Manny Machado capped a nine-pitch battle with a two-out, two-RBI single in a three-run 10th inning Wednesday night, allowing the San Diego Padres to edge the host San Francisco Giants 5-2.
A first win in 13 extra-inning contests this season allowed the Padres (79-80) to remain alive — barely — in the National League wild-card race.
San Diego sits 3 1/2 games out the NL’s final playoff spot with just a three-game road matchup with the Chicago White Sox remaining on the schedule and needing to catch three teams.
Facing John Brebbia (3-4), who served as the opener for the Giants in their Tuesday loss, the Padres used an infield out and a Xander Bogaerts sacrifice fly to push across the automatic runner for the go-ahead run in the 10th.
San Francisco’s defense then fell apart, with throwing errors by shortstop Marco Luciano on a grounder and catcher Patrick Bailey on a pickoff throw setting the stage for Machado’s big hit.
Rookie Tom Cosgrove worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th for his first career save, preserving a win for Josh Hader (2-3), who struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
The Padres rallied from a pair of one-run deficits, forging the game’s last tie on Garrett Cooper’s 17th home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh.
San Diego’s earlier run came in the fifth inning on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly, scoring Jose Azocar, who had doubled.
The Giants’ 1-0 and 2-1 leads were the products of a solo homer by Thairo Estrada, his 14th, in the second and a two-out RBI single by Tyler Fitzgerald in the fifth after Michael Conforto opened the inning with a double.
Starting pitchers Matt Waldron of the Padres and Sean Manaea of the Giants left a 2-2 game after each went six innings. Waldron allowed five hits and two walks, striking out two, while Manaea served up seven hits, walking none while striking out eight.
Machado finished with three hits while Cooper and Brett Sullivan had two each for the Padres, who moved one game ahead of the Giants (78-81) in their duel for third place in the NL West.
Estrada had two hits for the Giants, who must sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game home series later this week to finish at .500 for the season.
–Field Level Media