The Padres kept their slim hopes of hosting the Wild Card Series at Petco Park alive with a 7-4 over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. The Padres fell behind early when Yu Darvish gave up a solo home run in both the 1st and 3rd innings. But the Padres hung a crooked number in the 4th inning to give the Padres the lead for good. Ryan O'Hearn drove in Xander Bogaerts with a single to right field, and then Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted a no-doubt-about-it grand slam off Zac Gallen to put the Padres up 5-2. Jake Cronenworth drew a walk with the bases loaded in the 5th inning to put San Diego up 6-2.
Things got dicey for the Padres in the 8th inning, with Kyle Hart on the mound. Hart walked the first two batters he faced, and then struck out Gabriel Moreno. Mike Shildt then brought in David Morgan, who picked up the second out of the inning on a groundout that was initially ruled an inning-ending double play, but the runner was deemed safe after instant replay. With the inning extended, Morgan then issued three consecutive walks, two of which came with the bases loaded. With the Padres clinging to a 2-run lead and the bases still loaded, Mason Miller was called on, and he got a strikeout to escape the jam and end the inning. Miller would come back out for the 9th inning and after issuing a leadoff walk, retired the next three batters he faced to earn his 22nd save of the season. With the victory, San Diego can still overtake the Cubs for the first wild card and host the first round next week if they win their final two games and the Cubs lose their final two games. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss.
You can watch the Jamul Casino Resort Padres Postgame Show below, with full highlights from the game and Mike Shildt's postgame press conference.