Manager Bochy’s tirade led to dramatic turnaround for Padres

SAN DIEGO – Mild-mannered Bruce Bochy had seen enough.

Embarrassed by the way his San Diego Padres played in a 10-3 loss at San Francisco on April 27, the manager ripped into his 25 players, from the sluggers to the pitchers to the pinch-hitters.

He questioned their focus and challenged their pride.

“This is not the club that we are,” Bochy recalled telling his players, who had just fallen to 9-13 and five games behind division leader Arizona. “It’s time to show everybody the club that we are.”

They all seemed to have paid attention, because the Padres have been practically unbeatable since.

“Right now they’re playing as good as any team in baseball,” Bochy said after the Padres beat the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves 8-4 Wednesday. It was their seventh straight victory and their 16th in 19 games since Bochy’s blowup.

The hottest team in baseball, the Padres have vaulted to the top of the N.L. West at 25-16, the league’s second-best record. They were off Thursday and open a nine-game road trip at Seattle tonight.

The Padres aren’t beating bottom feeders. They’ve swept the top two teams in the N.L. East, Atlanta and Florida, in consecutive series. They won three of four on the road against St. Louis, which at 25-15 has the N.L.’s best record, and took two of three from Arizona, which trailed the Padres by one game going into its game Thursday night at Houston.

“They believe,” Bochy said. “I don’t think there’s any question in their mind if we play the brand of ball we need to play, we can beat anybody.”

Mark Sweeney, one of the N.L.’s best pinch-hitters, said Bochy’s rant set a tone.

“He’s a players’ manager,” Sweeney said. “He lets us play. He doesn’t get upset very often. I think the timing was right.”

This is basically the same lineup that fumbled around last season as it broke in its new downtown ballpark, Petco Park. The sluggers moaned about the vast outfield. Too many losses in May and June left them desperate in September.

Early on, it looked as if they were in for a repeat. Now, they’re finally taking advantage of their quirky ballpark, where they’re 16-4, the best home record in the majors.

But no one’s getting too excited.

“Sure it’s a good position to be in, playing this well and being a game or two up, but you know what? We want to be a game or two up come September, or even more,” veteran Phil Nevin said. “We’ve got to stay focused and keep playing the way we are, and we’ll be there.”