SAN DIEGO -- The Padres are again headed north on Interstate 5. There’s another dragon to slay.

San Diego held on for a 5-4 victory on Wednesday night at Petco Park, completing an emphatic two-game sweep of the Braves in the National League Wild Card Series. Their prize: An NL Division Series against the rival Dodgers.

Sound familiar?

The Padres rode a frantic five-run second inning to victory in Game 2 against the Braves -- with the entirety of their rally coming with two outs. Kyle Higashioka launched his second solo homer in as many nights. The top of the order followed by loading the bases before Manny Machado smacked a two-run double. Jackson Merrill followed with a two-run triple that shook Petco Park.

The victory was tempered by Joe Musgrove's fourth-inning exit due to tightness in his right elbow. Musgrove threw two unusually slow curveballs to Atlanta’s Matt Olson, which prompted a visit from his catcher, Higashioka. They were promptly joined by manager Mike Shildt and a team trainer. The Padres offered no update on the severity of Musgrove’s injury.

The San Diego bullpen came up big in Musgrove’s absence, covering the final 5 1/3, although things got a bit tense late, as the Braves clawed to within a run on Michael Harris II’s two-run homer off Jason Adam in the eighth.

With the win, the Padres advanced to their third NLDS in five years -- all of which have come against Los Angeles. They 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.”

They’ll have to slay it again.