The San Diego Padres’ surge before the trade deadline was enough to persuade general manager A.J. Preller to take yet another couple of huge swings at a postseason push. The Padres acquired left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers on Monday, giving up three of their highest-rated prospects in deadline trades for two proven starting pitchers. “We’re trying to win,” Preller said. “We don’t apologize for it. We’re trying to win championships. We’re trying to get to the postseason, and do it year after year.” San Diego sent right-hander Miguel Mendez and 17-year-old shortstop Joniel Hernandez to San Francisco, which will pay part of Ray’s $25 million salary. The Padres also got infielder Gage Workman from Detroit while giving up left-handers Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf. Ray and Mize can become free agents this winter, so they could wind up being only late-season rentals for San Diego. But after stumbling into the All-Star break at .500 following a 15-28 skid, the Padres (58-54) have won eight of nine to move one game back of the final NL wild-card playoff position despite a patchwork rotation with an ugly 4.66 ERA. That prompted
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