Combination locks Padres into history

They use a record nine pitchers in a playoff shutout as their season continues to NLDS.

SAN DIEGO 4, ST. LOUIS 0

SAN DIEGO — The most unique season in Major League Baseball history will continue with the Padres as part of it after their most improbable victory Friday night.

Nine pitchers, starting with 36year- old Craig Stammen and including 20- year- old Luis Patino before ending with borrowed closer Trevor Rosenthal, produced a gem of a game and the Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4- 0 to win their bestof- three wild card series at Petco Park.

It was the second time in MLB history — and the f irst time in the postseason — a team used nine pitchers in a shutout victory.

The Padres’ first postseason in 14 years will carry on to Arlington, Texas, for their f irst ever playoff meeting with the Dodgers. The bestof- five National League Division Series begins Tuesday at Globe Life Field, where the winner will continue to play as long as it survives.

In this season unlike any other — delayed by four months and shortened by two- thirds due to COVID- 19 — the Padres coalesced into a team rarely seen in San Diego. If ever.

They scored the third most runs and allowed the eighth fewest. They hit the fourth most home runs and stole the most bases. By some measures, they had the major leagues’ best overall defense.

They made joy their sixth tool, laughing and dancing their way to the second- most victories in the National League.

And just when it seemed they would not get to show the world their swaggy exuberance and brimming talent, they scored nine runs in their final three innings to come back and beat the Cardinals 11- 9 on Thursday night, forcing Friday’s deciding game.

The elimination game became more tense with every passing scoreless half- inning, as the Padres had to take the next step toward history — in their words eat “the big cake” for the first time in the franchise’s existence — by using almost every member of their already exhausted bullpen.

After being down 4- 0 at the end of the second inning in both of the first two games, they took a 1- 0 lead in the fifth inning on doubles by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eric Hosmer.

They added two runs in the seventh on a single, two Cardinals errors and two walks, including one drawn by Hosmer with the bases loaded that made it 3- 0.

Rookie Jake Cronenworth made it 4- 0 with a solo home run in the eighth inning.

For all the Padres’ success heading into this series, what happened right before it and at its start made this result somewhat improbable.

With Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet, the expected starters in Games 1 and 2, ruled out due to arm ailments and starters Chris Paddack and Zach Davies having bad games at the worst time, it was essentially three bullpen games for the Padres.

The relievers combined for a 1.58 ERA in 22 2⁄ innings.

3 The Padres, not anticipating their top two pitchers would get hurt, sent Garrett Richards to the bullpen in September. So they came into this series with just two starting pitchers.

But what they were missing on their pitching staff did not crush them, because what they had would not allow it.

They used a franchise- record eight pitchers in Wednesday’s Game 1 then broke that record by using nine in Game 2 and then matched that in Game 3, becoming the f irst team to use at least eight pitchers in three straight postseason games.

Stammen took 10 pitches to retire the Cardinals in order in the first and got two outs in the second after yielding a soft single to Dylan Carlson.