​The San Diego Padres have clinched a Wild Card spot after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night in the series finale. The Chicago Cubs clinched their own spot earlier in the day, the Arizona Diamondbacks won to inch closer, and the Philadelphia Phillies lost as the race is incredibly tight with one weekend remaining. However, the Padres continue to control their own destiny after a 4-2 win. Nick Pivetta started for San Diego, and he pitched well once again, going 4.2 innings and allowing four hit with zero runs while striking out seven batters. Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam both threw scoreless innings, and it marked Adam’s first appearance since June 29. Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning, but young catcher Ethan Salas broke it up with a nice single to left field. Ethan Salas with the first #padres hit off Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow! It’s the 6th pic.twitter.com/FspScLnYQe— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) September 25, 2026Fernando Tatis Jr. then singled and Salas went to third, and Dustin Harris’ sacrifice fly gave San Diego a 1-0 lead. Then, the floodgates opened a bit at the top of the seventh. Ty France popped out, but Jackson Merrill doubled and Xander Bogaerts walked to give some life to the San Diego dugout. Austin Hays then pinch-hit for Jake Cronenworth, and he hit an RBI single to left field. Austin Hays pinch-hit RBI single to bring in Merrill! pic.twitter.com/yTq7QGZfdj— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) September 25, 2026Samad Taylor struck out looking, but Ethan Salas continued his hot streak with an RBU single to make it 3-0. ETHAN SALAS DRIVES IN ANOTHER ONE#PADRES LEAD 3-0 OVER THE DODGERS pic.twitter.com/8gBvEOSJbR— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) September 25, 2026Tatis then drove in a run with an RBI single, and Harris grounded out to end the inning, although it gave the Padres a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. FERNANDO TATIS JR. KEEPS ADDING ON#PADRES LEAD 4-0 OVER THE DODGERSKEEP CALM! pic.twitter.com/jpMEjgj70w— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) September 25, 2026Adrian Morejon then came into the game, and he struck out Shohei Ohtani in an emotional moment as the Padres inched closer to a playoff spot. Your #Padres are 6 OUTS AWAY from a postseason berth.Morejon strikes out Ohtani pic.twitter.com/C2T7GJJAqw— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) September 25, 2026However, Morejon got into a bit of a jam in the bottom of the eighth. Mookie Betts walked, and Freddie Freeman singled to center to give LA some hope. Teoscar Hernandez struck out an and Kyle Tucker flied out, but Betts scored the first LA run of the game after a Morejon balk. Thankfully for San Diego, Miguel Rojas flied out to end the jam. Mason Miller then entered in the bottom of the ninth. He struck out Andy Pages looking, got Hunter Feduccia to fly out. Miller then struck out Tommy Edman, however, he made it to first base on the wild pitch to keep the game alive. Shohei Ohtani th