SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres are headed back to the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.
The Padres clinched a playoff berth with a 5-4, 11-inning win against the three-time National League Central champion Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
Freddy Fermin, acquired from Kansas City at the trade deadline July 31, drove the first pitch he saw from Grant Anderson to center field with one out in the 11th, singling in automatic runner Bryce Johnson and setting off a wild celebration in front of a sellout crowd of 42,371 at Petco Park.
The Padres pulled within 2½ games of the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race and 2½ games behind the idle Chicago Cubs in the race for the NL’s first of three wild-card spots.
The Padres’ road appears to be tougher than last year, when they swept the Atlanta Braves in a home wild-card series to earn a shot at the rival Dodgers. San Diego led 2-1 before their bats went so cold that they didn’t score in the last 24 innings as they lost the series in five games. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
If the current standings hold, the Padres would visit the Cubs for a best-of-3 wild-card series. The winner would move into the division series against the Brewers, who clinched their third straight division title Sunday and are in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.
It has been an interesting season for the Padres, who led the division for much of April before slipping back as they played .500 ball in May and sub-.500 ball in June. The Dodgers never opened a big lead, but the Padres regained the lead only briefly in August.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller pulled off a major overhaul at the trade deadline, acquiring reliever Mason Miller from the Athletics, catcher Fermin from Kansas City and outfielders Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano from the Orioles.
The Padres became the first big league team to send three relievers to the All-Star Game when Jason Adam, closer Robert Suarez and left-hander Adrian Morejon were selected for the Midsummer Classic. Adam suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury Sept. 1.
The Padres were prone to offensive slumps, particularly on the road, but had some defensive highlights, including several great plays by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
