Padres turn triple play to clinch playoff spot with 4-2 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres wrote their own Hollywood ending on the home field of their biggest rivals Tuesday night.

San Diego stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers with a game-ending triple play to preserve a 4-2 victory over the NL West leaders that clinched a playoff spot for the Padres.

“We won it! We won it!” yelled Fernando Tatis Jr.

The party was on in the Padres' darkened clubhouse, with music pumping and lights flashing as players drenched each other in alcohol.

“Couldn’t have scripted it any better, man,” manager Mike Shildt said over the din. “What a play by Manny, a phenomenal play.”

With the Padres leading by three runs in the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single that cut it to 4-2 and put runners at first and second.

Miguel Rojas hit a sharp grounder to Machado at third base, and he stepped on the bag before going around the horn for the triple play. The Dodgers challenged the out call at second base, but the ruling was upheld after a video review.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was left watching from the on-deck circle.

“I’ve been dying to do it for a couple years now,” said a bare-chested Machado, wearing sunglasses as a fragrant mix of beer and champagne dripped from every pore. “He showed bunt the first play. Thinking he was going to bunt — he hit a groundball right at me.”

The only other teams to turn a triple play on the same day they clinched a postseason berth were the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers, and the Chicago Cubs in 1910 and 1907, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

San Diego's was the first of those to end the game. It was the Padres' first triple play since June 10, 2010, against the New York Mets.

After missing the postseason last year, the Padres earned the eighth playoff berth in franchise history. They are guaranteed at least a National League wild card with five games remaining in the regular season.

“They’re a good frickin’ ballclub on the other side, so we've got to go out there and play better,” Machado said. “We did that tonight.”

Jake Cronenworth hit an early two-run homer, then he and Xander Bogaerts drove in runs in the fourth to give the Padres a 4-1 lead.

Chasing their first division title since 2006, the Padres are two games behind Los Angeles with two games left in their series at Dodger Stadium. San Diego already owns the tiebreaker with an 8-3 record in head-to-head matchups this season.

“It’s a beautiful, wonderful start,” Shildt said. “You've got to get in the playoffs to win it all. It’s just about taking care of business from here on out.”

San Diego has the best record in the majors since the All-Star break at 41-17.

“We enjoy playing every single day. Coming to the ballpark has been fun every single day,” Machado said. “Guys have stepped up big-time. It’s taken a whole effort as an organization to be where we’re at today.”

The Padres (91-66) have their most wins since the 1998 NL championship team finished the regular season 98-64 — and they have designs on winning their first World Series title to honor Peter Seidler, the owner who died last year at age 63.

“He’s been with us all year,” Machado said. “He’s shining upon us right now, smiling down enjoying this moment, enjoying this victory with us, enjoying this celebration.”

Seidler had strong ties to the Dodgers. He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and relocated them to the West Coast in 1958, and the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who inherited the team along with Seidler’s mother Terry.

“Peter started us off years ago and here we are,” Machado said. “We’re doing it for him.”

The Padres came out on the field in the empty stadium and chanted “Manny! Manny!” while posing for photos.

San Diego earned a wild card in 2022 and eliminated the Mets and Dodgers from the playoffs before losing to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series.

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Los Angeles Dodgers interpreter Will Ireton, right, is unable to reach a batted ball while trying to protect Shohei Ohtani as Ohtani warms up prior to a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padresl, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, second from left, hits a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack, left, washes along with catcher Will Smith, right, and home plate umpire Tripp Gibson during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts' error while trying to throw out Mookie Betts at first during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani heads to first for a double during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, left, celebrates with general manager A.J. Preller after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, left, celebrates with general manager A.J. Preller after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Members of the San Diego Padres celebrate after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game as Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani stands at the plate, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez, left, celebrates along with catcher Kyle Higashioka, center, and Jake Cronenworth, right, as Los Angeles Dodgers' Kiké Hernández stands on second base after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a double during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez celebrates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., left, celebrates with a teammate Jackson Merrill after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, right, celebrates with a teammate after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., left, celebrates with a teammate after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado celebrates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres pitching coach Ruben O. Niebla, center, has beer poured on him as Fernando Tatis Jr. watches after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Members of the San Diego Padres celebrate after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game as Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani stands at the plate, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., center, celebrates with teammates after the Padres clinched a playoff spot with a triple play to end their baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, left, heads to first for a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack watches during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, right, scores after hitting a two-run home run as Jackson Merrill waits to congratulate him during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, right, gestures as he round first after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

PREK TAKEO, Cambodia (AP) — The Mekong River is a lifeline for millions in the six countries it traverses on its way from its headwaters to the sea, sustaining the world’s largest inland fishery and abundant rice paddies on Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

Cambodia's plan to build a massive canal linking the Mekong to a port on on its own coast on the Gulf of Thailand is raising alarm that the project could devastate the river's natural flood systems, worsening droughts and depriving farmers on the delta of the nutrient-rich silt that has made Vietnam the world's third-largest rice exporter.

Cambodia hopes that the $1.7 billion Funan Techo canal, being built with Chinese help, will support its ambition to export directly from factories along the Mekong without relying on Vietnam, connecting the capital Phnom Penh with Kep province on Cambodia's southern coast.

At an Aug. 5 groundbreaking ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the canal will be built “no matter what the cost.” By reducing costs of shipping to Cambodia's only deep-sea port, at Sihanoukville, the canal will promote, “national prestige, the territorial integrity and the development of Cambodia,” he said.

