Padres Secure Home Field Playoff Spot With Win Over Diamondbacks

Padres Clinch Home Field Advantage

The San Diego Padres secured the number four seed in the National League playoffs after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-7 on Saturday. This victory means they will host all games in the best of three Wild Card Series against the fifth seeded Chicago Cubs. The series starts on Tuesday. The winner of this series will progress to face the Milwaukee Brewers.

San Diego manager Craig Stammen expressed his excitement about playing at home. He noted that the players had a great season and earned the reward of playing playoff games in front of their fans.

A Chance For Revenge

This series is a rematch from last year. The Cubs knocked the Padres out of the playoffs last season with a 2-1 series win at Wrigley Field. The Cubs also had the upper hand during this regular season. They won two out of three games in San Diego in April and swept a three game series in Chicago.

Stammen acknowledged the challenge ahead. He said the Cubs are a great team and that his side will need to bring their best performance to advance.

The Padres achieved a 90-71 record with Saturday's win. This marks their third consecutive 90 win season, which is a club record. Manny Machado hit his 30th home run of the season, a three run shot, while Xander Bogaerts also hit a home run. The game was played in front of 44,698 fans, marking the team's 65th sellout of the year.

Historical Postseason Matchups

This will be the third time the Padres and Cubs meet in the postseason. Their most famous meeting came in the 1984 National League Championship Series. The Cubs won the first two games in Chicago, but the Padres rallied to win three straight games at home to take the series 3-2 and reach their first World Series.