Melvin undeterred by Padres' recent play: We can still make playoffs

The San Diego Padres aren't rolling over.

"We're trying to climb our way into contention, and it's had a rough spot here, so we continue to just try to play our way back into it again," manager Bob Melvin said during an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Tuesday. "Every time we get close, we get beat down a little bit, but we still have high expectations and feel like there's still a chance (to make the postseason)."

"We have to make a run," the three-time Manager of the Year continued. "That's really been what's held us back all year: We haven't won more than three games in a row. And if you go on a run where you win six games, seven games, eight out of 10 or something like that, we'll find ourselves right back in it. ... We feel like we have the team that could easily do something like that, and we have not to this point."

The 56-63 Padres are 6.5 games back of the final NL wild-card spot and are currently mired in a three-game losing streak. There was conjecture that the team could sell at the trade deadline, but San Diego opted to stand pat and has gone 4-8 since.

Following a transformative offseason during which they added Xander Bogaerts, Matt Carpenter, Michael Wacha, and others while also handing out lucrative contract extensions to incumbent stars, the Padres were expected to challenge for the NL West title. However, they're currently floundering in fourth in the division, 16 games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.