Padres 4-0 Astros (September 18, 2024) Game Summary

SAN DIEGO – Dylan Cease pitched brilliantly until the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning for the San Diego Padres, who beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 4-0 on Wednesday.

Machado hit two home runs for the Padres, who won two of three games against the Astros and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks and Mets to earn the first NL wild card. Houston had a five-game lead over Seattle, which later hosted the New York Yankees.

Cease (14-11), who threw his first career no-hitter on July 25 in Washington, managed just one hit until the ninth inning before Mauricio Dubón hit an infield single to shortstop. Cease struck out Jake Meyers, but then shortstop Xander Bogaerts kicked away Jose Altuve's grounder, resulting in an error that allowed Dubón to third base, and that was it for the right-hander after 103 pitches.

Cease retired the first 15 Astros batters before allowing a Jason Heyward single to right field early in the sixth inning. Cease then retired the entire team.

Cease said it was probably the third-best start of his career, behind his no-hitter and near-no-hitter against Minnesota in 2022 with the Chicago White Sox, which was broken up with two outs in the ninth inning by Luis Arraez, now his teammate on the Padres.

“I remember looking up at the sixth or seventh inning and the pitch count was reasonable. Then I went to Rueben (Niebla, the pitching coach) and said, 'Hey, I'm going to get the eighth and ninth inning today,'” Cease said. “He said, 'Hey, just take it one at a time,' and I said, 'OK.' When you get through the sixth inning with a low pitch count, it's very easy to dream about moving on.”

Cease had five strikeouts and no walks. Tanner Scott got two outs for his 21st save to complete the two-hitter.

“I just attack the strike zone, create variety and really rely on my defense,” Cease said.

Padres manager Mike Shildt called Cease “dominant. He was outstanding. Controlled counts, just a lot of life in everything. The ball bounced. … He was in control the whole time.”

“Dylan Cease is a special talent,” added Shildt.

Machado, who has 29 home runs, hit a first-run single to left center field in the sixth inning against Framber Valdez.

Tatis, who had a strikeout in his first three at-bats, hit reliever Kaleb Ort's first pitch into the first row in left-center to lead off the eighth inning. It was his 19th. Machado followed with a hit deep into the seats to left and Solano hit a liner to left, his seventh. That was it for Ort, who threw just nine pitches.

“It was great,” Cease said. “It gave you some breathing room, so to speak, and it was pretty amazing.”

The Padres are approaching their third playoff berth since 2020. Their 37-17 record since the All-Star break is the best in the major leagues.

“We beat a really good club out there,” Machado said. “It's fun. We're playing really good baseball. We beat a really good ball club that we'll probably face later. To go out there and play like we did and have Cease throw like that was a good day.”

If the Astros and the Padres meet again, it will of course be in the World Series.

“We've been playing baseball in the postseason for the last month,” Machado said. “Every game counts, man. I mean, it's fun, man. … This is just a little taste. This isn't over yet.”

“We have understood what the goal is all year long and nothing has changed. We will continue to think that way.”

The game in front of three sold-out stands at Petco Park created an atmosphere that was “definitely playoff level,” said Shildt. “All three games were neck-and-neck.”

Valdez (14-7) played seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while allowing six strikeouts and two walks.

TRAINING ROOM

Padres: Arraez got the day off to rest his sore left knee, which he slammed into home plate while throwing out Monday night. Arraez started Tuesday night as the DH.

Next

Astros: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-9, 4.29 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday night in the opener of a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, who feature LHP José Suarez (1-2, 6.80).

Padres: RHP Joe Musgrove (6-5, 4.23 ERA) is scheduled to start the first home game of the series on Friday night against the 117-loss Chicago White Sox, who start with LHP Garrett Crochet (6-12, 3.78).

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