Padres win by holding off Braves in Game 2: Takeaways

SAN DIEGO – Get the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series, raiding Braves starter Max Fried and securing a 5-4 victory in Game 2 at Petco Park on Wednesday. It will be the third NLDS matchup between the Padres and Dodgers in five years. Game 1 is Saturday at Dodger Stadium: Dylan Cease vs. Jack Flaherty.

Both Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove exited early Wednesday.

In what may have been his final Braves start, Fried lasted just two innings. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but was penalized for five runs, all with two outs, in the second inning. Kyle Higashioka hit a home run and Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill each drove in two runs. Machado now has 11 postseason RBIs, which ties Tony Gwynn for the most in franchise history.

Musgrove left in the fourth inning with an elbow injury. The Padres bullpen silenced most of Atlanta’s lineup, but leadoff man Michael Harris II had three hits, including a two-run home run off Jason Adam in the eighth, making it a one-run game. — Stephen J Nesbitt

Joe Musgrove’s injury dampens momentum

Shortly before his retirement, Musgrove threw the two slowest pitches of his career in succession – a curveball at 75.2 mph and another at 74.2 mph.

The Padres later announced that he was out with right elbow strain, a concerning development for a pitcher who went on the injured list twice this year because of elbow problems.

San Diego appears to have the depth to withstand Musgrove’s extended absence. Michael King appears to be a potential ace, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish will start the first two division series games against the Dodgers, and Martín Pérez has been more than serviceable. Meanwhile, the bullpen is being built to shorten games.

But without Musgrove, a proven playoff hero, the challenge of beating LA and advancing deep into October could become significantly more difficult. And if he manages to return this month, fears of another injury would be high. — Dennis Lin

Max Fried’s postseason problems reach a new low

In what may have been Max Fried’s final start for the Braves, one of the best escape acts of his career — after a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the first inning — was followed by one of the worst innings of his career, at the worst possible time. He gave up eight hits and allowed five runs in two innings of the Game 2 loss, exiting early due to ineffectiveness and left hip soreness from being hit by a line drive in the first inning.

While the Braves said there was no one they would rather have on the mound in this must-win situation, Fried earned a reputation and a lasting spot with his six scoreless innings in the deciding game of the 2021 World Series There were plenty of postseason problems for the left-hander in the Braves’ History 6 win at Houston.

Fried has a 5.10 ERA in 20 postseason games, including 12 starts, and in his last six postseason starts he is 1-4 with an 8.28 ERA and 41 hits allowed in 25 innings. That includes winning the World Series.

Half of the Padres’ eight hits against Fried didn’t leave the infield, but some very costly ones did, starting with Kyle Higashioka’s game-winning solo home run with two outs in the second inning, which came on a Fried error – a 1-and-2 Fastball left over center and waist high.

That was the first of six consecutive hits by the Padres and the beginning of the end for the Braves. — David O’Brien

Padres overwhelm with two outs

The Padres have pushed a certain mantra all season long. You can describe it like this: If you consistently put the ball in play, good things usually happen.

That’s exactly what happened at the end of the second. The Padres became the first team in postseason history to score six consecutive hits and total one hit in the same inning. They did all of this with two outs. It started with Kyle Higashioka’s home run – his second in two days – but continued with a line-drive single, two straight infield singles, a double and a triple.

When the dust settled, San Diego had scored five runs, which proved crucial in the Braves’ eventual advance. It was the fourth time in franchise history that the Padres scored at least five runs in a playoff inning. It was the first time they had done so since scoring five runs in Game 2 of the 2022 National League Championship against the Phillies. — Lin

— The Athletics Stephen J. Nesbitt contributed to this report.

(Photo by Kyle Higashioka: Denis Poroy / Imagn Images)