Padres Beat Dodgers to Clinch Postseason Berth for Historic Third Straight Season

The Padres will be playing in October.

Sep 23, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) is greeted in the dugout after scoring in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Diego Padres have officially clinched a spot in the 2026 postseason — and for the first time in franchise history, they've done it for a third consecutive season.

On Thursday night, the Padres went into Dodger Stadium and won, 4-2, securing a spot in the 2026 playoffs.

With the win, the Padres also moved back into the top wild-card spot, and control their own destiny to finish as the No. 4 seed and host a wild-card series next week.

The Padres are 89-70, one game up on the 88-71 Chicago Cubs. The Philadelphia Phillies are 87-72, and need to win two more games to secure the final postseason spot and knock the Arizona Diamondbacks out of contention.

Either way, the Padres are only playing for seeding during the final weekend of the season, and aren't fighting for their playoff lives in a stunning turn of events.

The Padres said they didn't want this weekend's series against the Diamondbacks to be win or go home. They succeeded in doing just that.

Padres vs Dodgers Game Recap on Thursday

It was a pitchers' duel on Thursday night as Nick Pivetta and Tyler Glasnow cemented their spots in their respective team's postseason rotations.

Pivetta struck out seven across 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk. He was relieved by Yuki Matsui, who got the final out of the fifth inning and the first two outs of the sixth.

Offensively, the Padres were shut down by Glasnow for five innings, who was throwing a no-hitter heading into the sixth. Then, 20-year-old rookie Ethan Salas got a one-out hit in the top of the sixth, and Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a single to move Salas to third base. Dustin Harris then hit a sacrifice fly, and the Padres had a 1-0 lead.

Jason Adam made his long-awaited return to the mound and relieved Matsui with two outs in the sixth, getting an out on one pitch. Then, the Padres broke through in the seventh inning, with Salas again in the middle of it all.

Jackson Merill hit a one-out double and Xander Bogaerts was walked to chase Glasnow from the game. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski replaced him, and Austin Hays continued his dominance against lefties with a pinch-hit RBI single.

Ater a Samad Taylor strikeout, Salas hit a two-out RBI single to bring in Bogaerts. Then, Tatis followed with an RBI single of his own, and the Padres suddenly had a four-run lead.

THE SWINGIN' FRIARS pic.twitter.com/J5I3c9owsg

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 25, 2026

Adam came back out for the seventh and got two quick outs before being relieved by Adrian Morejon to face Shohei Ohtani. The left-hander struck Ohtani out on three pitches.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Morejon got into trouble, allowing a walk and a single. However, he recorded two outs before allowing a run to score on a balk. That ended up being the only damage he'd give up.

Mason Miller secured his 38th save of the season to officially send the Padres to the playoffs.

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