San Diego Padres' 5-Run Rally Stands Alone in MLB History Books

All the San Diego Padres needed to knock the Atlanta Braves out of the NL Wild Card Series was a historic two-out rally in the second inning of Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates after a two-RBI triple during the second inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres, up 1-0 in the NL Wild Card Series, find themselves trailing the Atlanta Braves 1-0 early on Wednesday night.

Atlanta had struck first in Game 2, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by Marcell Ozuna in the top of the opening inning. San Diego, meanwhile, came up empty in the first, and still faced a one-run deficit in the second.

Just when it seemed like the Padres were about to post another zero on the scoreboard again, they shifted into another gear entirely.

Catcher Kyle Higashioka got the ball rolling with a game-tying, solo home run to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the second – his second bomb of the series. Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar then loaded the bases with three consecutive singles.

Manny Machado cashed in on those baserunners with a two-RBI double that put San Diego on top. And just for good measure, standout rookie Jackson Merrill cleared the bases with a two-RBI triple.

The Padres were suddenly up 5-1, having just carved out a spot in the history books.

According to OptaSTATS, the Padres became the first team in MLB postseason history to get six consecutive hits and hit for the cycle in the same inning. Nobody had done so prior to Wednesday, period, and San Diego managed to do it all with two outs.

The @Padres are the first team in MLB postseason history to get 6 consecutive hits and hit for the cycle in the same inning.

They did all of it with 2 outs. pic.twitter.com/Ays7ttpTFi

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 3, 2024

The Braves gave Max Fried the hook after the disastrous second inning, citing a hip injury he suffered on a comebacker from Tatis in the first. Dylan Lee took the mound in his place, followed by Daysbel Hernández, Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez. The four relievers combined to allow two hits, two walks and no runs.

However, Atlanta's offense was only able to scrape up one run in the fifth, leaving them down 5-2 entering the eighth. Michael Harris II's two-run shot that inning cut the gap to one, but the comeback ended there.

The Padres swept the Braves out of the postseason thanks to a historic rally, advancing to an NLDS matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the process.

San Diego and Los Angeles will face off for Game 1 of that series on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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