Padres turn game-ending triple play to clinch playoff spot

LOS ANGELES — Manny Machado stood in the middle of Dodger Stadium’s visiting clubhouse shirtless, with champagne and beer pouring off his back and black Gucci sunglasses covering his eyes. Moments earlier, the San Diego Padres had clinched a spot in baseball’s postseason by sealing a close win over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers with a triple play, an unprecedented outcome.

And as is so often the case with this group, Machado — the star third baseman who started the 5-4-3 stunner Tuesday night, solidifying a  4-2 victory that left Shohei Ohtani looming on deck — was at the center of it.

“How much better?” Machado asked rhetorically. “In a tough spot there, with Ohtani in the on-deck circle — we turn a triple play to end the game against one of the best teams in baseball.”

That triple play — on a sharp grounder to the left side by Miguel Rojas, who initially showed bunt with runners on first and second and none out in the bottom of the ninth — was only the third to end a game in the last 30 years. The Padres, unsurprisingly, became the first team in major league history to clinch a playoff spot with a game-ending triple play, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

It was the latest, most glaring example of what has been a magical run over these past two months.

After the death of their beloved, free-spending owner, Peter Seidler, the Padres slashed payroll by a third this offseason. Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees; Blake Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, and Josh Hader, the five-time-All-Star closer, left in free agency.

By the All-Star break, the Padres sat 50-49. Since then, they’re a major league-best 41-17 — and everything seems to be clicking at the ideal time. Their lineup, further strengthened with Fernando Tatis Jr. returning from a 10-week absence, makes up the best contact team in the majors. Their rotation, which received a boost when Yu Darvish returned from a three-month hiatus, looks dominant heading into October. And their bullpen, fortified by the additions of Tanner Scott and Jason Adam at midseason, might be the deepest in the NL.

After missing out with a star-laden team in 2023, the Padres are in the playoffs for the third time since the COVID-shortened season in 2020. And they have an outside chance at taking the National League West, sitting two games back of the Dodgers with five left — including two more from L.A.

“Obviously there’s so many great teams,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said of his club’s chances in October, “but we feel like we’re as dangerous as anybody. It’s a complete team. Every night somebody else steps up. I’m so proud and so happy to be with this group. They deserve it. We’re looking forward to a big run.”

The Padres are still led by a star-studded nucleus that features Machado, Darvish, Tatis, Xander Bogaerts and Joe Musgrove. But Preller found ways to strengthen the group on a tight budget, trading for frontline starter Dylan Cease in March and acquiring two-time batting champion Luis Arraez in May. Along the way, Jurickson Profar (signed for $1 million), Jackson Merrill (a 21-year-old rookie transitioning to center field), Jeremiah Estrada (claimed off waivers before turning into a dominant reliever) provided surprising contributions that made the 2024 Padres one of the most well-rounded units in the sport.

“This group,” Tatis said, “is special.”

And Machado has set the tone.

His season began slowly in the wake of offseason elbow surgery, his OPS sitting at .654 by the end of May. Since then, he’s slashing .296/.344/.548. The Padres have surged. Padres coaches and teammates acknowledged late Tuesday night that Machado is one of a select few who could pull off a triple play of that fashion, coming back to step on third base and then firing a dart to second base to even give it a chance.

Moments after executing it, he stood in the middle of a cramped locker room adorned in purple and blue lights, his soaked upper back exposing a tattooed message that feels fitting for these Padres:

“Sky’s The Limit.”

“The team we have, no one counted us in,” Machado said. “And here we are. It’s a credit to this team. This coaching staff, training staff keeping us healthy. It’s an unbelievable moment, man. This moment is unbelievable. But I think this whole team in here thinks that the job’s not finished. We’re going to enjoy tonight, enjoy this game, enjoy the celebration, but the job’s not finished.”