LOS ANGELES — The San Diego Padres moved to the brink of the postseason with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, putting themselves in position to clinch as early as Thursday before they even take the field.
Manny Machado provided the statement swing against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had given San Diego trouble in the past after the Padres were shut out in Game 1 on Tuesday. Machado barreled a sinker on the inside corner and launched it a Statcast-projected 409 feet to straightaway center for his 29th home run of the season — the 29th of his career against the Dodgers, more than against any other team — as he thumped his chest rounding first while the dugout erupted.
Manager Craig Stammen managed aggressively in a tight game. With one out and the bases loaded in the fourth, he lifted starter Robbie Ray despite a scoreless, sharp outing for right-hander David Morgan to face Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts. Morgan got Edman to fly out on a sacrifice fly for the Dodgers' lone run, walked Betts, and then faced Shohei Ohtani. After falling behind 3-1, Morgan got a crucial strike two on a fastball on the upper outside corner following a challenge by catcher Ethan Salas, then after two foul balls pumped a 98 mph sinker past Ohtani to preserve the one-run lead.
The result leaves San Diego needing just one win in its final four games — Thursday at Los Angeles or any of three against Arizona at Petco Park over the weekend — or a Diamondbacks loss in Colorado to clinch a third consecutive postseason berth. Arizona is slated to begin its series finale in Colorado about seven hours before first pitch Thursday in L.A., so the Padres could clinch around batting practice. San Diego, which had won 13 of 14 entering the series while feasting on inferior opponents, also now leads the Cubs and Phillies by one game for the top NL Wild Card spot despite having lost both tiebreakers, with a chance to host a Wild Card Series at Petco Park — where it is 49-29 — beginning Tuesday and to line up its playoff rotation once the spot is secured.