There will be postseason baseball in San Diego once again, as the Padres clinched their third straight playoff berth and fifth in the last seven seasons after their 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's the first time in franchise history that the Padres have reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
The moment Mason Miller secured the last out and the #Padres #CLINCHED a postseason berth against the Dodgers!#forthefaithful pic.twitter.com/dY3bGwcJ5C
— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) September 25, 2026
San Diego is still locked in a battle for wild-card seeding with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies. Right now, the Padres hold the NL's No. 4 seed and would host the Cubs - who clinched earlier Thursday - in the best-of-three wild-card series at Petco Park.
Arizona is currently outside the playoff picture, sitting two games back of the Phillies heading into the final weekend. However, the D-Backs own the tiebreaker against Philadelphia. The Padres will host Arizona this weekend in a pivotal three-game series that will decide the tiebreaker between the two NL West rivals. San Diego has already lost the tiebreakers versus both the Cubs and Phillies.
Rookie catcher Ethan Salas, the Padres' top prospect, knocked in the run that sent San Diego into the playoffs with a seventh-inning RBI single. Salas went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Fernando Tatis Jr. also homered for the Padres, while Nick Pivetta tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his fourth start since coming off the injured list.
The Dodgers threatened in the ninth when Shohei Ohtani ripped a two-out RBI double that brought the tying run to the plate. But star closer Mason Miller quickly recovered to get the third out and set off the Padres' celebration.
San Diego last won a playoff series in 2024 when it swept the wild-card series against Atlanta.
