The San Diego Padres took full advantage of their opportunity to seize home field advantage in the National League Wild Card Series, with a 10-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on Sunday. After missing out on their first opportunity to secure their postseason position with a series-opening loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, they took control early in Game 2 and removed any doubt that they would indeed be the No. 4 seed. The first-round playoff matchup will be played in front of the Friar
Faithful rather than in front of the ivy-lined outfield of Wrigley Field.
San Diego jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Arizona responded with runs in the second and third innings and took a 2-1 lead. The Padres scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to regain the lead at 3-2 but the Diamondbacks immediately responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning and took a one-run lead at 4-3. San Diego removed the thought of losing the game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a commanding 10-4 lead.
Manny Machado powered the scoring outburst for the Padres with a one-out three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning that landed in the Petco Porch and gave San Diego a 6-4 lead. Xander Bogaerts followed suit and hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Padres a 7-4 lead. A double, a single and a groundout later in the inning made the score 8-4. Jake Cronenworth capped the scoring for San Diego in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out two-run single on a changeup that he hit back through the middle of the infield to put the Padres up 10-4.
The power arms at the back of the San Diego bullpen made appearances in what was likely their final tuneup before the postseason. Adrian Morejon pitched a scoreless inning, but Mason Miller came in for the top of the ninth inning in a non-save situation and surrendered three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
With their postseason place secured, the Padres can take the final game of the season as an opportunity to rest starters and use long-relief arms like Randy Vasquez and Griffin Canning to get through the game. Every day players like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill will likely get the day off their feet or have limited time on the field as they prepare to take on the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs.
San Diego will play the final game of the regular season today against Arizona at 12:10 p.m.
Padres News:
- Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball completed her recap of the San Diego minor league system.
- The Padres had a successful week, which included a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a postseason berth.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune believes this could be the year that San Diego wins it all.
- Gavin Sheets made his return to the Padres’ lineup and Casey Mize was placed on the 15-Day IL.
- Former Padres closer and MLB veteran Kirby Yates announced his retirement.
Baseball News:
- The Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central title.
- The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers will decide the winner of the AL West in the final game of the season.
- The Philadelphia Phillies were routed by the Tampa Bay Rays and will need to win their final game of the regular season to reach the playoffs.
- Justin Verlander walked off the mound for the final time in his MLB career with his daughter as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
