San Diego Padres Clinch Second Playoff Berth Since 2006
The San Diego Padres are headed back to the postseason.
Thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-3 loss Sunday to the Miami Marlins, the Padres clinched their second playoff berth since 2006. It's the first time the Padres have made the playoffs in a full, 162-game season in 16 years.
The Padres snapped their 14-year playoff drought in 2020, when they went 37-23 in the COVID-shortened, 60-game season, clinching their first ever National League Wild Card. The 2020 season will carry an asterisk for some, however, considering that it was just a 60-game season and 16 out of 30 teams made the playoffs.
The Padres became the most recent team to punch their ticket to the postseason, despite losing to the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Sunday.
The Padres have lost four of their last five games, but had won eight of ten before that.
The Padres currently own a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the second National League Wild Card spot. If the Padres finish in the second NL Wild Card spot, they will play the Atlanta Braves or New York Mets on the road in a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series next weekend.
The Braves and Mets are currently playing a critical series in Atlanta that will likely determine which team wins the National League East division — and with it receives a bye from the NL Wild Card Series — and which team will need to play-in to the National League Division Series, as part of Major League Baseball's new playoff format.
If the Padres tie with the Phillies, they will drop into the third and final NL Wild Card spot, as the Phillies own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Padres. In which case, the Padres would play a best-of-three series in St. Louis next weekend.
The Phillies' magic number is now one, as they lead the Milwaukee Brewers by two games with three days remaining in the regular season.
