Padres 10, Diamondbacks 7: Machado's 30th, Home Wild Card Locked

Machado went the other way. Petco started handing out October.

September 26, 2026 - San Diego - The San Diego Padres trailed 4-3 in the fourth at Petco Park. Manny Machado went the other way for a three-run homer to right, his 30th, Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. scoring with him.

6-4. The Padres scored again in the fifth and twice in the sixth, beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-7, and locked the No. 4 seed. They will host the Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park, a rematch of last October's round at Wrigley Field.

Partly cloudy. 76 degrees. Wind 9 mph left to right. First pitch 5:41 p.m. Attendance 44,698. The game lasted 3 hours, 6 minutes. Gold rally towels. A sellout that felt like a preview because it was one.

"We're playing at home now," Machado said, per MLB.com. "Obviously playing at home is great. It's going to be fun."

The Tampa Bay Rays had already beaten the Philadelphia Phillies 12-1. That locked the Cubs as San Diego's opponent. The Padres still needed the win for home field. They got it. They are 90-71. Craig Stammen is the first rookie manager in club history to win 90, the MLB recap said.

Arizona is 86-75. Philadelphia is 87-74. The Diamondbacks are still a game back of the last Wild Card with one to play. Saturday they led early and could not hold the fourth.

Buehler's 3 2/3, then the bullpen, then Miller's mess

Walker Buehler lasted 3 2/3: five hits, four runs, three earned, one walk, three strikeouts, one homer, 73 pitches. Dustin Harris scored in the first on Jackson Merrill's single. Gabriel Moreno singled Tim Tawa home in the third. 1-1. Ty France grounded Harris home. Gavin Sheets doubled Merrill home. 3-1.

James McCann tied it in the fourth, a two-run homer to center, his seventh, Pavin Smith scoring. 4-3 Arizona. That was the lead Machado ended. Jose Cabrera (the loss, 0-4) inherited the middle and did not survive it: 1 1/3, five hits, five earned, one walk, two strikeouts, two homers. Machado's 30th. Xander Bogaerts's 13th, a solo shot to left in the fifth. 7-4. Tatis grounded Jake Cronenworth home later in the inning. 8-4. Cronenworth singled Merrill and France home in the sixth. 10-4.

Yuki Matsui (the win, 5-1) needed four pitches for one out. Bradgley Rodriguez threw two scoreless. Adrian Morejon threw a clean eighth. Mason Miller did not have his night. Three runs in the ninth, two walks, two strikeouts, 24 pitches. Geraldo Perdomo walked Tawa home. Corbin Carroll forced Lars Nootbaar in. Nolan Arenado singled Ketel Marte home. 10-7. David Morgan finished it.

"The reward is getting to play a couple playoff games at home," Stammen said, per MLB.com. "We're excited about that. Don't have to pack our bags tomorrow."

30 for Machado, 399 for his career, 90 for the club

Machado went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Eighth 30-homer season of his career, fourth with San Diego, tying Adrián González for the most 30-homer seasons in club history. It was also career homer No. 399.

"For sure, that's a big number," Machado said, per MLB.com. "I need one more though."

Bogaerts went 1-for-2 with two walks and a homer. Cronenworth went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Merrill went 2-for-4 with a walk, a steal, two runs, and an RBI. Harris went 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs. Salas had two hits. France drove one in. Tatis did not have a hit. He still walked, scored, and drove one in.

Tawa went 3-for-4 with two runs. McCann's homer was Arizona's loudest swing. Moreno, Carroll, Perdomo, and Arenado each drove one in. The Diamondbacks had 10 hits and no errors and still lost because the fourth through sixth innings belonged to San Diego.

Arizona won 11-4 here on Friday and sat one game back. Saturday they needed another. They got a 4-3 lead and a three-run Machado swing that ended the argument about who was hosting next week. The Cubs are coming to Petco. The Padres already have the towels out.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put San Diego at 16 team fantasy points, tied for fourth on Saturday. Machado had 9 hitting FP. Bogaerts had 7. Cronenworth had 5. Rodriguez had 11 pitching FP.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule; MLB Gameday wrap; ESPN scoreboard; ESPN box score; AthX Engine daily scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*