Machado Puts Padres on Clinch Doorstep

Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, taking sole possession of the top National League wild-card spot and cutting their playoff magic number to one. Arizona's 5-3 win over Colorado blocked an immediate clinch, so San Diego still needs one more win or a Diamondbacks loss.

That brink stamp is the Thursday board. Soft fantasy note only: do not invent Machado's October line from one Dodgers night. The clinch still has to clear the scoreboard.

Machado's 409-foot homer in the fourth scored Dustin Harris and snapped Yoshinobu Yamamoto's early control. Machado later added a shallow sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits in the Reuters roundup as San Diego moved one game ahead of both the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.

The loss ended Los Angeles' 11-game home winning streak and kept the Dodgers (97-61) from locking the No. 2 National League seed and a first-round bye. Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in his return from the injured list, including a bases-loaded strikeout to end the fourth.

Padres fans have waited all September for a clean top wild-card seat and the home Wild Card Series that comes with it. Machado delivered the loudest bat of the night. Nick Pivetta is lined up for Thursday's series finale against Tyler Glasnow with the clinch still one result away.

Dodgers fans still control their own seed math with one win or an Atlanta loss. Soft fantasy note only: ride Machado's hot night carefully into Thursday. The magic number is one, not zero.

Thursday's finale is the cleanest path. Win and the Padres are in. Lose and they still need help from Colorado against Arizona. Machado has been the middle-of-the-order answer on nights when San Diego needed a statement in Los Angeles. One more statement would punch the ticket.

Wild-card math still includes the Cubs and Phillies one game back. Home field in a best-of-three is the prize for finishing first among that group. Soft fantasy note only: Machado's three-RBI night is a spike, not a season-long lock. Ride the clinch window, then reassess October roles.

Padres board

Machado: HR, 3 RBI in 5-1 win at Dodgers. Padres 88-70, sole NL WC lead.

Magic number: 1 (win or D-backs loss). Series finale Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

Also: Tatis three hits. Ohtani 1-for-4 in IL return. Yamamoto tagged in fourth and fifth.

Fan closer

Machado put the Friars on the doorstep. Watch Thursday's finale before you celebrate the clinch that Arizona still has a vote on.