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The Padres defeat the Braves and face the rival Dodgers in the 2024 NLDS showdown

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The San Diego Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win to complete a two-game sweep of the National League Wild Card Series and set up an NLDS showdown with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

San Diego scored all five runs with two outs in the second inning, starting with Kyle Higashioka's solo home run. The Padres scored five straight hits after the home run, with Manny Machado (double) and Jackson Merrill (triple) each driving in two runs to take a lead they would never relinquish at Petco Park.

The Padres now face the Dodgers in a best-of-five series, a rematch of the 2022 NLDS in which San Diego defeated the 111-win Los Angeles juggernaut en route to the franchise's first NLCS appearance since 1998.

Atlanta entered the season as the six-time defending NL East champions with high expectations, but were overwhelmed by season-ending injuries – including to stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider and Austin Riley – and ultimately settled for a wild-card berth on the last day of the regular season.

“I'm honestly as proud of a team as I've ever been, the way they've handled everything,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the loss.

The NLDS begins Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Atlanta's Orlando Arcia led off the eighth with a single off Jason Adam before Michael Harris II hit a first-pitch home run that cut the Braves' deficit to 5-4.

Atlanta got the game-winning run early in the sixth, but Tanner Scott got Matt Olson to line up left field in a left-to-left battle to end the threat.

The Padres are 5-2 in the sixth half.

An apparent injury to starter Joe Musgrove forced the Padres right-hander out of the game with two outs in the fourth inning. Musgrove seemed to notice something during his windup after throwing an incredibly slow curveball to Matt Olson. Bryan Hoeing came out of the bullpen to relieve Musgrove.

2021 World Series MVP Jorge Soler hit a solo home run in the fourth to make it 5-2.

The Padres scored five runs with two outs in the second against Max Fried to take a 5-1 lead after falling behind in the first.

Kyle Higashioka hit a home run for the second straight game, tying the score, before the Padres scored five more in a row, with four more runs following Manny Machado's two-RBI double and Jackson Merrill's two-RBI triple.

Two infield singles and a fielder's choice filled the Padres' bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. Manny Machado struck out with a swing to first, then Braves ace Max Fried got consecutive groundballs from Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts to escape the jam unscathed.

Michael Harris II led off with a double and was advanced to third base by an Ozzie Albies grounder to right, where he set up Marcell Ozuna's sacrifice fly to Yu Darvish to open the scoring.

Atlanta went scoreless in Game 1 and hit 15 goals in the 4-0 loss.

Where to watch Braves vs. Padres

  • Date: Wednesday, October 2nd
  • Time: 8:38 p.m. ET
  • TV: ESPN2
  • Electricity: Watch this game on Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply)

Atlanta Braves

  1. Michael Harris II (L) CF
  2. Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
  3. Marcell Ozuna (R) DH
  4. Matt Olson (L) 1B
  5. Jorge Soler (R) RF
  6. Ramón Laureano (R) LF
  7. Gio Urshela (R) 3B
  8. Sean Murphy (R) C
  9. Orlando Arcia (R) SS

San Diego Padres

  1. Luis Arraez (left) DH
  2. Fernando Tatis Jr. (R) RF
  3. Jurickson Profar (S) LF
  4. Manny Machado (R) 3B
  5. Jackson Merrill (left) CF
  6. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
  7. Donovan Solano (R) 1B
  8. Jake Cronenworth (L) 2B
  9. Kyle Higashioka (R) C

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