Kyle Higashioka’s solo home run began a five-run rally against a hurt Max Fried with two outs in the second inning. The San Diego Padres held on to win 5-4 against the Atlanta Braves, completing a sweep in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.
Manny Machado contributed a two-run double with the bases loaded, and Jackson Merrill, a strong candidate for NL Rookie of the Year, added a two-run triple. The sellout crowd of 47,705, the largest ever at Petco Park, erupted with cheers.
The Padres aim to win a World Series title in honor of their late owner, Peter Seidler. They will head up Interstate 5 to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival Dodgers in the National League Division Series starting Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
San Diego had previously eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS.
Robert Suarez pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save. As soon as Higashioka caught pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud’s foul pop for the final out, stepping over first baseman Donovan Solano in the process, the crowd began chanting “Beat L.A.!”
“This team’s always shown the ability to be resilient and never quit,” Higashioka said. “That’s a credit to all the guys. Just putting together good at-bats no matter what.”
Fried’s early exit is just one more injury for the Braves in a tough season that ends with a playoff sweep. Both Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove left early due to injuries.
Fried exited after the second inning when he was hit on the left hip by a ball off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. Musgrove left with right elbow tightness with two outs in the fourth inning after throwing two slow curveballs to Matt Olson.
Padres manager Mike Shildt did not provide an update on Musgrove after the game, only saying it was the same area of the elbow that had sidelined the pitcher earlier this season.
“Fortunately, we had the lead,” Shildt said. “His leaving with two outs in the fourth was a challenge, but we found solutions and the bullpen was rested and played its part to bring it home.”
After the Padres went up 5-1 in the second inning, Jorge Soler hit a solo home run in the fifth, and Michael Harris II added a two-run shot in the eighth.
Fried, who took the loss, managed to escape a bases-loaded situation in the first inning but then gave up five runs on six consecutive hits with two outs in the second.
“I think the longer he was out there, the worse it got,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. Dylan Lee replaced Fried for Atlanta to start the third inning.
Musgrove threw two slow curveballs, falling behind 2-1 against Olson with two outs in the fourth. He was visited by pitching coach Ruben Niebla, along with Shildt and an athletic trainer, and Musgrove left the game.
Musgrove, who grew up in El Cajon, had two spells on the injured list this season due to right elbow inflammation, missing a total of 63 games. His second absence lasted 2 1/2 months.
“It would be irresponsible to get too deep into this,” Shildt said. “He said he was going to do everything he can — I put nothing past Joe Musgrove — to be able to come back.
“Something just didn’t feel right in his elbow. Structurally they feel it is OK, but we’ll get more evaluations as we go.”
Higashioka became the first Padres catcher to hit home runs in consecutive playoff games. He hit a solo homer in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. He also homered for the New York Yankees at Petco Park during the 2020 AL playoff bubble against Tampa Bay in a Division Series game.
He was acquired along with right-hander Michael King in the big trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on December 7. Higashioka started the season as the backup but eventually became the starter.
