Padres' playoff-clinching triple play vs Dodgers prevented Shohei Ohtani heroics

Congratulations, Padres fans! Your team is going back to the MLB Postseason. After clinching a playoff berth against the one best teams in the National League in one of the wildest ways possible, the San Diego Padres and their fanbase are excited to be playing baseball in October.

The Padres won a thriller against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine. And though the Padres have obliterated the Dodgers this season — San Diego is now 8-3 versus Los Angeles in 2024 — the win did not come easily.

Padres clinch playoff berth with wild game-ending triple-play

In what's become a troubling theme for Padres' reliever Robert Suarez, the right-hander allowed LA to close the gap in the ninth inning. The Dodgers trailed 4-1, but three straight hits off Suarez allowed the Dodgers to shrink the lead from three to two.

With runners now on first and second and no outs, Suarez was in quite the pickle. Thank goodness for Manny Machado's keen baseball intellect. A sharply hit ground ball off the bat of Dodgers' infielder Miguel Rojas came right to the Padres' third baseman. Machado wisely tapped the bag at third and threw on to Jake Cronenworth who was covering second base. Cronenworth then completed the relay to Donovan Solano at first in time to retire the runner. Unreal.

That's right, the Padres ended the game with a 5-4-3 triple play. The Dodgers challenged all three out calls, but all three were upheld and the celebration began. The San Diego players were popping champagne in the clubhouse after the victory, and celebrating a return to the playoffs.

Padres triple play kept Dodgers' superstar Shohei Ohtani in the on-deck circle

No one wearing a Padres uniform was more relieved than Suarez once the ball landed in Solano's mitt to seal the win. Had the Friars not turned three, Shohei Ohtani would have been stepping into the batter's box with a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. That's not a matchup that any pitcher wants to see.

Despite a postseason berth now secured, don't think that the Padres can take their foot off the gas. San Diego still has two more games at Dodger Stadium, and the Friars are in position to steal the NL West crown during the final week of the season.

The Padres' game-ending triple-play stunned the Dodgers fans on Tuesday night, and now it's time to rob the Dodgers and their fanbase of their grip on the division. San Diego will send Dylan Cease to the hill on Wednesday night, so Pads fans have to feel pretty good about their chances to beat LA.

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