Padres Crush Diamondbacks 12-4 Ahead of Playoff Clash with Cubs
Manny Machado homered and Jackson Merrill drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres completed their regular season with a commanding 12-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 28, fine-tuning ahead of the National League playoffs.
J.P. Sears (9-11) threw 5 2/3 innings for the win, reaching a season-high 113 pitches. He allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four. The victory sealed back-to-back 90-win seasons for San Diego (90-72) for the first time in club history.
Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt (13-9) was hit hard, surrendering eight runs – seven earned – on six hits in just over four innings. The Diamondbacks (80-82) finished their campaign with five straight defeats after being just one game shy of the final wild-card spot earlier in the week.
Padres Strike Early and Never Look Back
Ketel Marte opened the scoring with his 28th home run of the season, but Arizona’s highlights ended quickly. The Padres responded with five straight hits in the bottom of the first, capped by doubles from Merrill and Xander Bogaerts, who drove in two. Machado then launched his 27th homer in the third inning to extend the lead.
San Diego piled on more runs in the fifth, with Merrill’s two-run double and a fielder’s choice from Gavin Sheets. Three more came in the seventh through Jake Cronenworth’s RBI single and a two-run double from Jose Iglesias.
O’Hearn, Machado and Merrill each collected two of San Diego’s 11 hits. Arizona added two late runs in the ninth following an error by O’Hearn, with Geraldo Perdomo picking up his 100th RBI of the season.
The Padres now turn to their playoff opener on September 30 against the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-three series. The sides split six games earlier in the season, each winning three and scoring 25 runs apiece.
