MLB

Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres

· NLWC - Game 2
Atlanta Braves
89-73, 43-38 Away
Final
4 - 5
San Diego Padres
93-69, 45-36 Home

Higashioka's homer starts rally as Padres beat Braves 5-4 to sweep NL Wild Card Series

Manny Machado added a two-run double with the bases loaded and Jackson Merrill, a top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, followed with a two-run triple as the sellout crowd of 47,705 — the largest in Petco Park history — roared.

The Padres, who would love to win a World Series title in memory of late owner Peter Seidler, head up Interstate 5 to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival Dodgers in a National League Division Series beginning Saturday evening at top-seeded Los Angeles.

San Diego eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.

Robert Suarez pitched a perfect ninth for the save. As soon as Higashioka caught pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud’s foul pop for the final out — the catcher had to step over first baseman Donovan Solano, who also went for it — the crowd started 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.”

Joe Musgrove exited early with injuries. Fried left after the second inning. He was hit on the left hip by a ball off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. two batters into his outing. Musgrove left with right elbow tightness with two outs in the fourth after throwing two slow curveballs to Matt Olson.

Padres manager Mike Shildt didn't have a postgame update on Musgrove, other than to say it was the same area of the elbow that sidelined the big right-hander 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 took a 5-1 lead in the second, Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run shot in the eighth.

Fried, who took the loss, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. He then allowed five runs on six straight 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 took over for Atlanta to begin the third.

Musgrove threw two slow curves to fall behind 2-1 on Olson with two outs in the fourth and was visited by pitching coach Ruben Niebla. Shildt and an athletic trainer joined them, and Musgrove came out.

Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, had two stints on the injured list with right elbow inflammation this season, costing him a total of 63 games. His second stint sidelined him for 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 homer in consecutive playoff games. He hit a solo shot in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. He also homered for the New York Yankees at Petco Park in the 2020 AL playoff bubble, against Tampa Bay in a Division Series game. He was obtained along with right-hander Michael King in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on Dec. 7. Higashioka started the season as the backup but eventually became the starter.

Musgrove fell behind 1-0 after just three batters. Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly brought in Harris, who doubled into the right-field corner on Musgrove’s first pitch and advanced on Ozzie Albies’ groundout.

After the homer by No. 9 hitter Higashioka, singles by NL batting champ Luis Arraez, Tatis and Jurickson Profar loaded the bases. Machado brought in two runs with his double to left, and Merrill tripled to center.

Soler homered to straightaway center leading off the fifth against reliever Bryan Hoeing, who got the win. Harris homered off Jason Adam, but the banged-up Braves were unable to come all the way back.

“I’m about as proud of a team as I’ve ever had,” Snitker said. “We won 89 games. It’s amazing what they did. We had a chance. We got in the tournament. Maybe if we get a hit here or there, we are playing tomorrow. But we aren’t.”

How can I watch Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres?
  • TV Channel: Braves at Padres 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Padres: 55.2%
Braves: 44.8%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning d'Arnaud fouled out to catcher.
9th Inning d'Arnaud hit for Urshela
9th Inning Laureano grounded out to third.
9th Inning Soler lined out to center.
9th Inning Suarez relieved Adam
8th Inning Arraez flied out to center.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/atl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originATL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/sd.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSD
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
9 Ground Balls 12
8 Strikeouts 6
4 Runs Batted In 5
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
6 Hits 10
0 Stolen Bases 0
1 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
4 Runs 5
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
1 Sacrifice Flies 0
32 At Bats 35
2 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
7 Runners Left On Base 19
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 2
16 Fly Balls 17
0 Caught Stealing 0
149 Pitches 134
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
13 Total Bases 17
34 Plate Appearances 37
324.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
3 Extra Base Hits 4
2.9 Runs Created 5.5
.188 Batting Average .286
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.406 Slugging Percentage .486
.250 Secondary Average .257
.206 On Base Percentage .324
.612 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .810
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.7
2.9 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.0
30.0 Batter Rating 39.5
16.0 At Bats Per Home Run 35.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.38 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.62
.219 Isolated Power .200
0.13 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.33
.029 Walks Per Plate Appearance .054
.063 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.029
8.0 Runs Produced 10.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.3
78.0 MLB Rating 88.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Petco Park

Location: San Diego, California
Attendance: 47,705 | Capacity:

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4

2024 National League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Los Angeles 98 64 .605 - W5
San Diego 93 69 .574 5 L1
Arizona 89 73 .549 9 W1
San Francisco 80 82 .494 18 L1
Colorado 61 101 .377 37 L3
Full Standings