THE San Diego Padres clinched their first full-season playoff berth since 2006 Sunday afternoon (Monday in Manila) despite losing 2-1 to the visiting Chicago White Sox in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The Padres officially claimed a wild card berth with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when Miami defeated the Brewers in 12 innings in Milwaukee. San Diego had also reached the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Padres were trailing the White Sox 2-0 at the moment of the Brewers’ defeat. Josh Bell stepped out of the batter’s box as the crowd of 41,407 — the 26th sellout this season at Petco Park — cheered.
Lance Lynn (8-7) gave up one run on five hits in seven innings for the White Sox, who improved to 79-80 in hopes of reaching .500 by season’s end. Blake Snell (8-10) gave up one run on three hits in six innings for the Padres.
The Padres fell to 87-72 and had their lead over Philadelphia reduced to one game in the ongoing race for the second wild-card spot in the National League.
In other games, it was the Pirates 7. Cardinals 5; Braves 5, Mets 3; Phillies 8, Nationals 1 (rain-shortened 6 innings); Rockies 4, Dodgers 1; Tigers 5, Twins 2; Orioles 3, Yankees 1; Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 3; Guardians 7, Royals 5; Astros 3, Rays 1; Marlins 4, Brewers 3 (12 innings); Cubs 8, Reds 1; Giants 4, Diamondbacks 3 (10 innings); Angels 8, Rangers 3; and Athletics 10, Mariners 3.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
Ben Gamel hit a three-run home run as visiting Pittsburgh rallied for a victory that put a damper on St. Louis’ Day of celebration.
The Cardinals honored Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, who played their final regular-season home games before retirement. Pujols hit his 702nd career homer and drove in three runs for the Cardinals, tying Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time RBI list with 2,214.
Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (11-12), in his 328th regular-season start with Molina, allowed six runs on six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Miguel Andujar drove in two runs and Oneil Cruz scored twice for the Pirates, who avoided a three-game sweep in St. Louis.
Braves 5, Mets 3
Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson both homered for the third straight game to lead host Atlanta to a win over New York, giving the Braves a sweep of the three-game series and lowering their magic number to win the National League East to one.
Swanson’s 25th homer and Olson’s 33rd homer gives the Braves 241, the second most in franchise history, bettered only by the 249 struck in 2019. Atlanta starter Charlie Morton pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on nine hits – two of them homers.
New York starter and loser Chris Bassitt (15-9) struggled with control and left after working a season-low 2 2/3 innings and throwing 70 pitches. He allowed four runs on three hits, including a home run.
