LOS ANGELES – Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres wrote their own Hollywood ending on the home field of their biggest rivals Tuesday night.
San Diego stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers with a game-ending triple play to preserve a 4-2 victory over the NL West leaders that clinched a playoff spot for the Padres.
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“We won it! We won it!” yelled Fernando Tatis Jr.
The party was on in the Padres' darkened clubhouse, with music pumping and lights flashing as players drenched each other in alcohol.
“Couldn’t have scripted it any better, man,” manager Mike Shildt said over the din. “What a play by Manny, a phenomenal play.”
With the Padres leading by three runs in the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single that cut it to 4-2 and put runners at first and second.
Miguel Rojas hit a sharp grounder to Machado at third base, and he stepped on the bag before going around the horn for the triple play. The Dodgers challenged the out call at second base, but the ruling was upheld after a video review.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was left watching from the on-deck circle.
“I’ve been dying to do it for a couple years now,” said a bare-chested Machado, wearing sunglasses as a fragrant mix of beer and champagne dripped from every pore. “He showed bunt the first play. Thinking he was going to bunt — he hit a groundball right at me.”
The only other teams to turn a triple play on the same day they clinched a postseason berth were the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers, and the Chicago Cubs in 1910 and 1907, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
San Diego's was the first of those to end the game. It was the Padres' first triple play since June 10, 2010, against the New York Mets.
After missing the postseason last year, the Padres earned the eighth playoff berth in franchise history. They are guaranteed at least a National League wild card with five games remaining in the regular season.
“They’re a good frickin’ ballclub on the other side, so we've got to go out there and play better,” Machado said. “We did that tonight.”
Jake Cronenworth hit an early two-run homer, then he and Xander Bogaerts drove in runs in the fourth to give the Padres a 4-1 lead.
Chasing their first division title since 2006, the Padres are two games behind Los Angeles with two games left in their series at Dodger Stadium. San Diego already owns the tiebreaker with an 8-3 record in head-to-head matchups this season.
“It’s a beautiful, wonderful start,” Shildt said. “You've got to get in the playoffs to win it all. It’s just about taking care of business from here on out.”
San Diego has the best record in the majors since the All-Star break at 41-17.
“We enjoy playing every single day. Coming to the ballpark has been fun every single day,” Machado said. “Guys have stepped up big-time. It’s taken a whole effort as an organization to be where we’re at today.”
The Padres (91-66) have their most wins since the 1998 NL championship team finished the regular season 98-64 — and they have designs on winning their first World Series title to honor Peter Seidler, the owner who died last year at age 63.
“He’s been with us all year,” Machado said. “He’s shining upon us right now, smiling down enjoying this moment, enjoying this victory with us, enjoying this celebration.”
Seidler had strong ties to the Dodgers. He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and relocated them to the West Coast in 1958, and the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who inherited the team along with Seidler’s mother Terry.
“Peter started us off years ago and here we are,” Machado said. “We’re doing it for him.”
The Padres came out on the field in the empty stadium and chanted “Manny! Manny!” while posing for photos.
San Diego earned a wild card in 2022 and eliminated the Mets and Dodgers from the playoffs before losing to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb