The San Diego Padres will spend the off-season wondering what went wrong after they were eliminated from post-season contention on Friday, despite a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox, a finality that prompted Manny Machado to give his teammates a post-game pep talk.
“We did what we were supposed to do, but a little too late,” Machado said. “We’re going to grow from this... We’re capable of playing better baseball than we did this year.”
Juan Soto was batting in the seventh inning when the Miami Marlins completed a 4-3 come-from-behind win against the Pittsburgh Pirates for their 83rd win, ensuring that the Padres would not get one of the National League’s three wild-card berths.
Photo: AFP
Despite winning 12 of their past 14 games, the Padres (80-80) could not overcome a mostly sluggish performance by a star-filled team who started the season with the major leagues’ third-highest payroll at nearly US$258 million.
A 1-9 skid in early May dropped Padres below .500 — San Diego last had a winning record on May 10.
“We know we had a tough year and left a lot on the table,” manager Bob Melvin said. “All we can do at this point in time is win games and create a good feeling.”
The MLB’s three-highest spenders all failed to reach the post-season, with the New York Mets (72-86) and the New York Yankees (81-79) also eliminated.
“It’s disappointing,” Martinez said. “There’s lessons to learn from this year; good lessons and bad lessons. Just remember this taste and come out with some hunger for next year.”
In St Louis, Missouri, Cincinnati hit six home runs, including Nick Martini’s three-run shot in the first inning, in a 19-2 rout of the Cardinals, keeping the Reds alive in the NL wild-card race.
Jonathan India, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marte and Tyler Stephenson also homered for the Reds, who scored their most runs in a game since putting up 20 against the Chicago Cubs on May 26 last year.
With the win and the Chicago Cub’s 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati are now tied with the Cubs, 1.5 games behind the Marlins for the last NL wild card.
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Angels 5, Athletics 1
‧ Blue Jays 11, Rays 4
‧ Braves 6, Nationals 10
‧ Diamondbacks 1, Astros 2
‧ Giants 2, Dodgers 6
‧ Mariners 8, Rangers 0
‧ Orioles 0, Red Sox 3
‧ Rockies 6, Twins 7
‧ Royals 12, Yankees 5
‧ Tigers 5, Guardians 7
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