Higashioka’s homer starts rally as Padres beat Braves 5-4 to sweep NL Wild Card Series

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kyle Higashioka’s solo homer started a five-run rally against an ailing Max Fried with two outs in the second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to sweep the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 victory in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.

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 Petco Park history — roared.

The Padres, who would love to win a World Series title in memory of late owner Peter Seidler, head up Interstate 5 to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival Dodgers in a National League Division Series beginning Saturday evening at top-seeded Los Angeles.

San Diego eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.

Robert Suarez pitched a perfect ninth for the save. As soon as Higashioka caught pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud’s foul pop for the final out — the catcher had to step over first baseman Donovan Solano, who also went for it — the crowd started chanting “Beat L.A.!”

“This team’s always shown the ability to be resilient and never quit,” Higashioka said. “That’s a credit to all the guys. Just putting together good at-bats no matter what.”

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Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove exited early with injuries. Fried left after the second inning. He was hit on the left hip by a ball off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. two batters into his outing. Musgrove left with right elbow tightness with two outs in the fourth after throwing two slow curveballs to Matt Olson.

Padres manager Mike Shildt didn’t have a postgame update on Musgrove, other than to say it was the same area of the elbow that sidelined the big right-hander earlier this season.

“Fortunately, we had the lead,” Shildt said. “His leaving with two outs in the fourth was a challenge, but we found solutions and the bullpen was rested and played its part to bring it home.”

After the Padres took a 5-1 lead in the second, Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run shot in the eighth.

Fried, who took the loss, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. He then allowed five runs on six straight hits with two outs in the second.

“I think the longer he was out there, the worse it got,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Dylan Lee took over for Atlanta to begin the third.

Musgrove threw two slow curves to fall behind 2-1 on Olson with two outs in the fourth and was visited by pitching coach Ruben Niebla. Shildt and an athletic trainer joined them, and Musgrove came out.

Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, had two stints on the injured list with right elbow inflammation this season, costing him a total of 63 games. His second stint sidelined him for 2 1/2 months.

“It would be irresponsible to get too deep into this,” Shildt said. “He said he was going to do everything he can — I put nothing past Joe Musgrove — to be able to come back.

“Something just didn’t feel right in his elbow. Structurally they feel it is OK, but we’ll get more evaluations as we go.”

Higashioka became the first Padres catcher to homer in consecutive playoff games. He hit a solo shot in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. He also homered for the New York Yankees at Petco Park in the 2020 AL playoff bubble, against Tampa Bay in a Division Series game. He was obtained along with right-hander Michael King in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on Dec. 7. Higashioka started the season as the backup but eventually became the starter.

Musgrove fell behind 1-0 after just three batters. Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly brought in Harris, who doubled into the right-field corner on Musgrove’s first pitch and advanced on Ozzie Albies’ groundout.

After the homer by No. 9 hitter Higashioka, singles by NL batting champ Luis Arraez, Tatis and Jurickson Profar loaded the bases. Machado brought in two runs with his double to left, and Merrill tripled to center.

Soler homered to straightaway center leading off the fifth against reliever Bryan Hoeing, who got the win. Harris homered off Jason Adam, but the banged-up Braves were unable to come all the way back.

“I’m about as proud of a team as I’ve ever had,” Snitker said. “We won 89 games. It’s amazing what they did. We had a chance. We got in the tournament. Maybe if we get a hit here or there, we are playing tomorrow. But we aren’t.”

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