Padres could face postseason-altering decision in wild-card round

With or without the National League West title in hand, the San Diego Padres could have a tough and potentially postseason-changing decision to make in the wild-card round.

San Diego entered play on Tuesday 6.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and 9.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the overall National League standings, meaning the Padres will not have a bye in this year's postseason. That also means that the Padres will be a part of the best-of-three wild-card round to open the postseason.

With the wild-card schedule running on consecutive days between September 30 and October 2, a potential Game 3 for the Padres would mean manager Mike Shildt would need to make a tough decision on who will start that game.

The first two starters for the Padres in the wild-card round seem to be settled, with Nick Pivetta and Michael King likely drawing the starts. However, after that, the choices would be interesting for a Game 3 elimination matchup.

San Diego has three realistic Game 3 options in Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Randy Vasquez, but none of the three bring a sense of security with them after up-and-down seasons.

Cease has pitched better this month, posting a 3.43 ERA in four starts covering 21.0 innings. However, his last start against the Chicago White Sox on September 19 did little to ease any worries about his inconsistency as he allowed four hits and four runs while walking three over 6.0 innings.

Darvish has 13 postseason starts under his belt in his 13-year MLB career, including a pair last season for San Diego when he held the Los Angeles Dodgers to three runs and six hits over 13.2 innings in the National League Division Series. However, his 5.12 ERA in four September starts over 19.1 innings is worrisome.

Vasquez has the fewest credentials of the three options and has posted an overall 3.94 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) this season (the lowest of the three pitchers' ERA). However, his FIP of 4.98 suggests there may have been some good luck involved so far this season. Additionally, his 1.361 WHIP is the highest of any current Padres starter.

Each potential pitcher in a Game 3 winner-take-all scenario has his own set of issues, a serious concern for Shildt and the Padres if the wild-card round gets to that point.

In a best-case scenario for San Diego, Shildt never has to make that decision and can worry about who will be the third starter in the Division Series. However, it's a very real possibility that San Diego's stellar season could come down to which pitcher Shildt believes can perform the best in an elimination situation.