The San Diego Padres punched their ticket to the 2026 postseason, snagging a Wild Card berth after sealing a series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. What a ride! This massive clinch keeps the Friars one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the top spot in the NL Wild Card, putting them right where they want to be as the regular season winds down. Even after Tyler Glasnow no-hit them for 5 1/3 innings, this squad battled back, grabbing back-to-back singles before Dustin Harris sent a sac fly home for the first run. Nick Pivetta navigated through some tight spots for 4 2/3 scoreless innings before the bullpen took over. The offense wasn’t done, though, dropping a three-run bomb in the seventh to cement a huge series win.
Arizona Up Next With Seeding On The Line
Now, the Padres head back to Petco Park for the final series of the regular season against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and believe me, Wild Card seeding is absolutely on the line. San Diego needs to win every single game to lock down that top Wild Card spot. The Dbacks, on the other hand, are fighting for their playoff lives, sitting two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the last playoff berth. It’s gonna be a high-stakes showdown every single night. Tonight’s pitching matchup features Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt against San Diego’s Casey Mize. Pfaadt has been a revelation for Arizona this year. He’s rocking a 3.72 ERA across 128 1/3 innings, a serious comeback from his 5.25 ERA last season. After a Triple-A demotion in June to fix his mechanics, he returned on June 30 with a stellar 2.79 ERA over 90.1 innings since. The Padres tagged him for four runs in three innings way back on April 25, but they haven’t scored an earned run against him since then. They’ve gotta figure him out fast tonight.
Mize’s Struggles Create Major Doubt
On the Padres’ side, Casey Mize is slated for his final start of the regular season, and honestly, his performance since joining San Diego has been rough. His 6.64 ERA over 40.2 innings, surrendering three or more runs in six of those outings, has just tanked his stock as an impending free agent and shattered any trust you might have in him as a playoff starter. He just gave up five runs to the Miami Marlins last Saturday, though the Padres still managed to win that one in extra innings. The guy has a great postseason track record, so maybe, just maybe, he can flip the switch when the lights are brightest. The offense cooled a bit in L.A., getting shut out in the opener, but still put up nine runs in the final two games, which is fantastic production against a Dodgers pitching staff. They’ll need that lineup to keep mashing against Arizona if they want to retain their current seeding. All eyes are on Mize tonight, can he restore some faith in his arm before October hits? The stakes couldn’t be higher.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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