The Latest Breaking News from Josh Bell

SAN DIEGO —At the end, it was easy.

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have celebrated earning a playoff appearance just once in front of fans at Petco Park.

We are three weeks away from the start of the playoffs, with the first game of all four wild-card series scheduled back-to-back-to-back. You can be sure that MLB will market the event as baseball’s version of the first day of March Madness. (Fall Frenzy, anyone?) But regardless of how well…

SAN DIEGO — Suddenly, Petco Park is struggling to hold baseballs.

Jorge Alfaro did it again.

SAN DIEGO — They call it shoving.

LOS ANGELES — The path of a pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery is rarely straight and pointing north. It usually zigs and zags, lunges forward and lurches back, with encouraging stretches of dominance offset by shaky moments of self-doubt.

SAN DIEGO — It's OK, too, to score just enough and let Yu Darvish do his thing.

SAN DIEGO — Sean Manaea strolled through the clubhouse Saturday afternoon, turned the clubhouse stereo up and belted out classic rock songs, one after another, as he dressed at his locker.