Padres secure home Wild Card Series with 5-3 win over Diamondbacks, who slide in NL playoff race

PHOENIX (AP) — Luis Arraez hit two doubles and a triple, Yu Darvish pitched 5 1/3 gritty innings and the San Diego Padres used a four-run first to beat the sliding Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Friday night.

The Padres — who had already clinched a postseason berth earlier this week — secured the No. 4 spot in the National League bracket, meaning they'll host a best-of-three Wild Card Series next week in San Diego.

“It's amazing,” outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “Can't wait for that energy at Petco. The fans are going to be crazy and it'll be a great atmosphere.”

As for the Diamondbacks (88-72), they sit just behind the Mets (87-71) and Braves (87-71) in a tight race for the final two NL wild cards. The D-backs — who have lost four of five — have a slightly lower winning percentage.

Atlanta and New York have played two fewer games because Hurricane Helene washed out two games of their crucial series earlier this week. The teams would play a doubleheader Monday in Atlanta if playoff positioning is still undecided.

The Mets and Braves hold tiebreakers over the defending NL champion Diamondbacks should they finish with the same record. Arizona lost the season series to both teams.

Arraez (.314) is trying to hold off Shohei Ohtani (.309) and Marcell Ozuna (.308) for the NL batting title. If he wins, it would be his third batting crown in three years for three different teams, which has never been done in MLB history.

The Padres will be able to rest their regulars over the next two days, but manager Mike Shildt said getting Arraez to sit might be a tough ask. He's one hit shy of 200 for the season.

“We'll talk to him,” Shildt said. “I know Louie — he's going to want to play and get that 200 and add on to what he's doing. He's a warrior and a competitor. But we also need to monitor about making sure he feels good and is healthy.”

Darvish (7-3) gave up three runs on three hits, walking three and striking out four.

The D-backs tried to rally in the ninth when Corbin Carroll drew a one-out walk, but Robert Suarez struck out Ketel Marte and retired Alek Thomas on a groundout to end the game. It was Suarez's 36th save in 42 chances.

The Padres never trailed, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the first inning after Merrill Kelly gave up four hits, one walk and a hit by pitch.

Manny Machado ripped an RBI single that skipped past Marte at second base and then rookie Jackson Merrill followed with another run-scoring single to put the Padres up 2-0.

Marte threw a ball into the Padres' dugout while trying to turn a double play, which allowed Machado to score, and then David Peralta's RBI single made it 4-0. Machado has a team-leading 105 RBIs this season.

“It’s part of the game,” Kelly said. “At that point, we still had plenty of chances to win the game. My job is to pick them up. Everybody’s trying their hardest. Mistakes happen.”

Merrill and Peralta both had two hits.

The D-backs cut the margin to 4-2 in the bottom of the inning on Carroll's solo homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s sacrifice fly. They closed the gap to 5-3 in the sixth on Eugenio Suárez's RBI single, but Jeremiah Estrada eventually worked out of the jam.

“I think I felt a little stiff in the first inning,” Darvish said through a translator. “It was a little longer inning for me, so that maybe helped me loosen up a little. Starting in the second, I felt pretty normal.”

The win was Darvish's 203rd as a professional pitcher, including 110 in the United States and 93 in Japan. That ties Hiroki Kuroda for the most pro wins for a Japanese-born pitcher between the two countries. Kuroda pitched seven years in the big leagues for the Dodgers and Yankees from 2008-14.

Kelly (5-1) gave up five runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out eight.

“We had a lot of fight in us today,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “But we couldn't close up that early deficit. I think that first inning took a little energy out of us.”

UP NEXT

The teams play the middle game of their series on Saturday. The D-backs will start lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.56 ERA), while the Padres hadn't announced a starter.

