What a game. What a series. What a season. What a way for the San Diego Padres to clinch their spot in the 2026 postseason. The Friars sealed a series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, earning a Wild Card berth and maintaining a one-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the top spot in the NL Wild Card.
Despite being no-hit by Tyler Glasnow through 5 1/3 innings, the Padres quickly got to work with back-to-back singles before the first run crossed home plate on a Dustin Harris
sac fly. Nick Pivetta worked in and out of trouble through 4 2/3 scoreless innings before turning it over to the bullpen. The Friars’ offense kept it going with a three-run seventh, capping off a huge series win with major playoff implications.
San Diego now returns home to Petco Park for the final series of the 2026 regular season. They’ll play the Arizona Diamondbacks with Wild Card seeding on the line. The Padres need to win every game to ensure that they retain the top Wild Card spot. The Dbacks, meanwhile, are playing their way into the playoffs. They’re two games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the last spot.
Taking the mound
Brandon Pfaadt (AZ) v. Casey Mize (SD)
Pfaadt has had a resurgent year with Arizona this season. He recorded a 5.25 ERA in 2025 but has pitched to a 3.72 ERA this year across 128 1/3 innings. He missed most of June after being demoted to Triple-A to figure out his mechanics and it worked. Since coming back on June 30, Pfaadt owns a 2.79 ERA (90.1 IP).
The right-hander has faced the Padres three times this season and gotten the better of them twice. After tagging Pfaadt for four runs in three innings on April 25, the Padres haven’t scored an earned run against him since. They’ll need to reverse that in order to notch a win in the series opener tonight.
Mize is scheduled to make his final start of the regular season tonight. It’s hard to understate just how much he has struggled since joining San Diego. It’s tanked his stock as an impending free agent as well as any ability to trust him as a playoff starter. That said, Mize has a great track record in the postseason and could shove when the lights are brightest.
The righty is coming off of one of his roughest outings, surrendering five runs to the Miami Marlins last Saturday. Thankfully, the Padres managed to come out with the win in extra innings. Since joining the Friars, Mize has pitched to a 6.64 ERA (40.2 IP), surrendering three or more runs in six of those outings. He’ll need to turn the tables tonight to restore some faith in his pitching.
Batter up!
The offense cooled off a bit in L.A., but that didn’t stop the Padres from scoring. After being shutout in the series opener, San Diego scored nine runs in the final two games. Against a pitching staff like the Dodgers’, that’s fantastic production. They’ll need their lineup to keep that up against Arizona if they are to retain their current seeding.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Dustin Harris, LF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Campusano, C
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Ethan Salas, DH
Salas has turned into an incredibly potent hitter in the last few weeks. In his last seven games, he’s recorded a blistering .389/.421/.722 slash line with five RBIs and a walk. He’s raking his way to a spot on the postseason roster, and could see plenty of time behind the dish this weekend.
Relief corps
After Pivetta’s stellar (albeit short) outing on Thursday night, Yuki Matsui, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller nailed down the final 4 1/3 innings. Adam, in his long-awaited return from the injured list, pitched a perfect frame on just five pitches. Miller struck out Tommy Edman to end the game, but the pitch was so filthy that the ball got away from Salas, allowing Edman to reach first. Miller ended the game shortly thereafter despite allowing a run to cross on a Shohei Ohtani double.
Tonight, San Diego can breathe a sigh of relief as they hope to give their high-leverage arms some rest in anticipation of the coming playoff series on Tuesday. The Friars will have Kyle Hart, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta, Bradgley Rodriguez and Randy Vásquez available out of the ‘pen tonight. Adam will likely be available as well given his low pitch count last night.
