The Padres can punch their ticket to October tonight — and this one would mean a little more.
San Diego is one win away.
After beating the Dodgers 5–1 Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the Padres enter Thursday at 88–70 and in possession of the top National League Wild Card spot.
The equation tonight couldn’t be much simpler:
Padres win. Padres are in.
And doing it against the Dodgers?
Yeah. We’ll take that.
But what’s happening right now is bigger than one game or one playoff berth. If San Diego gets across the finish line, the Padres will reach the postseason for the third consecutive season — something the franchise has never done before.
For a fanbase that spent a lot of years watching October baseball without the Padres in it, that’s worth appreciating.
Remember Where This Started
It wasn’t that long ago that playoff baseball in San Diego felt like a once-in-a-generation event.
In 2019, the Padres finished 70–92 and in last place in the NL West.
Then everything started changing.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had arrived.
Manny Machado was in San Diego.
The expectations were getting higher.
And in 2020, the Padres finally broke through.
2020 — Slam Diego Arrives
The COVID-shortened 2020 season was bizarre for baseball, but Padres fans will never forget it.
San Diego went 37–23, finished with the second-best record in the National League and earned its first postseason appearance since 2006.
It was the birth of Slam Diego.
The Padres set an MLB record by hitting a grand slam in four consecutive games, Tatis became one of baseball’s biggest stars, and San Diego suddenly felt relevant on the national stage again.
The Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series before losing to the Dodgers in the NLDS.
There weren’t packed stands at Petco Park to experience it.
But Padres baseball was back.
2021 — The Collapse
Then came a reminder of how quickly baseball can humble you.
The 2021 Padres entered the season with huge expectations and spent much of the year looking like a playoff team.
Then the second half unraveled.
San Diego finished 79–83 and missed the postseason.
For Padres fans, it was one of the most frustrating seasons in recent memory.
2022 — The Run That Changed Petco Park
Then came 2022.
This was the postseason run that reminded San Diego what playoff baseball at Petco Park could really feel like.
The Padres finished 89–73 and went to New York for the Wild Card Series.
They beat the Mets.
Then came the Dodgers.
Los Angeles had won 111 games.
The Padres didn’t care.
San Diego beat the Dodgers 3–1 in the NLDS, setting off one of the greatest celebrations Petco Park has ever seen.
The Padres advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 1998 before eventually falling to Philadelphia in five games.
They didn’t reach the World Series.
But something changed in San Diego.
October baseball wasn’t just something Padres fans hoped to see someday.
It became the expectation.
2023 — How Did That Team Miss the Playoffs?
And then came perhaps the strangest season of this entire era.
The 2023 Padres had one of baseball’s most talented rosters but could never put everything together consistently.
They finished 82–80 and missed the postseason.
It was another reminder that talent alone doesn’t guarantee October.
2024 — So Close
The Padres responded with one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.
San Diego went 93–69, the second-highest win total in franchise history.
Then October arrived.
The Padres swept the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series and once again found themselves staring across the field at the Dodgers.
San Diego took a 2–1 NLDS lead.
One more win would send the Padres back to the NLCS.
Instead, the offense went cold.
The Padres were held scoreless over the final 24 innings of the series and lost Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, 2–0.
Season over.
That one hurt.
2025 — Back to October
Instead of disappearing, the Padres returned.
San Diego finished 90–72 in 2025 and made the postseason again.
This time they traveled to Wrigley Field to face the Cubs in the Wild Card Series.
It was incredibly close.
Across three games, Chicago outscored San Diego just 6–5.
But that was enough.
The Cubs won the series 2–1 and the Padres went home.
Still, something important had happened.
For only the second time in franchise history, the Padres had reached the postseason in consecutive seasons.
2026 — A Chance to Make Padres History
Which brings us to tonight.
The Padres enter Thursday 88–70 with four games remaining.
And after everything San Diego has experienced over the last seven seasons, they’re standing on the edge of something this franchise has never accomplished:
Three straight trips to the postseason.
Think about the transformation.
2019: 70–92 — missed playoffs
2020: Wild Card win, reached NLDS
2021: 79–83 — missed playoffs
2022: Reached NLCS
2023: 82–80 — missed playoffs
2024: Wild Card win, reached NLDS
2025: Reached Wild Card Series
2026: One win away from another trip to October
From a franchise that once went 14 years without a postseason appearance to potentially making the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons.
And now they have an opportunity to clinch it against the Dodgers.
In Los Angeles.
You couldn’t script it much better.
But Clinching Isn’t the Goal
Getting in matters.
But nobody in San Diego wants the story of this season to end with another postseason appearance.
We’ve experienced 2022.
We’ve experienced the heartbreak of 2024.
We’ve experienced the quick exit in 2025.
This city knows how electric Petco Park becomes in October.
The Padres currently control the No. 4 seed in the National League, which would mean hosting the No. 5 seed for the entire best-of-three Wild Card Series if they hold that position.
That’s the next fight.
First, get in.
Then bring October back to Petco.
Then see how far this thing can go.
Tonight, the Padres have a chance to make it official.
One win.
Punch the ticket.
Bring playoff baseball back to San Diego.
LFGSD.