Padres punch postseason ticket with walk-off against Brewers

SAN DIEGO (KYMA) - For the fourth time in six years, the San Diego Padres are headed to the playoffs, and they got there in dramatic fashion.

San Diego clinched its postseason spot Monday night with a 5-4 walk-off win over the Milwaukee Brewers in 11 innings at Petco Park.

Freddy Fermin, who joined the Padres at the trade deadline from Kansas City, delivered the game-winner.

On the first pitch he saw from Brewers reliever Grant Anderson, Fermin lined a single to center, driving in automatic runner Bryce Johnson and igniting a sellout crowd of 42,371 into celebration.

The victory not only secured a playoff berth, but also tightened the races across the National League. San Diego is now just 2½ games behind both the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the West and the Chicago Cubs for the top wild-card spot.

If the standings hold, the Padres will open the postseason on the road in Chicago for a best-of-three wild-card series.

The winner would move on to face Milwaukee, who already locked up the NL Central title for the third straight year and will be making their seventh playoff appearance in the last eight seasons.

This season has been far from smooth for San Diego. The Padres opened hot in April but faded through May and June, playing .500 ball before slipping under in the summer. The Dodgers never pulled away, but San Diego only briefly reclaimed first place in August before settling back into the wild-card race.

General manager A.J. Preller reshaped the roster at the deadline, adding key pieces like reliever Mason Miller, catcher Fermin, and outfielders Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano.

The bullpen has been a major strength, with Jason Adam, Robert Suarez, and Adrian Morejon all earning All-Star nods, a first for a big league club to send three relievers in the same year. However, Adam's season ended with a quadriceps injury earlier this month.

Now, after last year's run that ended with a division series loss to the Dodgers, San Diego has another chance to chase a deep October run.