The San Diego Padres are headed back to October, and this time they’ve done something the franchise had never done before.
Thursday night’s 4-2 win over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium locked up a postseason berth for the 2026 playoffs and gave the Padres a third straight trip to the postseason for the first time in team history. It also bumped San Diego back into the top wild-card position, putting the club in control of its own path to the No. 4 seed and a home wild-card series next week.
At 89-70, the Padres sit one game ahead of the 88-71 Chicago Cubs. The Philadelphia Phillies are 87-72 and still need two more wins to secure the final postseason spot and eliminate the Arizona Diamondbacks from contention. For San Diego, though, the final weekend is now about seeding, not survival.
That was the goal all along heading into this series against Arizona: avoid a winner-take-all setup. The Padres did exactly that.
The night was built on pitching early, then a late surge that cracked the game open. Nick Pivetta delivered the kind of outing that fits a postseason rotation, striking out seven over 4.2 scoreless innings while giving up only four hits and a walk. Yuki Matsui took over and handled the end of the fifth plus the first two outs of the sixth.
On the other side, Tyler Glasnow was dealing. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth before 20-year-old rookie Ethan Salas broke it up with a one-out single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with another hit, moving Salas to third, and Dustin Harris drove him in with a sacrifice fly to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.
Jason Adam made his long-awaited return to the mound in the sixth, replacing Matsui with two outs and getting the final out on one pitch.
Then came the inning that changed everything.
In the seventh, Salas again found himself in the middle of the action. Jackson Merrill opened with a double, and Xander Bogaerts drew a walk to end Glasnow’s night. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski entered, but Austin Hays kept doing damage against lefties with a pinch-hit RBI single.
After Samad Taylor struck out, Salas came through again, lining a two-out RBI single that brought in Bogaerts. Tatis followed with an RBI single of his own, and just like that the Padres were up by four.
Adam returned for the seventh and got two quick outs before Adrian Morejon came in to face Shohei Ohtani. Morejon needed only three pitches to strike him out.
The only blemish on the Padres’ night came in the eighth, when Morejon allowed a walk and a single, then gave up a run on a balk after recording two outs. That was the extent of the damage.
Mason Miller finished it off for his 38th save of the season, and the Padres could finally celebrate a clinch that had been in the making for days, and now stands as a little slice of franchise history.
In Other News...
Manny Machado Just Gave Dodgers Fans Another Reason To Hate October
Manny Machado managed to hit two very different notes in the same night during a recent Padres-Dodgers series, and both of them landed squarely in front of the Los Angeles crowd. Before doing damage at the plate, he signed autographs for Dodgers fans, then went on to launch a two-run home run and add a sacrifice fly in the game. For a player who has long been one of the more polarizing figures in the rivalry, it was a reminder that even his courteous moments can come with a competitive edge attached.
He later kept a promise by handing his batting gloves to a young fan, another small gesture that only sharpened the contrast between the public persona and the player Dodgers supporters have spent years bracing against. The bigger question, of course, is what all of this looks like if these teams meet again in October, when every Machado plate appearance carries more weight and every gesture, polite or otherwise, gets folded into the larger tension between San Diego and Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Miguel Rojas Shared A Farewell Message Dodgers Fans Will Feel
Miguel Rojas has given Dodgers fans another reason to appreciate what he brings beyond the box score. After announcing he will retire following the 2026 season, he signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles for that final year on the field, keeping him in a familiar role as the Dodgers prepare for another stretch of championship expectations. Even as his playing days wind down, Rojas has already mapped out a future with the organization, with plans to help in player development and the front office in 2027.
Recently, Rojas also sent a public thank-you to Dodgers fans, a message that landed with extra weight because he is clearly nearing the end of his career. It was the kind of farewell note that reminds a fan base how much a veteran can mean over time, especially when a player has become part of the fabric of the clubhouse and the larger organizational picture. For the Dodgers, it adds a human layer to a simple roster move, and for Rojas, it signals that the next chapter may be just as tied to Los Angeles as the last one. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Three Peat Path May Get Toughest Before The World Series
The Dodgers enter 2026 with the kind of roster that keeps them near the top of every postseason conversation, but one of the more interesting takes circulating around the league is that their hardest path might come before the World Series even begins. According to an MLB general manager cited by ESPNs Jeff Passan, the National League playoff field could present a stiffer test than anything waiting on the other side, a reflection of just how deep and competitive the bracket could be.
For a club chasing a third straight title, that framing matters because it shifts the spotlight from Octobers final round to the road there. The idea is not about a confirmed matchup or a settled bracket, just the league-wide sense that the Dodgers could have to survive a tougher set of NL opponents than the American League would offer once the World Series arrives. It is the kind of reminder that repeat championships are rarely won in a straight line. [Read more 🡒]