The Padres made sure Thursday night ended with something bigger than one win. San Diego beat the Dodgers 4-2 in the series finale, and with that result, it locked up a Wild Card spot and kept its postseason path in its own hands.
It started with a classic stopper’s job from Nick Pivetta. He gave the Padres 4.2 strong innings, allowed four hits, didn’t surrender a run and struck out seven. Yuki Matsui followed with a scoreless frame, and Jason Adam also worked a shutout inning in his first appearance since June 29.
The game changed when Tyler Glasnow carried a no-hitter into the sixth, only for Ethan Salas to spoil it with a clean single to left. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with another single, pushing Salas to third, and Dustin Harris lifted a sacrifice fly that put San Diego in front 1-0.
The Padres didn’t stop there. In the top of the seventh, Ty France popped out, but Jackson Merrill doubled and Xander Bogaerts drew a walk to keep the inning alive.
Austin Hays, pinch-hitting for Jake Cronenworth, drove in a run with a single to left. After Samad Taylor struck out looking, Salas came through again with an RBU single to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Tatis added one more RBI single, and Harris grounded out to close the inning with San Diego up 4-0.
Adrian Morejon took over next and struck out Shohei Ohtani in a moment that mattered as the Padres moved closer to clinching. But Los Angeles created some trouble in the eighth.
Mookie Betts walked, Freddie Freeman singled to center, and after Teoscar Hernandez struck out and Kyle Tucker flied out, Betts scored on a Morejon balk. Miguel Rojas then flied out to end the threat.
Mason Miller handled the ninth, striking out Andy Pages looking and getting Hunter Feduccia to fly out. Tommy Edman struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch, and Ohtani followed with an RBI double to make it 4-2. Miller still finished the job by getting Betts to ground out, sealing San Diego’s third straight postseason trip.
The Padres now sit in position to host a Wild Card round if they can beat the Diamondbacks this weekend. Earlier Thursday, the Chicago Cubs clinched their spot, the Arizona Diamondbacks won to stay in the race, and the Philadelphia Phillies lost, leaving the playoff picture tight with one weekend left.
In Other News...
Tatis Just Turned A Padres Bullpen Question Into Front Office Pressure
With the Padres back in the postseason, Fernando Tatis Jr. has already shifted the conversation from celebration to retention, publicly urging president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to bring back free-agent reliever Adrian Morejon. It is the kind of comment that lands differently when it comes from one of the franchises face-of-the-team players, especially with Morejon having become a key part of San Diegos bullpen mix.
Now the question is less about whether Morejon has earned a strong case and more about whether the Padres are willing to act on it under their new ownership. Keeping a reliable arm in place always comes with financial tradeoffs, and Tatis public push adds a little more heat to a decision Preller already has to weigh carefully as San Diego looks ahead beyond this October run. [Read more 🡒]
Craig Stammen Made The Padres Embrace A Risky Plan At Last
In late July, Craig Stammen had plenty of reason to be skeptical about A.J. Prellers unconventional pitching plan. The Padres were trying to navigate a rotation that no longer fit the traditional mold, so the club began leaning on pitchers in specific matchup roles instead of asking them to work as classic starters. It was a risky shift, but one that matched the roster the Padres had in front of them.
Once Stammen embraced it, the approach helped steady the team through a useful stretch and kept San Diego in the race long enough to justify adding more pitching at the trade deadline. The arrangement also underscored how much of the burden on the rotation belonged to both Stammen and Preller, whose shared fingerprints were all over the problems and the fixes that followed. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Clinched A Spot But This Series Still Carries Real Stakes
The Padres may already have punched their ticket to October, but the margin for error is still thin as they open a series with the Diamondbacks, who remain alive in the playoff race. San Diego enters the matchup sitting atop the wild-card picture, and Arizona needs every game it can get, which gives this weekend an October feel even before the postseason begins.
Casey Mize is set to start the opener for San Diego against Brandon Pfaadt, and both clubs are likely to treat the series like a test run for the kind of decisions that get magnified in the playoffs. For the Padres, it is less about securing a berth now and more about lining up the rotation and navigating a game that still matters plenty in the standings. [Read more 🡒]