The San Diego Padres clinched a playoff berth in the most dramatic fashion possible on Tuesday night.
The Padres were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, leading 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth and having already added a run to pull within two, when Miguel Rojas came up to bat and Shohei Ohtani came up to bat with the bases loaded. Then the unthinkable happened.
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San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (center) celebrates with his teammates after the Padres clinched a playoff berth with a triple play against the Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Rojas fell for the game-ending triple play on a play by third baseman Manny Machado, who stepped to third base, turned the horn and threw the ball to end the game.
“It’s shocking,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “It’s the most unlikely outcome.”
San Diego recorded its 91st win of the season and moved to within two games of the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West with five games remaining.
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The San Diego Padres celebrated after clinching a playoff berth on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Padres were thrilled with the win.
“I couldn’t have imagined a better script,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Great play by Manny, phenomenal play.”
The play made the Padres join just a handful of teams who have completed a triple play on the same day they clinched a postseason berth, joining the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 and the Chicago Cubs in 1910 and 1907, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was the Padres’ first triple play since June 10, 2010 against the New York Mets.


San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, left, celebrates with general manager AJ Preller after clinching a playoff berth, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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“They’re a really good team, so we have to play better,” Machado said of the Dodgers. “And we did that tonight.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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