Padres Week in Review: Celebrating Clinchmas and Earning A Home Postseason Series

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 4-2

Runs scored last week: 32

Runs allowed last week: 32

Season record: 91-71

Runs scored (season): 722

Runs allowed (season): 681

Season run differential: 41

Scores

• Monday: Off
• Game 157 (Tuesday): Dodgers 7, Padres 0
• Game 158 (Wednesday): Padres 5, Dodgers 1
• Game 159 (Thursday): Padres 4, Dodgers 2
• Game 160 (Friday): Diamondbacks 11, Padres 4
• Game 161 (Saturday): Padres10, Diamondbacks 7
• Game 162 (Sunday): Padres 9, Diamondbacks 4

Week in Review and Highlights

Dodgers series

Game 1: On a day that began with their first chance to clinch a postseason berth to open the final week of the regular season, the Padres opened a series with their biggest rival and their best starting pitcher on the mound. It didn't go well, but also gave no reason for any panic. Right-hander Michael King's streak of quality starts came to an end when the Friars again struggled in a bullpen game from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 7-0 loss. The Padres dropped into a three-way tie with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL wild-card chase and kept their magic number for clinching a postseason spot at two. The Cubs lost 8-2 in 12 innings to the Miami Marlins, while the Phillies opened a tough finishing schedule with a 6-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Arizona Diamondbacks remained alive with a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. Those results leave the Padres holding the third and final NL wild-card spot, with the Cubs at No. 1 and Phillies No. 2. Both hold the tiebreaker over the Friars.

King, moved up a day in case the Padres need him to go in Sunday's regular-season finale, entered with eight consecutive quality starts and 18 for the season. After a 1-2-3 first inning, King retired the first two Dodgers in the bottom of the second. That is when things started to go wrong as he gave up back-to-back singles to Teoscar Hernandez and rookie Josue De Paula, then hit Andy Pages to load the bases. Then he lost his command and walked Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts to make it 2-0, with Freddie Freeman piling on by grounding a ball through an overshifted infield, bringing in two runs for a 4-0 Dodgers lead. For the first time since the end of June, King would not reach the fifth inning. He was pulled after four, having yielded five runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The Dodgers would add a run each against left-hander Wandy Peralta and right-hander Griffin Canning, who went two innings each.

Offensively, the Padres didn't face a single pitcher twice. The Dodgers used eight pitchers, with each covering a single inning except for one who went two. The strategy worked fantastic from a Dodgers perspective as the Padres only got five hits, two from Luis Campusano and another from pinch-hitter Ethan Salas, while striking out 10 times. A disappointing showing for sure, but with the Friars having won 13 of their previous 14 games, another loss was coming. A clinch is still very much a possibility before the Padres leave L.A.

Game 2: Think the Padres were panicking after losing for just the second time in 16 games the day before? Not at all. This team has shown a strong ability to bounce back from any bit of adversity since the end of July. Thanks to a Manny Machado homer and three RBIs and a strong overall pitching performance, the Padres dropped the rival Dodgers 5-1 to trim their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to one and reclaiming the No. 1 NL wild-card seed with four games left in the regular season. The Cubs and Phillies each lost, while the D'backs won to keep their season alive. The win also snapped the Dodgers' five-game winning streak vs. the Padres this year and L.A.'s 11 consecutive home wins.

The Dodgers got a huge lineup boost with the return of four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani coming off the injured list, but the Friars were more than up to the challenge. That was thanks to Robbie Ray. The Padres' left-handed starter threw a lot of pitches (84) and gave up a lot of hits (seven) for 3⅓ innings. But he did just enough over the first three innings to keep the Dodgers off the board. Ray ran into trouble in the fourth by allowing three straight singles, including a routine grounder to first where Ray was late to cover, to open the inning, then got Max Muncy to fly out to shallow center. Manager Craig Stammen had seen enough and went to right-hander David Morgan. Edman got a sacrifice fly to trim the Friars' lead to 2-1, then Betts walked to reload the bases with two outs. That brought up Ohtani in a mismatch. But Morgan battled Ohtani for eight pitches, including Salas' ABS challenge that overturned ball four that would have brought in a run and a couple of 3-2 foul balls, before striking out the superstar swinging on a beautiful sinker.

