PHOENIX —
Padres management is monitoring its first-place team — yes, first place — in an effort to determine how real its chances of contending are over the duration of 2019.
The main quandary is whether to invest in a veteran starting pitcher.
Pedro Avila’s performance Thursday night may have only further clouded the issue.
The 22-year-old right-hander was sterling in getting into the sixth inning against the Diamondbacks, and the Padres claimed a wild 7-6 victory.
En route to claiming sole possession of the top spot in the National League West for the first time since April 5, 2011, they took a five-run lead with a five-run sixth inning and lost that lead when the Diamondbacks scored five runs in the seventh before Manuel Margot hit a solo home run in the eighth.