LOS ANGELES (AP) — The San Diego Padres clinched a playoff spot Tuesday night when they turned a triple play to preserve a 4-2 victory over the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
After missing the postseason last year, Manny Machado and the Padres earned the eighth playoff berth in franchise history. They are guaranteed at least a National League wild card with five games remaining in the regular season.
Chasing their first division title since 2006, the Padres are two games behind Los Angeles with two games left in their series at Dodger Stadium. San Diego already owns the tiebreaker with an 8-3 record in head-to-head matchups this season.
With the Padres leading by three runs in the ninth inning Tuesday night, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single that cut it to 4-2 and put runners at first and second.
Miguel Rojas hit a bouncer to Machado at third base, and he stepped on the bag before going around the horn for a game-ending triple play.
San Diego has the best record in the majors since the All-Star break at 41-17.
The Padres (91-66) have topped 90 wins for the first time since 2010, and they have designs on winning their first World Series title to honor Peter Seidler, the owner who died last year at age 63.
Seidler had strong ties to the Dodgers. He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and relocated them to the West Coast in 1958, and the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who inherited the team along with Seidler’s mother Terry.
San Diego earned a wild card in 2022 and eliminated the Mets and Dodgers from the playoffs before losing to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series.
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