An offense that was blanked by eight relievers the day before was able to get to reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After getting just one hit off the Dodgers' right-hander through three innings, Dustin Harris was hit by a pitch (after a video review) to lead off the fourth. Machado then took a hanging sinker and drilled it 409 feet out to center field for a 2-0 lead, his team-leading 29th of the season and the 398th of his career. After the Dodgers got their lone run in the bottom of the fourth, the Padres got a couple more runs in the fifth. Salas and Tatis had leadoff singles. Harris then put down a sacrifice bunt that Yamamoto fielded and threw very wildly to third base, allowing Salas to score, Tatis to take third and Harris winding up at second. Machado followed with a sac fly to make it 4-1. There was a tack-on run in the ninth when Samad Taylor drew a one-out walk, then stole second and third. Freddy Fermin, who came in defensively for Salas, then delivered an RBI single.

Morgan's performance kicked off a terrific game by the bullpen in what felt like a postseason formula. Left-hander Yuki Matsui went one inning, then right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez dominated for two innings, leaving left-hander Adrian Morejon and right-handed closer Mason Miller, in a non-save situation, to finish things off.

Game 3: Merry Clinchmas, Padres fans! A day that less than three months ago seemed far-fetched came earlier than anyone could have imagined. The Padres clinched a place in the postseason for a franchise-record third straight season with a 4-2 victory over the Dodgers. While the clinching was the most important thing, the Padres also made headway in trying to secure the top NL wild-card seed with losses by the Cubs and Phillies. That gave the Friars the No. 1 wild card, one game ahead of the Cubs and two up on the Phillies. The D'backs remained alive with a win and are two games behind the Phillies as they come to Petco Park this weekend.

The victory, much like the season thus far, had its obstacles that the Friars overcome without hesitation. Salas, the youngest player in the majors at 20 years old, played another big role in this one as he got back-to-back starts behind the plate for the first time. The Padres didn't have a hit off Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow through 5⅓ innings. But Salas attacked the first pitch from Glasnow and singled through the infield to left to end the no-hit bid. Tatis tattooed the next pitch for a single to right, sending Salas to third. One pitch later, Harris hit a sacrifice fly to center to easily score Salas for a 1-0 lead. In the seventh, the Padres built a cushion. Merrill had a one-out double and Bogaerts walked, chasing Glasnow. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski came in and yielded a single to Austin Hays that deflected off Muncy at third, scoring Merrill. Sung-Mun Song pinch-ran for Hays and went to second when Salas delivered again, lining an RBI single to left-center to plate Bogaerts. Tatis followed by drilling an opposite-field single that Song scored just ahead of the throw, making it 4-0.

On the pitching side, right-handed starter Nick Pivetta turned in a postseason-worthy start in its quality. While going 4⅔ innings, Pivetta didn't allow a run and struck out seven, giving up four hits and a walk. Stammen then maneuvered the game like it was in the postseason, getting shutout innings from Matsui and right-hander Jason Adam, a day after he came off the 60-day injured list following a strained right shoulder. Morejon came in to get Ohtani for the final out of the seventh. He stayed in for the eighth and walked Betts and gave up a Freeman single to begin the inning. A strikeout of Hernandez and flyout by Kyle Tucker gave Morejon a chance to get out of the inning unscathed, but he was called for a balk that brought in a run, then retired the next batter. That left the ninth to Miller to punch the Padres' ticket. It wasn't easy, though. After a strikeout and a flyout, Miller struck out Edman swinging on a wicked slider in the dirt that went under Salas' glove and back to the screen. Ohtani then crushed a 102.6 mph four-seamer from Miller into the left-center gap to make it 4-2. But Betts then grounded to Machado at third for the final out. It wasn't a triple play to clinch it like Machado started two years ago to the day, but the celebration was about to begin.

A team that was struggling to find an identity following the All-Star break, relied on a pitching-chaos plan for 10 days before the trade deadline, got reinforcements and then started hitting the ball consistently took off and won 14 of their last 16 to clinch a wild-card spot on their biggest rival's field with new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones on hand and joining the festivities in the clubhouse.

