Ethan Salas Hits First Career Walk-Off as Padres Vault Past Phillies in Wild-Card Race

The Padres are on fire.

Sep 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas (8) celebrates after a home run in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Diego Padres walked off the Miami Marlins on Saturday night to win their fourth straight game and vault ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League playoff race.

Rookie catcher Ethan Salas hit his first career-walk off in the bottom of the 10th inning as a pinch hitter in an unbelievable scene for the 20-year-old who was called up on Sept. 1.

ETHAN SALAS PINCH-HIT #WALKOFF FOR THE @PADRES! pic.twitter.com/qZ0r6amxOm
— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2026

What is the Padres' Magic Number?

The Padres are now 86-69 and sit as the No. 5 seed in the NL. They're tied with the Chicago Cubs and one game ahead of the Phillies, who are 85-60 and now sit as the No. 6 seed.

There are just seven games left in the regular season.

The Padres' magic number to clinch a postseason spot is down to three.

Padres vs Marlins Game Recap

While Friday's game began as a pitchers' duel, Saturday's game was anything but.

After both teams stranded runners on the bases in the first inning, the Marlins quickly got to Casey Mize in the second inning with a couple singles, a fielder's choice and a two-run home by Otto Lopez.

Samad Taylor responded in the bottom of the second with a home run, but the Marlins tacked on two more in the third as Mize's struggles as a Padre continued.

Fortunately, the Padres offense continued its hot stretch of play, as they plated three runs in the bottom of the third inning thanks to some small ball. The runs scored via a bases loaded walk, a bases loaded balk and a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. went away from the small ball, hitting a leadoff home run to tie the game at five apiece.

Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Ty France hit a go-ahead RBI double to five the Padres their first lead of the game.

Mason Miller came on in the eighth inning and got out of a major jam, stranding runners on the corners with one out. However, in the top of the ninth inning, he gave up a game-tying home run to Griffin Conine.

The game ended up going to extra innings, where David Morgan pitched a scoreless top of the 10th inning. Then, in the bottom half of the frame, Salas hit his first career walk-off to vault the Padres into the No. 5 seed.

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