Attention to detail, especially in a certain type of ball game, seems an advantage to the 2025 Padres.

In the tossup matches that evolve against sub-.500 opponents, the Padres solve enough in-game puzzles to win these tight contests.

Disclaimer: I can’t prove that attention to detail is a big part of why the Padres are winning these games. Talent matters the most, and the Padres were more talented than recent visitors such as the Marlins, Pirates, Royals and Nationals, whose payrolls are much smaller.

But when it’s a closely contested game — a tossup — and the opponent is a visiting sub-.500 club, the Padres have won eight of those past nine games, such as Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over the Nationals. That’s one way the Padres can win their fourth wild card in six years.

How did attention to detail translate into Wednesday’s win?

The Padres, believe it or not, didn’t share those details with me.

Here’s a reasonable guess: in producing the game’s only run, the Padres took into account Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore’s history of being less comfortable against lefties than against right-handers.

Remember, Gore is a former Padres top draftee who came up in their system. And he pitched for their big-league club before he went to the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade.

Gore was outstanding Wednesday.

But, inspiring a look, below, at a few granular details, a pair of successful lefty-on-lefty outcomes for the Padres led to the second-inning run.

The basics: lefty No. 8 hitter Tyler Wade drew a two-out walk with the bases empty, took second on Elías Díaz’s swinging bunt single and scored on lefty Luis Arraez’s single.

Gore’s history in San Diego’s farm system included a rough, prolonged bout with control issues. Throwing inside to lefties wasn’t a strength during that vexing time for the young southpaw.

Gore got his career back on track, and under Nationals coaches, he has evolved into an ace, one who leads the league in strikeout rate.

But in working Gore for the six-pitch walk, Wade saw no inside-third pitches and chased none of Gore’s outside pitches. Was Wade looking away all the time? Seemed possible.

Another curiosity came after the lucky single by No. 9 hitter Díaz. The next batter was the lefty Arraez, only because manager Mike Shildt, in a rarity this year, put him atop the order. Arraez’s career production is significantly better against right-handers. But here he was, atop the lineup, opposite Gore. It was Arraez’s first game this year in the No. 1 spot when Fernando Tatis Jr. — slumping lately — was also in the lineup.

The lineup tweaking paid off when Arraez slapped a 96 mph pitch past shortstop, scoring Wade.

And that pitch, on 1-1, was an inch or two outside of the outside corner. Was Arraez looking outside? Seemed reasonable.

Conclusion: the Padres were tuned into something.

A common theme among Padres veterans is praise for Shildt and his staff. Joe Musgrove sounded that theme Wednesday, lauding the staff’s attention to detail.

“We put a lot of credit to Shildt — the way that he prepares, and this staff, to get the players ready, it’s better than I’ve seen at any level,” said Musgrove, who was with the 2016-17 Astros and the 2018-20 Pirates before his trade to the Padres.

The Padres did goof up one detail Wednesday.

Díaz, a veteran catcher who runs like a veteran catcher, was thrown out at home plate in a play that wasn’t close. On deck was Manny Machado. Díaz was given the green light by third base coach Tim Leiper, who, in fairness, has made many good moves, too.

Ballpark fun

My favorite moment Wednesday began when Padres lefty Jackson Merrill socked Gore’s letter-high, center-cut fastball toward deep left-center field.

Merrill, sprinting toward second base, saw center fielder Jacob Young snag the 379-foot drive against the wall. Still running, Merrill kicked the dirt in frustration.

The pinstriped Padre had just authored a sharp imitation of one of baseball’s iconic moments by another pinstriped slugging center fielder.

Stoic Yankees Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio famously kicked the dirt as he glided toward second in the 1947 World Series. He’d walloped a ball to deep left-center in massive Yankee Stadium. This one sailed to near a 415-foot sign, inducing a long sprint from Dodgers center fielder Al Gionfriddo. Seeing Gionfriddo glove the ball, DiMaggio responded with a rare show of on-field emotion. The clip still appears in World Series video montages.

The Yankee Stadium crowd that afternoon? 74,065.

You won’t find many baseball crowds that enjoy “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” more than Wednesday’s sold-out crowd in the East Village. The weather was spectacular — sunny and warm, refreshed by a summer breeze. The game flowed.

Wednesday’s game included several good-to-great defensive plays on nubbers and bunts. Gore, whose basketball dunks and overall athleticism left Padres folks in awe during his San Diego tenure, had three assists in such a span.

But the best play was Díaz’s scramble-and-throw-on-the-move to deny Young a bunt single leading off the ninth. Díaz savored this one, flashing a big grin after the throw sent him across the grass, headfirst.