Fernando Tatís Jr.’s grand slam sends Padres past Diamondbacks 7-4, eliminating Arizona
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, and the San Diego Padres eliminated the Arizona Diamondbacks from playoff contention with a 7-4 victory Friday night.
Luis Arraez extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his 22nd career four-hit game for the postseason-bound Padres (88-72), who also prevented the Chicago Cubs (90-70) from clinching homefield advantage in the clubs’ opening-round playoff series.
Tatís returned from a three-game absence due to illness and delivered his fourth career slam, erasing a 2-1 deficit on the way to San Diego’s fifth win in six games.
Ketel Marte and Jake McCarthy hit early homers for the Diamondbacks (80-80), who lost their third straight and fell two games behind the Mets and Reds for the final NL wild card with two games to play.
Arizona, which would lose that three-team tiebreaker, still stayed in the race until Game 160 after sitting 10 games out of the last playoff spot on Aug. 1.
Zac Gallen (13-15) yielded six runs on seven hits and three walks in what might have been the longtime ace’s final start for Arizona.
Gallen, whose 65 wins over seven seasons with the D-backs are the third-most in franchise history, will be a free agent this winter after posting a career-worst 4.83 ERA.
Yu Darvish (5-5) gave up two runs on six hits over five resilient innings for San Diego.
Mason Miller got the final four outs for his 22nd save.
The Padres trailed 2-0 when Xander Bogaerts singled and scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s single. Three batters later, Tatís drove a full-count fastball to right, standing at the plate to admire his 24th homer.
Jake Cronenworth drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, and Jackson Merrill added an RBI single in the eighth.
Key moment
Arizona’s Tim Tawa and Ildemaro Vargas drew bases-loaded walks from David Morgan in the eighth, but Miller escaped the jam by striking out Jorge Barrosa with five straight pitches that topped 100 mph.
Key stat
Tatís’ slam was his first since 2021.
Up next
Michael King (5-3, 3.57 ERA) starts for the Padres against Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (9-8, 4.91) on Saturday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
