Padres sweep Braves from wild-card series, advance to face Dodgers – San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres kept going, so they are still going.

“A little up and down,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “But we’re here now. It’s all that matters. And we’re gonna keep showing up.”

In ways both exhilarating and stressful, Wednesday night’s 5-4 victory that swept the Braves from the National League wild-card series, was emblematic of how the Padres have operated all season.

A five-run second inning, their starting pitcher exiting with elbow “tightness” and four-plus innings of survival by five relievers provided the highs and the sighs on a fraught night for the Padres and the 47,705 that packed Petco Park.

When catcher Kyle Higashioka caught Travis d’Arnaud’s foul pop-up while tripping over first baseman Donovan Solano for the final out, Padres players climbed the railing. After letting out a loud cheer, the crowd broke into a “Beat L.A.” chant.

That is because for the third time in five years, the Padres will play the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, this one beginning Saturday in Los Angeles.

“It’s a beautiful time in San Diego,” Tatis said. “Can’t wait to have more of this.”

Still, as the Padres hugged and donned NLDS T-shirts on the field and prepared to spray champagne in the clubhouse, there was also concern.

Joe Musgrove, who missed 2½ months from the end of May to mid-August with various elbow maladies, departed the game with what the team called “right elbow tightness” with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.

“The elbow is all right,” said Musgrove, who was removed after throwing a 2-0 curveball to Matt Olson. “. . I’ve been dealing with a little bit of tightness for the last couple weeks and just felt like I was at the point where my stuff wasn’t any good. I was trying my best to get through it as best I could, but I was at the point where I either pushed through it and risk something worse, or get out of there and let our bullpen do their job.”

Musgrove, who was back in the dugout in the bottom of the ninth and joined the on-field and clubhouse celebrations, is expected to get an MRI on Thursday.

The victory, the fact Musgrove has pitched through ailments before and has not been ruled out for sure, as well as the depth of their starting pitching allowed for some hope.

“I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” said Dylan Cease, who will start Game 1 against the Dodgers. “Joe is tough. I believe in Joe. I’m not going to be surprised when he comes back and pitches in our next series. But either way, we’re going to be ready.”

Bryan Hoeing replaced Musgrove and retired Olson on a pop-up before yielding a lead-off homer to Jorge Soler in the fifth inning.

Jeremiah Estrada began the sixth and allowed a single with one out and another single with two. He departed with two down and runners at the corners and the left-handed-hitting Olson coming up.

Left-hander Tanner Scott came in to face the Braves’ cleanup hitter and stranded the runners when Olson lined out to left fielder Jurickson Profar.

Scott followed a lead-off walk to Soler in the seventh with three straight outs.

Jason Adam surrendered a single to Orlando Arcia and a home run to Michael Harris II before getting three outs in the eighth.

Robert Suarez, the closer who near the end of the regular season blew three of six save chances, then converted his fourth in a row with a 1-2-3 ninth.

What the Padres did to win Wednesday might have been surprising if they had not done something like it a fair amount over the past six months.

“It’s a big part of our identity with our club,” manager Mike Shildt said. “… With the mantra of we’re going to compete regardless of circumstances.”

That’s their thing. It doesn’t matter what happens before what happens matters.

Before Musgrove settled into being dominant, retiring nine consecutive batters right up to when he left the game, the Braves ambushed him for a run on a double, a groundout and a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning.

The Padres then failed to score in the first inning after having the bases loaded with no outs.

An inning later, they scored five runs after having no one on with two outs.

In successive at-bats in the first inning, Manny Machado struck out and Jackson Merrill grounded into a fielder’s choice on a first-pitch sweeper that was barely above the ground. In the second inning, Machado broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run double and Merrill made it 5-1 with a two-run triple.

“That’s the band of brothers right there.” Merrill said. “First inning, bases loaded, no outs, we don’t score. We don’t look back. We move forward. … That’s what you call a band of brothers, just working together, trying to pack on the runs.”

The five-run inning, which began with Higashioka’s second home run in two nights and then five more hits, was the Padres’ second in four games but also just their second in 60 games. To that point, they had scored at least five runs in an inning an MLB-leading 12 times.

That is the 2024 Padres.

Sometimes they falter. But they don’t stay down. And they seem capable of anything.

As had happened for a long stretch in their 4-0 win in Game 1, the Padres didn’t do much after the second inning.

In the postseason, though, the only important thing is the result.

“This team has always fought,” Machado said. “All year. We’re going to continue to fight, always.”

Originally Published: October 2, 2024 at 8:29 p.m.