SAN DIEGO — Sean Manaea allowed only one hit in six shutout innings and the San Diego Padres wrapped up the fifth seed in the NL playoffs, beating the San Francisco Giants 6-2 on Tuesday night.
“Fantastic — his pitch count, breaking ball, change-up, everything,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said about Manaea. “He had to get out of a jam in the first inning and then just rolled from that point on.”
Wil Myers homered and drove in two runs for the Padres. They got the second wild-card spot with the victory and Philadelphia's 10-0 loss at Houston. San Diego will travel to New York for a a best-of-three set at the fourth-seeded Mets, starting Friday night.
“We have to go on the road and play against a tough team and beat some of the best pitchers in the game,” third baseman Manny Machado said. “It is about going out there and enjoying the moment.”
Manaea (8-9) struck out six. San Francisco starter Alex Cobb (7-8) allowed a run on seven hits in five innings.
"This whole season has been what it is but to end it like that, the regular season, is huge," Manaea said of his outing. “This is a very special team and to be able to go into the postseason like this is amazing.”
Myers hit a solo homer in the eighth, his second homer run in the past two games.
“It should be exciting, two good teams. They have a great team over there. It should be electric in that ballpark. It should be a good environment. It should be a lot of fun, I am looking forward to it," Myers said of the match-up with the Mets. “I do feel good in the box, so hopefully we can keep that going."
Ha-Seong Kim added a two-run double and Manny Machado and Austin Nola each had RBI singles. The Padres took command with a four-run sixth inning.
“We will see some really good pitchers (versus the Mets) and they will as well,” Melvin said. “At least on paper, it looks like it will be some hard-fought, maybe low-scoring games to begin with. ... It will be a good series.”
San Diego outhit San Francisco 14-4, but the Padres stranded 19 runners to the Giants’ nine.
WILD-CARD ROTATION
It is almost certain San Diego will start Yu Darvish in the opener Friday in New York, followed by lefty Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. Darvish was selected the NL pitcher of the month for September after going 5-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 44 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
LHP Mike Clevinger (7-7, 4.33) will start for the Padres on Wednesday in the regular-season finale. The Giants starter is to be announced.
WATH RELATED: San Diego Padres clinch first full-length season playoff berth since 2006!
