Padres defeat Braves in NL Wild Card; Dodgers wait in the NLDS

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 defeated 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 contender for NL Rookie of the Year, followed with a two-run triple as the sellout crowd of 47,705 – the largest in the history of Petco Park – cheered.

The Padres, who would like to win a World Series title in memory of late owner Peter Seidler, head to Interstate 5 for a National League Division Series against Shohei Ohtani and NL West rival and top-seeded Los Angeles beginning Saturday night Dodgers to compete. San Diego eliminated the Dodgers with 111 wins in a 2022 NLDS.

Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove left early with apparent injuries. Fried walked after the second inning. Two batters into his outing, he was hit in the left hip by a ball from Fernando Tatis Jr.'s bat. Musgrove left the game 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 home run in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run pitch in the eighth.