Padres clinch NL wild-card spot, Phillies close in

The San Diego Padres haven’t partied this hard at Petco Park in 17 years.

The Padres clinched a playoff spot while batting in the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, drawing a roar from the sellout crowd of 41,407 after the Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings.

The Padres had a chance to walk it off and celebrate on the field but Jorge Alfaro — who has five game-winning plate appearances this year — grounded out with two runners on to end a 2-1 loss.

Fireworks went off, but there an awkward few moments as the Padres milled around in and around the dugout and were given postseason shirts and caps. Manager Bob Melvin was drenched with a cooler of water and the team went out to the mound for a team photo.

They finally let it rip with a raucous clubhouse celebration that included drenching each other with sparkling wine and beer.

“It’s a been a long time since we’ve been in this spot,” said right-hander Joe Musgrove, who grew up a Padres fan in suburban El Cajon and pitched their first no-hitter in his second start with the team in 2021. “It’s pretty crazy how it all worked out, I end up back here in a year where we’ve got a team like we have to make it this far.” PHILLIES CLOSE IN ON NL WILD-CARD BID >> J.T. Realmuto’s Phillies now need just one more victory — or one more loss by the Brewers — to end Philadelphia’s 11-year postseason drought.

And the three-time Allstar catcher in his ninth season in the big leagues finally wants a taste of the playoffs himself, too.

So of course Realmuto is keeping tabs on what the Brewers do, watching them on a cellphone in the clubhouse after helping Philadelphia beat the Nationals 8-1 in a game shortened to six innings by a downpour in Washington.

“This is what you play for, obviously. We play to win and get to the postseason and win the World Series. So the fact that I haven’t been able to do that yet is obviously extremely disappointing for me,” said Realmuto, who threw out a would-be base stealer in the third inning and hit his 22nd homer of the season in the sixth. “It’s fun to be in the race and fun to have a chance.”

Philadelphia and interim manager Rob Thomson took three of four from the worstin-the-majors Nationals to improve to 86-73 after getting to town on a five-game losing streak. Combine Sunday’s victory with a 4-3 loss by the Brewers (84-75) against the Miami Marlins in 12 innings, and the Phillies hold a two-game lead for the third NL wild-card berth with three games left. PUJOLS HITS 702ND HR, TIES RUTH IN RBIS >> Albert Pujols hit his 702nd career home run and tied Babe Ruth for second on the all-time RBI on Sunday, but the Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-5 at St. Louis.

Yadier Molina and Pujols, who will retire at the end of the season, were honored in a 46-minute ceremony prior to their last regular-season home game. Pujols called it “pretty awesome” and “a great day.”

“I’m really blessed to be back here,” said Pujols, who has 468 homers with the Cardinals. “To finish my career where everything started, it means a lot.”

Pujols ripped a two-run double in the opening inning, and Molina brought him in with a fly to left for a 3-0 lead.

The 42-year-old Pujols followed with his 23rd home run of the season in the third inning, a 409-foot drive off Roansy Contreras that tied the game at 4. Pujols is fourth on the all-time home run list behind Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762).

He’s also now tied with Ruth for second in RBI (2,214) behind Aaron (2,297). BRAVES 5, METS 3 >> Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson homered for the third straight game, Travis d’arnaud hit a go-ahead two-run single in the third inning, and Atlanta beat visiting New York to win a critical tiebreaker in their season series.

The defending World Series champion Braves swept the three-game series and moved two games ahead of New York in the NL East.

Any combination of one Atlanta win or one Mets loss would give the Braves their fifth straight division title.

New York plays its final games of the season against Washington, who is last in the division. Atlanta goes to Miami. Should the season end Wednesday in a tie, Atlanta would win the NL East, because the Braves won the season series 10-9. ORIOLES 3, YANKEES 1 >> Aaron Judge won’t break the American League home run record at Yankee Stadium, remaining at 61 as New York headed on the road for its final four regular-season games after a loss to Baltimore.

Judge struck out three times and walked once, disappointing a crowd of 44,332 that watched the Yankees regular-season home finale in rain for much of a chilly, blustery afternoon.