The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night to advance to the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Jake Cronenworth hit the tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the 7th inning when they scored five runs to take the lead. The Padres beat the 111-regular season win Dodgers in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 45,139 at Petco Park in a game that was delated by rare San Diego rain showers.
The Padres will host the Philadelphia Phillies in Games 1 and 2 of an all-wild card NLCS on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 to win their NLDS in four games.
The game was delayed 31 minutes at the start by rain, which returned in the eighth inning and prompted a short delay while the grounds crew worked on the mound.
The Padres last reached the NLCS 24 years ago when they beat the Atlanta Braves in six games and were then swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series.
The Dodgers won the NL West for the ninth time in 10 seasons and finished 22 games ahead of San Diego. The Dodgers went 14-5 against the Padres in the regular season and had won nine straight regular-season series against them.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images