Manny Machado scores 2 from the hosts at the end of the first half

SAN DIEGO — This is a relatively surprising development given everything that went wrong in San Diego in the first half: The All-Star break arrived Sunday afternoon, and the Padres greeted it with a huge sense of optimism about the current situation.

The first half was not what they had hoped. Not even close. But in the end, the Padres have at least given us reason to believe things might be different in a second.

San Diego completed its best pitch of the season on Sunday afternoon with an emphatic 6-2 win over the Mets at Petco Park. Manny Machado led twice off Max Scherzer. Joe Musgrove, who revived last October’s dominance, pitched six scoreless innings.

It capped off a 5-1 homestand and a rollercoaster of the first half as the Padres went 43-47. They sit six games out of the playoff picture, well below expectations for a team that entered the season with World Championship aspirations – with a marked improvement from last week.

“They keep doing it day in and day out,” Machado said. “When we do that and we all come together as a group, like we did this last week or so, we’re a dangerous team. We know we’re capable of it. … Enjoy that, and keep that feeling going for the second half.”

Last Sunday night, the Padres arrived home after what manager Bob Melvin called a “miserable trip” through Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. They won once in six games, and it felt like their season was on edge. The idea of ​​San Diego as a trade-deadline seller was suddenly not so far-fetched.

And then… hope. The Padres swept the Angels. They came out on top in a tumultuous showdown with the Mets, another big spender trying to find momentum heading into the second half.

“There’s a lot left; there’s a lot of baseball we have to play,” Machado said. “We just have to continue the baseball we were playing last week.”

It might have been fitting that Machado took pole position in the first half of the final. Often, it seems that as Machado goes, so do the Padres.

And like the Padres, Machado struggled early in the season, before giving ample cause for optimism at the end of the first half. He entered the month of July with 678 OPS, 151 points below his career average. in July? This number is 1.472.

“He’s starting to find his groove,” said Musgrove. “His confidence is in a really good place, and he’s the leader of this team everywhere. Everyone kind of follows his lead.”

Musgrove also endured stops and starts in the first half. He opened the year on the list with a broken toe. It wasn’t until recently that Musgrove began to look like the dominant version of himself that frustrated New York in the postseason last October (even amidst an impromptu sticky-thing check initiated by Mets manager Buck Showalter).

Back then, the Padres were a cheery bunch, undaunted by the prospect of facing the 101-win Mets in New York. And they proceeded to field the 111-win Dodgers in the next round as well.

For the most part, this year the Padres haven’t looked like a capable team going deep in October. However, it’s very much the same group, with two very notable additions in Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr.

“We just have to win,” said Tates. “Together as a club ball, just repeat what we did this week. This shows what we are capable of.”

There is no soft landing in the second half. The Padres open with four games in three days in Philadelphia, site of last October’s playoff exit. The Phillies are currently sitting 5 1/2 games ahead of San Diego in the Wild Card race. Given the current standings, it’s hard to imagine space for both in the post-season.

Zero-sum Series – These are the practical bets. But the significance of this coming weekend could be even greater than that. It took the Padres until the final week of the first half to play like the contenders they feel they are. The second half should be different, and the weekend in Philadelphia is the perfect opportunity to make a statement of intent.

“Like I said to everyone: ‘Get your brain right in the second half,’” Machado said. “Because it’s not going to be easy. But we’ll be ready for that.”

Musgrove said, “We know what we’re getting into. And I think everyone is excited to have the opportunity to prove everyone wrong.”