Sean Manaea, battling for a berth on the Padres’ playoff roster, retired the last 17 batters he faced in six scoreless innings Tuesday night as San Diego beat visiting the San Francisco Giants 6-2.
The Padres (89-72) clinched the No. 2 National League wild-card berth, meaning San Diego will open the playoffs on the road against the New York Mets on Friday.
Manaea walked Austin Slater to open the game then gave up a single to Thairo Estrada. He then struck out Wilmer Flores before getting J.D. Davis to ground into an inning-ending double play. Manaea subsequently retired the Giants in order from the second through sixth innings.
Manaea (8-9) was scheduled to work only four innings, but he needed just 66 pitches to get through six, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out six.
Carlos Rodon was scheduled to start Tuesday night for the Giants (80-81), but he was scratched due to an unspecified illness and placed on the injured list. Alex Cobb (7-8) started in place of the 14-game winner and allowed a run on seven hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts, in five innings.
The Padres broke up the scoreless tie in the third. Jurickson Profar doubled to left with one out and scored on Manny Machado’s two-out single to center.
San Diego scored four runs against reliever Jharel Cotton in the sixth.
Machado opened the inning with his second single of the night. Pinch runner Jose Azocar moved to second when Josh Bell walked, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Ha-Seong Kim scored both with a two-run double into the left field corner. Austin Nola singled home Kim with two outs, and he later scored on Wil Myers’ single off Luis Ortiz.
After getting just one hit through seven scoreless innings, the Giants scored twice in the eighth. Pinch hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. drew a walk from Luis Garcia to open the inning, moved to second on Mike Yastrzemski’s single and scored on shortstop Kim’s errant relay throw on a potential double-play grounder by Ford Proctor.
San Francisco added another run in the inning on a two-out single by Bryce Johnson.
Myers homered in the bottom of the eighth off Cole Waites for the game’s final run. It was Myers’ seven homer of the season and 134th of his Padres career, moving him into sixth on the franchise’s all-time list.
Waites was recalled from the minors earlier in the day to replace Rodon on the roster.
–Field Level Media