Diamondbacks series

Game 1: On a day in which so much other stuff fell the Padres' way to the point where a home playoff series now feels like a formality, the Friars couldn't match the effort of a motivated Arizona Diamondbacks team. Perhaps that was due to an ailing Casey Mize. The right-handed starter was lit up again, giving up seven runs over four innings in an 11-4 Padres loss to the D'backs. Before the Padres' game began, the Cubs had lost both games of a doubleheader, which suddenly put the Padres on the verge of bringing the NL Wild Card Series to Petco Park. The Phillies added to the good fortune by also losing, officially putting the Padres one win away from that happening. Despite losing to the D'backs, the Padres have a 1½-game lead over the Cubs and two-game edge over the Phillies with two games remaining.

The big story is with Mize. The right-hander hasn't performed up to expectations since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers for two key prospects. Since stumbling down the dugout steps Aug. 22 vs. the Minnesota Twins, he allowed 28 runs (23 earned) over 26⅔ innings. There had been rumblings that Mize was dealing with something and he admitted after Friday's game that the ankle was still bothering him and affecting his mechanics. Mize already was in jeopardy of not being on the roster for the Wild Card Series, with this making that more of a probability, giving him time off to get the ankle right and becoming available if the Padres advance.

Following the champagne celebration the night before, the offense didn't show any true signs of a hangover, pounding out 10 hits after not reaching double digits once against the Dodgers, but the timing of the hits could have been a bit better. Tatis led off the bottom of the first with one of his two hits, Cronenworth had an RBI single as part of a two-run second, then drove in another run in the seventh and Song adding a run-scoring single in the eighth. It was, for the first time since April, that the Padres didn't have any real pressure on them. And with the D'backs playing for their postseason lives, you can just chalk it up to one of those games. One, well, two other highlights was Jase Bowen robbing homers in consecutive innings after replacing Merrill in center with the game out of hand.

Game 2: In the early stages of this one, it seemed like the Padres might be in for another tough day. But a Machado go-ahead homer and the bullpen stepping up yet again provided the impetus for a 10-7 triumph that gave the Padres home-field advantage for the NL Wild Card Series. For the Friars, the standings no longer matter, even if it is only for one more day. They clinched the No. 1 NL wild card and will face the Cubs in the Wild Card Series at Petco Park beginning Tuesday. The D'backs, meanwhile, remained alive heading into Game 162 as the Phillies also lost (12-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays), keeping Philadelphia's edge at one game with Arizona holding the tiebreaker.

The Padres had early leads of 1-0 and 3-2 erased, with the latter going away with a two-run top of the fourth. (Of note, Gavin Sheets, activated before the game, had an RBI double in the third inning.) With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Salas hit a single that deflected behind the pitcher and Tatis walked. After Harris failed to execute a bunt, Machado went oppo taco by launching his 30th homer of the season and 399th of his career to right, a three-run shot that made it 6-4, putting the Padres ahead to stay. The high-flying offense tacked on in the fifth as Bogaerts homered for just the second time since Aug. 14, a solo shot for his 13th this year, and Tatis drove in Merrill, who had doubled, with a groundout. In the sixth, two more runs came across on Cronenworth's two-run single with two outs.

From a pitching perspective, right-handed starter Walker Buehler had a downer, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts and a two-run homer to James McCann. Buehler is probably lined up for a bullpen role against the Cubs, although he could possibly start a Game 3. Matsui got Buehler out of a fourth-inning situation, Rodriguez sizzled for two innings, Morgan and Morejon pitched scoreless innings, leaving the ninth to Miller with a six-run lead. With the postseason starting Tuesday, this was likely a scheduled appearance by Miller regardless of the score to get him into a final game. It did not go as scripted. The superstar closer had his worst statistical game with the Padres, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out a pair. Should that be cause for concern? Not really as the adrenaline probably wasn't pumping like it would be in a save situation.

