Phillies, Padres, and more: Lessons from the 2022 postseason
The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies are examples of teams that made the playoffs despite not being very good.
The San Diego Padres came into the postseason very wounded and disappointing. They managed to secure a Wild Card spot and beat the New York Mets. The team won the NLDS against the Dodgers. They had a horrid 5-14 record against L.A. in the regular season. Their analytics were their downfall. In Game 4, the team used the bullpen. Blake Snell pitched another gem against Dodgers in playoffs. Josh Hader closed out the game. He was the pitcher who won Game 5. It was his first postseason game since 2010. His last one was in 2012.
