In a season full of thrilling comebacks, could the final home game of the regular season really have gone any other way?
The Padres staged yet another late-game rally to sweep the White Sox 4-2 in their final scheduled game of the year at Petco Park in front of 45,197 fans, the 56th sellout crowd of the season, helping to set a new single-season attendance record of 3,314,593 ... and they did it in just 80 games after playing a "home" game in Korea in March.
The Friar Faithful are very likely going to have a chance to pack the house a few more times in October. The win puts San Diego one game away from a playoff berth.
Yu Darvish made his latest bid for a spot in the suddenly crowded Padres playoffs rotation. In his 4th start back from a three month layoff dealing with injuries and personal matters, Darvish was stellar. The veteran right-hander went 6.1 innings with nine strikeouts, no walks and three hits allowed. He really only made two mistakes and both of them left the ballpark.
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Catcher Korey Lee and 3rd baseman Miguel Vargas both hit solo homers off Darvish and, oddly for an offense that has been among the best in the game at scoring runs, that looked like it might be enough for him to take the loss.
Not today. Not in 2024.
In the early innings the entirety of the offense was provided by Jurickson Profar. He hit an opposite-field solo home run in the 3rd inning, his career-high 24th bomb of the year, and singled to give him the only two hits for the San Diego lineup against Chicago rookie right-hander Sean Burke. The 24-year-old looked like a future rotation option with eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
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When he left, however, the bats came alive. Donovan Solano led off the 8th inning with a double then scored on a two-bagger by Luis Arraez to even the game 2-2. Arraez, who was supposed to have a day off to rest his ailing knee but came on the pinch-hit, was replaced on the bases by Brandon Lockridge.
Then the White Sox just fell apart.
Lefty Fraser Ellard uncorked a wild pitch to move Lockridge to 3rd base and Profar lofted a deep fly ball to right field to bring in the go-ahead run. Just to make sure it wouldn't get away, Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a rocket to left field, his 20th home run of the season. The solo blast made it 4-2.
Robert Suarez made sure this one didn't get away. The All-Star closer who's been shaky with three blown saves in the last few weeks worked a scoreless 9th to secure the Padres' 90th win of the year, a number most people outside San Diego didn't think they'd be capable of reaching.
Since the Braves beat the Marlins 5-4 the Padres Magic Number is down to one, meaning they need to win only one more game to secure a spot in the postseason. Of course, they have a whole lot more to play for than just a Wild Card.
San Diego starts a 3-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Tuesday night. If they sweep L.A. ... a tall order for anyone, to be sure ... the Padres will be in first place in the National League West with a chance to win their first division title since 2006.
