in a long time.

Profar continued the best season of his major league career Tuesday night with a three-run, eighth-inning homer that lifted San Diego to a 7-5 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins. The Padres clinched their ninth series win in 10 series since the All-Star break.

Profar and the Padres will vie for a series sweep on Wednesday in a late-afternoon start.

Nearly a year ago, Profar was released by the last-place Colorado Rockies and picked up by San Diego for his second stint with the team. The Padres re-signed him to a one-year, $1 million deal in February with an additional $1.5 million in incentives available.

Suffice it to say that a .290 average, 20 homers, 76 RBIs and a .387 on-base percentage that ranks second in the National League show that Profar is giving the Padres more than their money's worth.

Profar is playing with a belief in his ability.

"That's the No. 1 thing that switched this year for me," he said. "Play baseball with my instincts. I know my manager's got my back. So you guys are seeing the real Profar. ... I'm playing baseball with a lot of confidence right now."

Profar's latest big hit made the Padres 22-6 since the All-Star break and allowed them to stay a game ahead of Arizona for the National League's top wild-card spot.

San Diego will go for the sweep with knuckleballing Matt Waldron (7-10, 4.29 ERA) looking to bounce back from a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Friday in Denver.

Waldron was rocked for nine hits and seven runs over 5 2/3 innings, walking one and fanning six. It was the third time in his past four starts that he permitted at least five runs. The Wednesday game will be his first career outing against Minnesota.

The Twins will attempt to salvage the series finale behind Simeon Woods Richardson (4-3, 3.77 ERA). He is coming off a 4-3 win Friday night in Texas, where he yielded three hits and two runs in five innings with two walks and a strikeout. This will be his first career outing against San Diego.

Minnesota has lost three consecutive games, two in excruciating fashion. The Twins blew a 4-0, seventh-inning lead Sunday in a 6-5, 10-inning loss at Texas, then wasted Bailey Ober's 11th straight quality start on Tuesday as the bullpen imploded for the second time in three games.

Steven Okert was the guilty party on Tuesday, giving up four straight hits to start the eighth inning, including Profar's go-ahead homer. The result kept the Twins from taking a one-game lead on the Royals for the American League's second wild-card spot and enabled the Boston Red Sox to pull within 3 1/2 games of Minnesota and Kansas City.

"You're going to run into some games like that," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

The Twins disclosed on Tuesday that Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) ran with discomfort before the game, although the shortstop said he felt better than the previous time he ran. Correa has been able to hit, throw and take grounders, though he has yet to run the bases.

Correa last played on July 12.