They may have gone through some nervous moments over the past month or so, but the San Diego Padres have finally clinched their spot in the 2025 MLB postseason on Monday. They did so in grand fashion as well, as they defeated the NL-leading Milwaukee Brewers via a walk-off single from catcher Freddy Fermin in the 11th inning to give the Padres a 5-4 victory — pushing their record to 86-71 on the season.
The Padres are not done yet; they kept in step with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West standings, and with five games to go in the season, they find themselves down just 2.5 games behind the current NL West leader. While a bye to the NLDS is impossible at this point, earning homefield advantage in the Wild Card round is still a possibility as well, as they are facing a similar deficit to the current NL Wild Card leader, the 88-68 Chicago Cubs.
San Diego had to go through hoops to punch their ticket to the 2025 MLB playoffs. They were playing from behind nearly all night long and had to get heroics from the likes of Luis Arraez, who hit a game-tying single in the seventh, Gavin Sheets, who did just enough to score Arraez on a fielder's choice, and then Fermin finished it off with a hit of his own in the 11th.
The Padres bullpen is a major strength, especially after they added Mason Miller at the trade deadline for a premium price, and their depth was in full display on Monday. After starter Nick Pivetta allowed three runs in 5.1 innings, the bullpen combined to throw 5.2 innings of one-run ball; that is not a mean feat considering how the Brewers own the best offense in the National League along with the Dodgers.
Padres can now gear up for playoff push
The Padres have been an underrated playoff team in this decade; they have at least made it to the NLDS in all of their playoff appearances this decade even though they have not won the division during that span due to the Dodgers' dominance. At this point, they are playoff battle-tested, and their bullpen will be a major weapon come October.
If the season ended today, they will be facing the Cubs in the three-game NL Wild Card series. The two teams have not faced each other since April, so this series is definitely one that could go either way.