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San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, right, celebrates with Jake Cronenworth (9) after scoring on a throwing error by Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll (7) celebrates with manager Torey Lovullo, right, after hitting a solo home run against the San Diego Padres in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly throws against the San Diego Padres in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

San Diego Padres' David Peralta hits an RBI single against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

San Diego Padres' Luis Arraez reacts after hitting a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Reynolds homered twice, including a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Yankees 4-2 on Friday night and delayed New York from clinching home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run single put the Yankees ahead in the fifth inning but Nick Gonzales and Bryan Reynolds hit consecutive homers off Carlos Rodón in the the sixth.

“I said, `You ever get two at Yankee Stadium?' And he said, `no.' I said, `Well, I’ve seen people get two at Yankee Stadium,'” Pirates manager Derek Shelton recalled telling Reynolds.

After batting right-handed against Rodón, Reynolds homered to center hitting left-handed against Tommy Kahnle (0-2).

“He walked back and said, `Yeah, so have I now,'” Shelton remembered.

Reynolds looked at Shelton as he circled the bases.

“So, yeah, spoken into existence,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds had his second multihomer game this season and the seventh of his big league career — his third from both sides. He leads the Pirates with 24 homers and 88 RBIs, reaching 24 homers for the fourth straight season.

Joey Wentz, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski (5-5), Dennis Santana and former Yankee Aroldis Chapman (13th save in 18 chances) combined to retire the last 14 Yankees in order.

New York opens the Division Series at home Oct. 5 and would be assured home-field advantage in the League Championship Series by winning one of its last two games or by Cleveland losing one of its last two.

Rodón allowed two runs, four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. He finished 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, a rebound from 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA in an injury-marred 2023 after signing a $162 million, six-year contract. Rodón has allowed a career-high 31 homers, 23 of them solo.

“The goal was to go out there and make every start this year and did that,” Rodón said.

A night after clinching the AL East, the Yankees rested Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Austin Wells. Judge got his third game off this season after June 10 against Kansas City and June 19 against Baltimore. He has homered in five straight games, raising his major league-leading total to 58.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone thought about using Judge and Stanton as pinch hitters in the ninth inning.

“Unless we put together a rally with some traffic I wasn't I really valued having those guys down today," Boone said. “But it was tempting, yes.”

New York plans to take Monday off, have combinations of workouts and simulated games the following three days and a mandatory workout on Friday ahead of the Division Series opener.

Pittsburgh rookie Jared Jones gave up two runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings, reaching 100 mph on four pitches. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander made five starts after missing eight weeks with a strained lat muscle and finished 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.

“I would say it’s terrible but a lot of other people would say I had a pretty good one,” Jones said. “Coming back after injury it kind of took a while for the stuff to come back, and I felt like it finally all came back in the last two, three starts.”

His fastball velocity against the Yankees averaged 98.7 mph, 1.4 mph above his season average and nearly the 98.8 season average of teammate Paul Skenes. Jones' goal for next year is “just trying to get as strong as possible and maybe I get a start or two where I beat Paul Skenes in a velo for a week.”

Chisholm stole a pair of bases for a career-high 40.

“It’s number that we were aiming for all year, 40 bags,” he said.

Right-hander Michael Burrows was added to the Pirates taxi squad.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: INF DJ LeMahieu, who hasn’t played since Sept. 3 because of right hip impingement, plans to resume baseball activities in a few days. “I don’t know if they’ll use me or not, but I’m definitely going to try to be available,” he said. ... RHP Jake Cousins, out with a right pec strain since Sept. 19, played catch Friday for the first time since getting hurt.

UP NEXT

Skenes (11-3, 1.99), a top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, makes his 23rd and final start. He has thrown 96 pitches of 100 mph or more — Angels right-hander José Soriano is second among starting pitchers with 40. RHP Luis Gil (15-6, 3.27) starts for the Yankees.

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Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman celebrates with catcher Joey Bart after the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. The Pirates won 4-2. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds (10) high-fives Jared Triolo after the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. The Pirates won 4-2. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge looks on from the dugout during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Aroldis Chapman pitches during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. The Pirates won 4-2. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, foreground, reacts after giving up a home run to Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds hits a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, right, watches his two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, right, rounds the bases past New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., left, after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, right, is greeted Billy Cook (28) after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)