Along with those promises comes peril. Here is a closer look.

The Mekong River flows from China through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It supports a fishery that accounts for 15% of the global inland catch, worth over $11 billion annually, according to the nonprofit World Wildlife Fund. Flooding during the wet season makes the Mekong Delta one of the world's most productive farm regions.

The river already has been disrupted by dams built upstream in Laos and China that restrict the amount of water flowing downstream, while rising seas are gnawing away at the southern edges of the climate-vulnerable Mekong Delta.

Brian Eyler, director of the Washington-based Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia Program, warns that high embankments along the 100-meter (328 feet)-wide, 5.4-meter (17.7 feet)-deep canal will prevent silt-laden floodwater from flowing downstream to Vietnam. That could worsen drought in Vietnam's rice bowl and Cambodia's floodplains, an area stretching over roughly 1,300-square kilometers (501 square miles).

A drier Mekong Delta is a concern for Vietnam’s agricultural sector, which powers 12% of its economy. The southwestern provinces of An Giang and Kien Giang would likely be most impacted. The delta's latticework of rivers crisscrossing green fields is vital for Vietnam’s own plans of growing “high quality, low emission rice” on 1 million hectares of farmland by 2030. The aim is to cut earth-warming greenhouse gases, lower production costs and increase farmers’ profits.

Water from the river is “essential” not just for Vietnam's more than 100 million people but also for global food security, said Nguyen Van Nhut, director of rice export company Hoang Minh Nhat.

Vietnam’s exports of 8.3 million metric tons (9.1 U.S. tons) of rice in 2023 accounted for 15% of global exports. Most was grown in the Mekong Delta. The amount of silt being deposited by the river has already dropped and further disruptions will worsen salinity in the area, hurting farming, Nhat said.

“This will be a major concern for the agriculture sector of the Mekong delta,” he said.

Cambodia says the canal is a “tributary project” that will connect to the Bassac River near Phnom Penh. President Hun Sen claimed on social media platform X that this means there would be “no impact on the flow of the Mekong River.”

But blueprints show the canal will connect to the Mekong's mainstream and in any case the Bassac consists entirely of water from the Mekong, Eyler said.

Cambodian authorities are downplaying the potential environmental impacts of the project. “This is their logic-defying basis for justifying no impact to the Mekong River,” he said.

A document submitted in August 2023 to the Mekong River Commission — an organization formed for cooperation on issues regarding the Mekong — does not mention using water from the canal for irrigation, though Cambodia has since said it plans to do so. The Stimson Center added it was “logical” that irrigation would be needed during dry months, but that would require negotiating an agreement with the other Mekong countries.

The Mekong River Commission told The Associated Press all major projects on the Mekong River “should be assessed for their potential transboundary impacts.” It said it was providing technical support to “increase transparency and cooperation among concerned countries.”

Sun Chanthol, the Cambodian deputy prime minister who oversees the project, didn’t respond to a request for comments.

Cambodia has rejected criticism of the canal, which is widely seen as an effort by the country's ruling elite to curry support for Prime Minister Hun Manet, who succeeded his father Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for 38 years.

The canal is to be built jointly by Chinese state-owned construction giant China Road and Bridge Corporation and Cambodian companies. But it is enveloped in nationalistic rhetoric. The canal would provide Cambodia a “nose to breathe through” by reducing its dependence on Vietnam, Hun Sen has said.

Vietnam has avoided openly criticizing its neighbor, instead communicating its concerns quietly. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said at a press conference in May that Hanoi had asked Cambodia to share information and assess the environmental impacts of the project to “ensure the harmony of interests” of Mekong countries.

Many Cambodians remain suspicious of Vietnam’s intentions, believing it may want to annex Cambodian territory. Given the contentious past between the two countries, bigger and richer Vietnam is taking care not to appear to be impinging on Cambodian sovereignty, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

"Although in Vietnam, there are big concerns,” he said.

Lost in Cambodia's nationalistic rhetoric are the concerns of people like Sok Koeun, 57, who may lose her home.

The tin-roofed cottage where she has lived with her family since 1980 is right where the canal is due to be built. The river provides her with fish to feed her family when she struggles to get by selling sugarcane juice and recycling plastic cans.

No one has been in touch, she says, to answer her mounting questions: Will she get compensated? Will she get land? Or cash? Where will they go?

“I only learned about it (the canal) just now,” she said.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Children pose in front of bulldozers lined along the Funan Techo canal at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

A water gate to the Funan Techo Canal is seen at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal rides a bicycle past a bridge at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A view from a water gate to the Funan Techo Canal connecting from Mekong River at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Norng La, a villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal dries her long beans at her home at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Sok Koeun, a villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal, collects firewood for cooking at her home at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Norng La, a villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal, is interviewed by The Associated Press at her home at Prek Takeo village eastern Phnom Penh Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Norng La, a villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal, prepares vegetable for her dinner at her home at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A worker raises a Cambodian flag with the help of an excavator on a barge by the mouth of a canal, at Prek Takoe village, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

Sok Koeun, a villager who lives along the Funan Techo Canal, is interviewed by The Associated Press at her home at Prek Takeo village, eastern Phnom Penh Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A view of the canal at Prek Takoe village eastern side of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)

A view of the canal at Prek Takoe village eastern side of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado)