Padres Finish Off Braves In NL Wild Card

SAN DIEGO -- The latest stop of the San Diego Padres' redemption tour led them into a layer of champagne and beer Wednesday night, after they dispatched the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win to complete a two-game sweep in their NL Wild Card Series.

Right after the San Diego players sprawled on the mound for a team picture, third baseman Manny Machado said, "This is what everybody wanted."

The Padres have played better than just about any team since the All-Star break: 45 wins and 19 losses, including the two games against the Braves, a 113-win pace since the middle of July.

With two outs int he second inning, Kyle Higashioka hit a solo homer, his second in two days, and after three consecutive singles, the bases were loaded for Machado again.

As Machado watched this rally build, he kept telling teammates in the dugout to give him another chance, to get him another opportunity -- and when Fried left a slider over the plate, Machado blistered it into the left field corner for two runs. Merrill followed with a two-run triple.

For the Braves, who have been hammered all year by injuries and have been without Ronald Acuna Jr. for most of the season and without Austin Riley in recent weeks, this was a mountainous deficit. Max Fried was finished, and this game mirrored the Braves' season in how it was defined by injury.

The Padres visit the Dodgers in game one of the NLDS on Saturday night.