Padres secure playoff spot with triple play and 4-2 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres wrote their own Hollywood ending on Tuesday night on the home field of their biggest rivals.

San Diego surprised the Los Angeles Dodgers with a game-deciding triple play to secure a 4-2 victory over the NL West leaders that clinched a playoff spot for the Padres.

“We won! We won!” shouted Fernando Tatis Jr.

The party was in full swing inside the darkened Padres clubhouse, with music blaring and lights flashing as players doused each other with alcohol.

“The script couldn’t have been better, man,” manager Mike Shildt said over the din. “What a play by Manny, a phenomenal play.”

With the Padres leading by three runs in the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single that cut the score to 4-2 and put runners on first and second base.

Miguel Rojas hit a sharp grounder to Machado at third base, and Machado stepped on the bag before going around the horn and making a triple play. The Dodgers contested the out call at second base, but the decision was upheld after a video review.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani watched from the waiting circle.

“I’ve been dying to do this for a couple of years,” said a shirtless Machado, wearing sunglasses on his head, his pores dripping with a fragrant mix of beer and champagne. “He bunted on the first play. I thought he was going to bunt – but then he hit a ground ball right at me.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other teams to pull off a triple play on the same day they clinched a postseason spot were the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs in 1910 and 1907.

San Diego finished the game first. It was the Padres’ first triple play since June 10, 2010 against the New York Mets.

After missing the playoffs last year, the Padres secured the eighth playoff spot in franchise history and are guaranteed at least a wild card in the National League with five games left in the regular season.

“On the other hand, they’re a damn good ball club, so we’ve got to go out there and play better,” Machado said. “We did that tonight.”

Jake Cronenworth hit an early two-run homer, then he and Xander Bogaerts scored runs in the fourth inning to give the Padres a 4-1 lead.

The Padres are chasing their first division title since 2006 and are two games behind Los Angeles with two games remaining in their series at Dodger Stadium. San Diego already holds the tiebreaker with an 8-3 record in head-to-head matches this season.

“This is a beautiful, wonderful start,” said Shildt. “You have to get to the playoffs to win it all. From now on, it’s just about putting it all together.”

San Diego has the best record in the Major Leagues since the All-Star break at 41-17.

“We enjoy playing every day. It’s been fun coming to the stadium every day,” Machado said. “The guys have done great. It’s taken a lot of effort as an organization to get to where we are today.”

The Padres (91-66) have recorded their most wins since the 1998 NL championship team finished the regular season 98-64 – and they plan to win their first World Series title to honor Peter Seidler, the owner who died last year at age 63.

“He’s been with us all year,” Machado said. “He’s beaming down on us right now, smiling down and enjoying this moment, enjoying this win with us, enjoying this celebration.”

Seidler had close ties to the Dodgers. He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and moved them to the West Coast in 1958, and the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who inherited the team along with Seidler’s mother, Terry.

“Peter started us years ago and now we’re here,” Machado said. “We’re doing it for him.”

The Padres entered the empty stadium chanting “Manny! Manny!” while posing for photos.

San Diego received a wildcard in 2022 and knocked the Mets and Dodgers out of the playoffs before losing to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series.

___

APMLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb