Padres Clinch 3rd Straight Postseason, Cubs Likely Next

For about 5 innings on Thursday night, this looked like it was going to be a miserable way to try to clinch anything. Tyler Glasnow was dealing. He struck out a season-high 11 and carried a no-hitter into the 6th, and the Padres couldn't touch him. Then Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit back-to-back singles, the no-hitter was gone, and the whole night changed.

Talkin' Baseball

@TalkinBaseball_

Padres finally get to Tyler Glasnow who was through 5.1 no-hit innings as they look to clinch a postseason berth with a win

The real damage came in the 7th. Tatis and Salas both drove in runs with singles in a 3-run inning, and that was enough. Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI double off Mason Miller in the 9th to make it 4-2 and make everybody sweat, but Miller shut it down for his 38th save. The Padres got to celebrate in Dodger Stadium, which is about as good as a clinch gets for San Diego. The Dodgers were already locked into a bye, so they didn't have much to play for, but nobody in brown and gold is going to feel bad about that.

AJ Cassavell

@AJCassavell

It was a wild ride. Probably wilder than any of the last five clinches. But these Padres are going back to the playoffs. Five times in seven years. Three straight. It’s unprecedented. And, no, it isn’t getting old. t.co/MUUZSyT1Vd

Cassavell has a point that this isn't getting old. That's 5 playoff trips in 7 years, and before this run the Padres had made the postseason just 5 times total in their first 5 decades. They've never made it 3 years in a row until now. And this group has a first-year manager in Craig Stammen, who spent the week talking about wanting his team trending the right way at the end. After entering September still fighting for a spot, they're sitting at 89-70 in the top Wild Card spot, 1 game ahead of the Cubs at 88-71.

AJ Cassavell

@AJCassavell

Based on all of tonight’s results: Extremely likely it’s Padres-Cubs in the Wild Card Series for a second straight postseason. Only question is … where?

MLB@MLB

Another year, another #Postseason that will feature the @Padres! #CLINCHED (MLB x @BudweiserUSA) t.co/WPsgbs3zkM

That's where things stand heading into the final weekend. The Phillies still need 2 more wins to lock up the last spot, but the Padres and Cubs look set to meet in the Wild Card round. What's left to decide is where it gets played. San Diego controls its own destiny for the No. 4 seed and a home series at Petco Park. The Padres play their last games against the Diamondbacks, and those games are only about seeding now, not about getting in. Win and they're home. Slip and it probably means a trip to Chicago.

AJ Cassavell

@AJCassavell

The Padres are in. When the party ends, some pretty important playoff roster decisions loom: t.co/GNfhfc57b0

Then there's the roster. Salas is the most interesting name on it. He's a 20-year-old catcher who got called up for the stretch run, and he just had an RBI hit in a clinching game against the 2-time defending champs. Stammen had already hinted that Salas could make the postseason roster despite a rough start to his big-league career. After Thursday that feels a lot less like a gamble. The Dodgers start on October 3 and the Brewers have home field locked up all the way through. So the Padres have one more weekend to settle the seed and the last few roster spots, and then it's playoff baseball for the 3rd year in a row.