The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, scoring five runs while allowing one, to force a rubber match in the series. San Diego had not clinched a playoff spot; after Tuesday’s loss, its magic number was two with five games remaining.
Robbie Ray needed 84 pitches to get through 3⅓ innings; David Morgan escaped a bases-loaded fourth-inning jam, and Yuki Matsui, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller combined for five scoreless innings. Manny Machado opened the scoring with his 398th career home run.
Nick Pivetta is scheduled to start the finale for San Diego against Tyler Glasnow. Since returning from the injured list, Pivetta has a 1.93 ERA across 14 innings in three starts this month. The bullpen will be somewhat depleted, but Jason Adam is back; Griffin Canning was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to make room for him.
