For the third time in five years, the San Diego Padres are off to the National League Division Series, and they will see an all-too-familiar foe.
The Padres will square off with NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers after sweeping the Atlanta Braves in the wild card round.
San Diego earned a 5-4 win on Wednesday night over the Braves, whose comeback was too little but too late.
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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) celebrates as he scores during the second inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. (Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)
Unlike the first game, it was Atlanta who got the scoring started, as Marcell Ozuna got a sacrifice fly to score Michael Harris II, who led the game off with a double. But, San Diego lit up the scoreboard in the second.
Max Fried retired the first two batters of the inning, but a Kyle Higashioka homer tied the game. That was the first of six straight two-out hits, with the latter two being a two-run double by Manny Machado, and a two-run triple by Jackson Merrill.
It was the only inning that San Diego scored, but it worked out just fine.
Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth, and Harris hit one over the center field wall for a two-run shot in the eighth, but Robert Suarez retired the side in order in the ninth to get the save and start the party in San Diego. Upon the final out being made, chants of “Beat LA” almost immediately rang out.
San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after a run during the second inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. (Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)
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Perhaps fatigue hit the Braves, who had to play in a doubleheader on Monday in Atlanta to decide their postseason fate, then fly out west to take on one of the hottest teams in baseball. It was tough luck for Atlanta all year long, again dealing with injuries (including another torn ACL to reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.), and it seems like it finally caught up to them.
Not only do the Padres and Dodgers face off 13 times a year (it used to be nearly 20 before MLB decided to have every team face each other throughout the season), but the Dodgers and Padres have recent October history.
The two teams faced off in both the 2020 and 2022 NLDS. The Dodgers swept an up-and-coming San Diego team the first time, en route to their World Series victory, but San Diego won in four two years ago.
If the regular season was any sort of foreshadowing, it’s good news for San Diego, as they won the season series, 8-5.
San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates after a two-RBI triple during the second inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. (Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)
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Game 1 will be Saturday at 8:38 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium.
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