Kyle Higashioka homered and Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill added two RBIs apiece during a five-run second inning to help the San Diego Padres clinch their National League wild-card series with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits and a walk for fourth-seeded San Diego, which wrapped up the best-of-three series in two games. Luis Arraez and Merrill had two hits apiece for the Padres.
Michael Harris II had three hits, including a two-run homer, for the fifth-seeded Braves.
“We gave it to them yesterday, and came out today and scored five on one of the best pitchers in the game,” Machado said, referring to Atlanta starter Max Fried. “(The Braves) didn’t stop the fight until the last out.
“To my team here, we have never given up all year. We’re going to continue fighting. It’s a special day here.”
The Padres will open the NL Division Series on Saturday against the top-seeded Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Atlanta moved within 5-4 in the eighth when Orlando Arcia led off with a single against Jason Adam and Harris homered to center on the next pitch.
However, Adam got the next three batters out and Robert Suarez retired the Braves in order in the ninth for the save.
Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove departed after 3 2/3 innings with right elbow tightness. He is headed for an MRI exam on Thursday.
San Diego held a 5-1 advantage when Musgrove exited. He struck out four, walked none, and gave up one run and one hit.
Bryan Hoeing (1-0) finished the at-bat against Matt Olson after Musgrove left to end the fourth inning and pitched 1 1/3 innings to get the victory. Hoeing gave up a homer to Jorge Soler in the fifth.
Fried was torched for five runs and eight hits over two innings. He struck out two and walked none.
Fried got hit in the hip by a liner in the first inning. Braves manager Brian Snitker said during an in-game interview that Fried was bothered by the injury.
“It was a pretty good shot,” Snitker said. “As the inning got prolonged, (the trainer) said it affected the sciatica or something. And I think — I’m not going to take away anything from the Padres. They squared some balls up really good and got big hits.”
After being shut out in Game 1, the Braves scored in the first inning when Harris led off the game with a double, moved to third on Ozzie Albies’ groundout and scored on Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly.
With two outs in the second, the Padres strung together six straight hits while scoring five runs off Fried.
Higashioka got the outburst started by slamming a 1-2 fastball over the wall in left-center. He also homered in San Diego’s 4-0 victory on Tuesday.
Arraez followed with a single and Tatis and Profar each reached on infield singles to load the bases.
Machado was up next. He had fallen to 1-for-17 all-time against Fried after striking out with two on in the first inning. This time, however, he lined a two-run double to left to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.
Merrill followed with a two-run triple that short-hopped the fence in center.
“That was a huge inning for us,” Machado said. “Higgy starting off there in that inning with two outs against one of the best pitchers in the game.”
Soler led off the fifth with a homer to center to cut Atlanta’s deficit to 5-2.
“They just kept playing,” Snitker said of his players. “They kept playing. They kept working. The energy never waned. Their attitudes never waned.
“I’m about as proud of a team as I’ve ever had, quite honestly, with how they’ve handled everything.”
–Field Level Media
