Padres clinch playoff berth with three-run seventh against Dodgers

Watch the official clinch video. The Padres clinched a postseason berth Thursday night by turning a pitching duel into a three-run seventh inning, then holding on for a 4-2 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The win secured San Diego’s third straight postseason appearance and fifth in seven seasons, while its exact October path remains to be settled.

Nick Pivetta and Tyler Glasnow controlled the early innings. Pivetta allowed four hits and no runs in 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven. Glasnow struck out 11 Padres in 6 1/3 innings, but San Diego made its best chance count after Ethan Salas had broken the scoreless tie. Salas scored on Dustin Harris's sacrifice fly in the sixth. The Padres then got Jackson Merrill aboard with a double in the seventh and kept the inning moving through contact rather than a home run.

Austin Hays drove in Merrill on an infield single that deflected off third baseman Max Muncy. Salas singled home Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to right to bring in Sung-Mun Song. In a span of three run-scoring hits, the Padres changed the game from a one-run lead to a four-run cushion. Salas finished with two hits and an RBI; Tatis also had two hits. Those were the crucial at-bats in a game where Glasnow's strikeout total had made scoring look difficult.

The Dodgers did not disappear. Shohei Ohtani doubled in Tommy Edman in the ninth, cutting into the lead, and he finished with two hits. Mookie Betts had three. Mason Miller nevertheless recorded the final outs for the save, despite allowing a run, and the Padres celebrated on the field. MLB's official video identifies the final out as the moment San Diego clinched its berth. The Dodgers also secured a first-round bye after Atlanta's loss, according to MLB's game video; Thursday's defeat did not take that bye away.

San Diego is 89-70 with three regular-season games left. The Padres open their final series at home against Arizona on Friday. Where they play in October still depends on the final standings, but Thursday’s win removed the uncertainty over whether they would get there.

Sources: MLB game box and play-by-play; Associated Press game report.