The Dodgers scored once in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull to within two runs of the San Diego Padres, they had runners on first and second with no outs and Miguel Rojas up, and in the on-deck circle was Shohei Ohtani, who had hit .778 (14 for 18) with five home runs, two doubles and 13 RBIs in his previous four games.
The Padres, it seemed, would need an act of divine intervention to prevent baseball’s hottest hitter and presumptive National League most valuable player from imposing his will on Tuesday night’s game, and third baseman Manny Machado is convinced they got one from Peter Seidler, the beloved former Padres owner who died last November.
One pitch after squaring to bunt and taking a strike, Rojas ripped a hard ground ball right at Machado, who took two steps to the bag and touched third and fired to second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who threw to first base to complete a stunning game-ending triple play to complete the Padres’ 4-2 victory over the Dodgers.
“I think he’s been with us all year, he’s shining upon us right now, smiling down, enjoying this moment, enjoying this victory with us, enjoying the celebration,” Machado said after the Padres clinched a playoff berth and trimmed the Dodgers’ NL West lead to two games with five games remaining.
“In a tough spot, with Ohtani in the on-deck circle, we turn a triple play against one of the best teams in baseball? He’s looking upon us.”
San Diego took a 4-1 lead into the ninth thanks to Cronenworth’s two-run homer in the second inning and RBI hits from Xander Bogaerts (single) and Cronenworth (double) in the fourth off Dodgers starter Landon Knack.
Padres right-hander Michael King gave up one unearned run and three hits in five innings to improve to 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, and relievers Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Tanner Scott and Jason Adam combined for three scoreless innings.
Closer Robert Suarez, who blew a save by giving up two runs in the ninth inning against the lowly Chicago White Sox last Friday, came on to pitch the ninth and gave up singles to Will Smith, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández, the latter a shattered-bat bloop into center field that cut the lead to 4-2.
Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla came to the mound, and the entire infield huddled around Suarez.
“We’ve been picking each other up all year, and we told Robert on that mound visit, ‘Hey, we got you, man, go out there and keep doing your thing,’ ” Machado said. “We did that a few days ago, when he gave it up–we’ve got your back. That’s what this team is all about.”
What transpired next–a game-ending triple play–is so rare that it has happened only 28 times in major league history and only three times in the wild-card era, according to Major League Baseball researcher Sarah Langs. It was the 10th triple play in Padres’ history and first to end a game.
“That was the perfect play,” Machado said. “We were thinking he was going to bunt, and he showed bunt the first pitch. I was thinking he was going to bunt [again] and he hit a ground ball right at me. Instantly, you know, hey, let’s try to turn this and get us out of it.”
Asked if a triple play even crossed his mind as he strategized for the Rojas at-bat, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “No, not at all.”
Even after Machado fielded the grounder, “I thought he was going to go from third to first,” Roberts said.
“We couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “What a play by Manny.”
After a wild beer-and-champagne celebration in the visiting clubhouse of Dodger Stadium, and long after the home team had departed, the Padres gathered in front of the first-base dugout for a team picture, but there was one key member of the club who was missing.
“Manny! Manny! Manny!” they chanted, and up the dugout steps came a shirtless Machado, dressed in tan pants and nothing else. Machado plopped down in the front row, leaned back into the arms of his teammates for a few pictures, and the Padres returned to the clubhouse for a little more revelry.
“We are celebrating tonight, but we are coming tomorrow with the same energy,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said after the Padres improved to a major league-best 41-17 since the All-Star break. “I want more of this. We are going to make it happen. We are just going to keep coming as a group.This group is special.
“And we are definitely doing it for Peter.”