The Padres eliminated the Dodgers at Petco Park over the weekend, sending San Diego into something of a city-wide party. That was, after all, the hurdle they’d been waiting to clear for the last decade. But their reward for beating L.A. was a date with Philadelphia in the National League Championship Series — a particularly dangerous proposition. The Phillies, like the Padres, entered the NLCS red-hot, having vanquished a rival and having set their rotation.
The Padres had to fight their way into the postseason, securing a berth on the final Sunday of the season. They went the distance in a Wild Card Series against the Mets. They dropped the opener against the Dodgers, then won three straight. Little has come easy for the Padres this year. Sure enough, if they’re going to beat the Phillies to reach the franchise’s third World Series, they’ll have to come from behind in this series to do it. The hard-throwing Phillies right-hander limited the Padres to just one hit across seven innings. Wil Myers’ fifth-inning single was the only hit the Padres recorded all night — though they did mount a threat in the bottom of the ninth inning against Philadelphia closer José Alvarado.
