SAN DIEGO — Developments in the Midwest went the San Diego Padres’ way Thursday.
A playoff berth is creeping up on them.
But the plastic and champagne and goggles will remain in storage at least one more day, as the Padres could not beat the team they will eventually need to win a series against if their season is to be truly successful.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Padres 5-2 Thursday night at Petco Park, taking their ninth consecutive series between the teams and putting off any celebration in the home clubhouse until at least Saturday.
Before play began in San Diego, the Phillies lost in Chicago, dropping the Padres’ magic number to clinch the No. 5 seed in the National league playoffs to five. And as the Padres batted in the second inning, the Milwaukee Brewers’ loss at home to the Miami Marlins wrapped up, trimming the Padres’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to three.
A victory Thursday would have meant the Padres could have secured a postseason berth if they beat the Chicago White Sox and the Brewers lost to the Marlins on Friday. Now the Padres still need a combination of wins and Brewers’ losses to add up to three.
The Phillies lead the Brewers by a half-game and have one more game to play than the Padres and Brewers. Any combination of Padres’ wins and Phillies’ losses adding up to five means the Padres earn the fifth of six NL playoff spots.
The Padres have six games remaining — three against the White Sox, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, and three against the San Francisco Giants, who have only the slimmest chance of making the postseason even if they win out.
With an eye on lining up Yu Darvish to pitch the first playoff game, the Padres decided to push their ace’s start back a day to Friday and go with a bullpen game Thursday against the Dodgers, who primarily used relievers to get through nine innings as well.
The Padres also started Brandon Dixon, a 30-year-old called up from Triple-A on Tuesday, as their designated hitter. Dixon last played in the major leagues in 2020, when he went 1-for-13 with the Chicago Cubs.
The bullpen faltered. Dixon was 0-for-4, including his fly ball out to center field with two on in the eighth inning.
The Padres took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Dodgers opener Brusdar Graterol and didn’t score again.
Jurickson Profar’s flare to right field and Juan Soto’s broken-bat chopper to third base, neither off the bat at even 68 mph, began the bottom of the first for the Padres. Two outs later, Brandon Drury sent a grounder up the middle that appeared it would end the inning but instead scooted under shortstop Trea Turner’s glove and rolled into left field as both runners scampered home.
Steven Wilson, making his first career “start,” took 12 pitches to get through the first inning.
Sean Manaea, removed from his spot as a full-time starter earlier this month in part because of his struggles against the Dodgers, entered in the second inning.
Will Smith greeted Manaea with a hard single, and Manaea’s next pitch was a slider that grazed Max Muncy’s sleeve. On a grounder by Chris Taylor that looked to provide shortstop Ha-Seong Kim a chance to force Smith at third base, Kim instead chose to try to start a double play and threw to second to force Muncy. Jake Cronenworth’s relay to first was nowhere near in time to get the fleet Taylor. Smith scored when the next batter, Miguel Vargas, hit a sacrifice fly to left before Manaea ended the inning by getting Austin Barnes on a fly ball to right field.
Manea, who had thrown a scoreless inning of relief against the Dodgers on Sept. 10 but allowed them 23 runs (22 earned) over 12 2/3 innings in his three starts against them this season, would get through the rest of his four innings unscathed.
The Dodgers scored three runs in the sixth inning against Pierce Johnson, who had not allowed a hit in his six appearances since returning from the injured list earlier this month.
Mookie Betts began the inning with a doubled lined to left field. He went to third on another chopped infield single by Turner and scored on a flare to left field by Freddie Freeman. Johnson struck out Smith before walking Muncy to load the bases. Vargas then broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single.
The Dodgers’ “bulk” pitcher, Andrew Heaney, worked out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Manny Machado to end the second inning and worked through the fifth. Craig Kimbrel followed with a scoreless sixth. After replacing Caleb Ferguson with two outs and two on, Chris Martin struck out Machado to end the seventh.
