5-run, 2-out rally propels Padres back into NLDS vs. LA
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SAN DIEGO -- The Padres didn’t even make it into their clubhouse on Wednesday night to celebrate before those three familiar syllables thumped throughout Petco Park, a reminder of what comes next.
One moment, catcher Kyle Higashioka went sprawling to the grass as he held onto Travis d’Arnaud’s popup for the final out of the National League Wild Card Series. The next moment, the Padres were mobbing each other on the infield, celebrating the accomplishment.
And then, just as quickly, came that reminder. The largest crowd in Petco Park history -- 47,705 fans all ready to party after the Padres held on for a 5-4 victory in Game 2 -- broke out in unison: “Beat L.A.”
Indeed, the Padres are again headed north on Interstate 5. There’s another dragon to slay.
“It does always seem to go through the Dodgers,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said amid the champagne-soaked celebration afterward.
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San Diego rode a frenzied five-run second inning, then held on to move to 3-0 in franchise history in the Wild Card round. The prize? The same as it was before: An NL Division Series against the Padres’ Southern California rivals.
For the third time in five years, the Padres and Dodgers will meet in the NLDS. The Padres were swept in 2020, before stunning the 111-win Dodgers in ‘22. It was that summer that beloved late Padres owner Peter Seidler proclaimed the Dodgers as, “That dragon up the freeway we’re trying to slay.”
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Two years later, the playing field has leveled. The Padres took the NL West race to the final week of the season. Then, when they missed out on a division title with a loss at Dodger Stadium, they boldly declared that they’d be back.
They will be -- with a chance to settle the score. The two teams opened the big league season by splitting two games in Seoul in March. Now they’re set for a best-of-five in October.
“We've been going at it all year,” said third baseman Manny Machado. “It's been playoff baseball since Korea. Enjoy this moment today, and then get ready for them.”
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The Padres earned their trip to Los Angeles with an emphatic two-game sweep of the Braves -- though the victory on Wednesday was tempered by Joe Musgrove’s early exit due to right elbow tightness. (The extent of the injury remains unknown; Musgrove will undergo imaging on Thursday morning).
The Padres fell behind in the first inning but then loaded the bases in the bottom half against Max Fried, who somehow wriggled out of the jam. Fried rode that momentum into the second inning, then…
Six straight hits and a five-spot for the Padres.
“First, that happens when you have no outs, bases loaded,” rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill said. “And then you have two outs and get six straight hits. It's baseball.”
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Higashioka’s second home run in as many nights opened the scoring for the Padres and reignited Petco Park. The next three hitters reached base via singles, bringing Machado to the plate with the bases loaded.
He laced a double. Merrill followed with a triple off the center-field wall. As he rounded the bases and dove into third, the ballpark shook. Per STATS, The Padres became the first team in postseason history to record a stretch of six consecutive hits, while hitting for a cycle among those six hits.
“Two outs, nobody on -- we're really good at that,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “It's a big part of our identity with our club, the mantra of, ‘We're going to compete regardless of circumstances.’ Nobody on, we'll figure it out, get it going.”
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Musgrove exited two innings later, but the Padres pieced it together from there. Michael Harris II’s two-run homer off Jason Adam brought the Braves within one in the eighth. But closer Robert Suarez, who struggled down the stretch, worked a clean ninth inning.
The final out was tricky. d’Arnaud’s popup was equidistant between Higashioka and first baseman Donovan Solano. The two collided, with Higashioka toppling over Solano before helping him to his feet as the celebrations broke out.
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And then… that reminder. The Padres and Dodgers have staged some classics this season. It’s time to settle the 2024 edition of their rivalry.
“We're in the part of the season where winner moves on,” Shildt said. “And we wouldn't want it any other way. It's going to be a wonderful series. We're super excited about it. … It's going to be two wonderful venues and high-stakes baseball. That's what we play for.”