Player of the gameVictor VodnikMIA2.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k
It’s starting to feel and sound a lot like the postseason at Petco Park. You could hear it when Fernando Tatis Jr. clobbered a game-tying home run to center field in the fourth inning against the Marlins on Saturday night, swaggering around the bases to a chorus of raucous cheers from a packed house. You could hear it when Ethan Salas laced a single into center field to score Jake Cronenworth in a 7-6 walk-off win in 10 innings, the 20-year-old practically launching the crowd to its feet as he was mobbed by his teammates, becoming the youngest player with a walk-off hit since his teammate, Manny Machado, on Sept. 13, 2012. “It’s different, man,” said Salas, the Padres’ top prospect per MLB Pipeline, who was called up for the first time at the start of the month. “You got 50,000 going ballistic for you and the boys ready for you if everything works out. It definitely felt awesome … a lot different than the Minor Leagues.” The way the Padres have played lately, they are closing in on guaranteeing more nights like this are to come in October. They can practically taste it. With their 12th win in their last 13 games, the Padres jumped the Phillies, who lost to the Mets earlier in the evening, to claim sole possession of the second National League Wild Card spot. They now have the same record as the Cubs, though Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker and technically remains in the No. 1 position. The Phillies, who are now a game behind the Padres, also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over San Diego.