Game 3: While the Padres were in coasting mode for Game 162 of the season, it meant life or death to the D'backs. But ultimately, the Padres' potent offense wore down the beleaguered D'backs, registering a 9-4 victory to wrap up the regular season. The D'backs' fate was sealed during the seventh inning as the Phillies prevailed over the Rays 7-3, securing the last NL wild-card berth and a Wild Card Series matchup with Atlanta. The Padres finished with a 91-71 record, two games ahead of the Cubs in the wild-card race and nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

It was another day of double-digit hits with 11, getting 10 or more for the 12th time in their last 16 games. Harris, France, Hays and Fermin each had two hits, while Sheets showed he is ready for the postseason with a solo homer, his 17th of the season. Right-hander Randy Vasquez displayed his value with a six-inning start, allowing a run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Canning went the final three innings, giving up a three-run seventh inning to temporarily tie the game. It was a good tuneup game for the Padres, who continue their quest for the franchise's first World Series championship against the Cubs.

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• Season stats: 5-2, 1.67 ERA, 66 games, 38 saves (41 chances), 70 IP, 37 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 3 HR, 2 HBP, 26 BB, 129 K, .152 opponent average
• The three runs he allowed Saturday vs. the D'backs were the most he has allowed in 90 appearances since being acquired by the Padres.
• Set career highs this season with 66 appearances and 70 innings pitched.
• Also established career bests with 38 saves, 129 strikeouts, five victories and a 1.67 ERA.
• His 38 saves tied for the NL lead with Riley O'Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals and third in MLB.
• Led all MLB relievers with 518 pitches at 100 mph or better. That is more than any other team's bullpen. Teammate Adrian Morejon was fourth with 216.

Random Stats

• This will be the Padres' 10th postseason appearance, including five in the last seven seasons and franchise-record third straight.
• The Padres have won 90 games for the seventh time in franchise history, including the last three in a row.
• Craig Stammen is the first manager in Padres history to win 90 games in his first season as manager.
• Jake Cronenworth was named the NL Player of the Week for the second time in his career (June 2021 also). He slashed .464/.516/.786, which included a two-homer, five-RBI game. He scored eight runs and drove in eight.
• Rookie Ethan Salas was 3-for-3 in ABS challenges in Wednesday's game.
• Fernando Tatis Jr.'s three-hit game Wednesday vs. the Dodgers was his MLB-leading 17th three-hit game.
• The Padres drew 44,471 fans to their regular-season finale, the 66th sellout at Petco Park. The Friars finished with a season attendance of 3,347,081, the second-highest in MLB, an average of 41,322.

Transactions

• Wednesday: Activated RHP Jason Adam from the 60-day injured list.
• Wednesday: Optioned RHP Griffin Canning to ACL Padres.
• Wednesday: Designated RHP Alek Jacob for assignment.
• Saturday: Placed RHP Casey Mize on the 15-day injured list due to a right ankle sprain.
• Saturday: Activated 1B Gavin Sheets from the 10-day injured list.
• Saturday: Recalled RHP Griffin Canning from ACL Padres.
• Saturday: Optioned LHP Kyle Hart to ACL Padres.
• Saturday: Sent RHP Alek Jacob outright to ACL Padres.

Website Highlights

• Breaking down the offensive turnaround that saved the Padres' season — Randy Holt
• Three burning questions for the Padres entering the postseason — Yirsandy Rodriguez
• Padres can't afford Stammen's questionable pitching management to haunt them in the postseason — Steve Drumwright
• Why Padres' third straight postseason appearance is their most impressive yet — Randy Holt
• Tatis shouldn't be overlooked in NL MVP conversation — Randy Holt
• Cronenworth has galvanized Padres' playoff push with sudden revival — Randy Holt
• Padres have an obvious strategy to make Ray an effective playoff starter — Sam Caulder
• Padres are the team no one wants to face in the postseason — Steve Drumwright
• Padres affiliate season recap: Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas — Steve Drumwright
• Padres affiliate season recap: Double-A San Antonio Missions — Steve Drumwright
• Padres affiliate season recap: High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps — Steve Drumwright

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: NL Wild Card Series Game 1: Cubs (TBA) at Padres (Michael King), 7 p.m. (Peacock)
• Wednesday: NL Wild Card Series Game 2: Cubs at Padres, 7 p.m. (Peacock)
• Thursday: NL Wild Card Series Game 3 (if necessary): Cubs at Padres, TBA
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: NLDS Game 1: TBD at Milwaukee
• Sunday: NLDS Game 2: TBD at Milwaukee

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