SAN DIEGO – Kyle Higashioka’s solo home run started a five-run rally against Max Fried with two outs in the second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to beat the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 victory in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday evening.
Manny Machado added a two-run double with the bases loaded and Jackson Merrill, a top candidate for NL Rookie of the Year, followed with a two-run triple as the sold-out crowd of 47,705 – the largest in Petco Park history – roared .
The Padres, eager to win a World Series title in memory of late owner Peter Seidler, will take to Interstate 5 to take on Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival and top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League Division Series starting Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
San Diego eliminated the Dodgers by 111 wins in a 2022 NLDS.
Robert Suarez threw a perfect ninth for the save. As soon as pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud’s foul pop nestled into Higashioka’s glove for the final out, the crowd started chanting “Beat LA!”
Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove left early with visible injuries. Fried left after the second inning. He was hit on the left hip by a ball from Fernando Tatis Jr.’s bat. two batters in his appearance. Musgrove left with two outs in the fourth after throwing two slow curveballs to Matt Olson.
After the Padres took a 5-1 lead in the second, Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run shot in the eighth.
Fried, who took the loss, emerged from a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. He then allowed five runs on six consecutive hits with two outs in the second. Dylan Lee took over and started the third.
Musgrove threw two slow pitches to trail Olson 2-1 with two outs in the fourth and was visited by pitching coach Ruben Niebla. Padres manager Mike Shildt and an athletic trainer joined them, and Musgrove came out.
Musgrove, who grew up in the suburb of El Cajon, was on the injured list twice this season due to right elbow inflammation that cost him a total of 63 games. His second stint sidelined him for 2 1/2 months.
Higashioka became the first Padres catcher to homer in consecutive playoff games. He hit a solo shot in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. He also homered for the New York Yankees at Petco Park in the 2020 AL playoff bubble against Tampa Bay in a Division Series game. He was acquired along with right-hander Michael King in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on December 7. Higashioka started the season as a backup, but eventually became the starter.
Musgrove fell behind 1-0 after only three batters. Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly brought in Harris, who doubled into the right-field corner on Musgrove’s first pitch and advanced on a grounder by Ozzie Albies.
After the homer by No. 9 hitter Higashioka, singles by NL batting champion Luis Arraez, Tatis and Jurickson Profar loaded the bases. Machado drove in two runs with his double to left, and Merrill hit a triple to center.
Soler immediately homered to center and led from the fifth inning against Bryan Hoeing, who got the win. Harris homered off Jason Adam.
