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SAN DIEGO — Give these Padres an inch … they’ll score five runs with two outs in a potential clincher.
Braves starting pitcher Max Fried got the first two outs of the second inning in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday night. What followed was the most electric sequence of events Petco Park has seen in two years.
Kyle Higashioka homered. Manny Machado hit a two-run double. Jackson Merrill hit a two-run triple. When the dust had settled, the Padres led 5-1, and Petco Park shook.
With a win on Wednesday, the Padres would advance to a third NL Division Series in five seasons against the Dodgers. They won the Wild Card Series opener, 4-0, on Tuesday.
Higashioka’s two-out homer started the rally, his second home run in as many nights. Earlier in the day, right-hander Dylan Cease had called Higashioka, “the best nine-hole hitter in the game.”
The Padres followed with three straight singles — including infield hits from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar. Tatis beat a throw from third baseman Gio Urshela by half a step. Profar reached when second baseman Ozzie Albies couldn’t corral a slow grounder with Tatis running the bases in front of him.
That brought Machado to the plate. He ripped a two-run double into the left-field corner, tying him with Tony Gwynn for the franchise’s all-time postseason RBI lead with 11. Merrill followed with a booming triple off the center-field wall. Cue pandemonium at Petco Park.