San Diego Padres beat New York Mets to reach NLDS

Baseball

Published: 10 Oct. 2022, 13:20 Updated: 10 Oct. 2022, 16:45

San Diego Padres beat New York Mets to reach NLDS

San Diego Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong, right, celebrates with first baseman Josh Bell after scoring on a hit by Juan Soto against the New York Mets during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series on Oct. 9 in New York. [AP/YONHAP]

The San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets 6-0 in the decisive National League Wild Card Series Game 3 on Sunday to earn a ticket to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

In a dominant performance at Citi Field in Queens, New York, the Padres blanked the Mets with runs batted in by Austin Nola, Trent Grisham, Manny Machado and Juan Soto.

As well as the offensive onslaught, starter pitcher Joe Musgrove put on such a dominant performance on the mound that at one point Mets manager Buck Showalter asked the umpire to check his hands and ears for foreign substances.

Musgrove was clean, and took the crucial win with just one hit and one walk allowed across seven full innings pitched.

Korean shortstop Kim Ha-seong went hitless for the second straight game, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t pull his weight at the plate.

Kim drew walks in three of his four at-bats, coming around to score every single time — off Nola in the second, Grisham in the fourth and Soto in the eighth — to write his name under half the Padres’ runs and ensure his teammates for those crucial RBIs.

Sunday’s game was the third in the new three-game Wild Card Series format, introduced this season to replace the old one-game format that had existed since 2012. The introduction of the Wild Card Series coincided with the expansion of the postseason bracket to include three wild card teams, rather than the previous two.

The MLB has experimented with a Wild Card Series only once before, in 2020 during the heavily disrupted Covid-19 season.

The Padres won the opening game 7-1 on Friday, with Kim picking up two hits including a double and crossing the plate once in that performance. The Mets rallied on Saturday, winning 7-3 to force the first Wild Card rubber match.

With the win, the Padres advance to the National League Division Series where they will take on the Dodgers starting Tuesday.

After playing two games in Los Angeles, the Padres and Dodgers will move to San Diego where the Padres will get to play their first postseason game in front of home fans at Petco Park in 16 years.

In 2006 the Padres lost both home division series games to the St. Louis Cardinals, going on to lose that series 3-1 with one win on the road.

The swinging friars failed to make it back to the division series until 2020, when they lost 3-0 to the Dodgers, with all three games played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas as part of the Covid-19 adjustments.

If the Padres beat the Dodgers and make it to the National League Championship Series, it will be the club’s first appearance since 1998 and only their third ever.

Every other Wild Card Series ended in a sweep. The Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays and will face the New York Yankees in the ALDS, the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays and will face the Houston Astros in the ALDS, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals and will face the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]